The Story of the Tarot

Warlordlono

Hello, all!
I was told this board was the best place to discuss a book I'm considering starting.
A little background (I'll keep this short and to the point).

Learning the Tarot can be a challenge. 78 cards all with deep meaning and then mix in multiple decks and, whew, things can seem overwhelming really fast.

I'm a storyteller and to help my own understanding deepen and, maybe, to help others I want to write a story that would feature all 78 cards as characters, props, pieces, elements, and so forth. You would learn about the Fool and the Lovers in a similar way as you learn about Harry Potter or Anne of Green Gables; in the same way you learned about The One Ring and lightsabers would you discover what the Three of Cups and Ace of Pentacles are (I am not making connections to any of those, only vague examples).

Now to complicate this a bit further I saw Kickstarter promoting the idea of Make/100. During the month of January Kickstarter is encouraging people to come up with ideas that would result in a limited run of something (100 zines, 100 tickets to a concert, 100 pieces of art, and so forth).
I am thinking of starting a campaign for my story. Here's the idea:

Write the story
Hand bind it
Limit the production to 100 copies

That is to say only 100 would ever be made in this particular fashion, but if the book was well received I would aim to get it mass produced for all.

I won't say what the story idea is just yet, I want to keep that under wraps! I'm coming here to see what you think of the Make/100 idea and what you might consider paying for such a limited copy of something.
Of course, you know nothing about me, so that makes this a bit more of a challenge.
What I can do is show you what one of these books might look like.

See here: http://imgur.com/a/zOwCj
 

rwcarter

Welcome to Aeclectic, Warlordlono!

I think that's a rather interesting idea. Julia Turk did something similar in writing 3 companion novels to her Navigators Tarot of the Mystic SEA - one focused on the pips, one on the Courts and one on the Majors. The protagonist of the story wakes up in a strange land (think Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz) and encounters each card along his journey. By repeating the keyword on card, he's able to enter it and interact with the characters in the card, giving the reader a better idea of what's going on in the card and what the creator intended, which isn't always clear judging by the keyword that's used. So there is a precedent for what you're wanting to do.

26 years into my tarot journey, do I need such a book? No. Would I support such a project? Most likely, depending on how much it cost. Unfortunately, I can't say what I'd pay for it though. I'd just know when I saw the price whether or not I'd spend that much to support something I'd never use. But I'm also a collector, so something that's 1 out of 100 is worth more.

Sorry I can't be of more help. Good luck on your project though!

Rodney
 

Warlordlono

Thank you, RW, my idea for a price was between $35 and $50. Yet I'm not sure if that's too low. Or, maybe, too high.
I suppose I ought to just give it a whirl and see what happens.
 

Nemia

Pardon me for saying so, but that's a lot of money for a book. IMO such a book has to be really high-quality literature or very very innovative or very very well-produced visually to deserve such a price tag. For poor tarot readers who fret over the purchase of a deck, that's the price of a luxury item.

Especially since you can easily produce it as e-book and let people have access to your stories for much less money. There is no reason it has to be printed.

Look at Benebell Wen's tome, an encyclopedic, innovative, well-illustrated instant classic and must-have: it's cheaper.

Well, I'm sure others will see it differently, that's just my view. Maybe it's influenced by the fact that I don't live in the US and shipping for non-virtual items is a real factor. I can't compromise on decks, but for books, I rely on shipping-free mass market options or e-books.
 

Warlordlono

Interesting, thank you for your thoughts.
I do live in the U.S. and paying $20-$25 USD for a book is quite normal.
My thinking was that an additional $15-$25 for a one-of-a-kind never to be made again special edition would be worth it.
That link contains images of what said books might look like.
 

Nemia

I didn't want to sound churly or discourage you, sorry. $50 seems a lot to me personally, but in principle, you're absolutely right, small editions of well made books are worth their money and the inflation of book prices has more negative than positive sides. And tarot aficionados have been known to scrimp and save to be able to afford their hearts' desire.

I should have thought a bit more before writing. Sorry.
 

gregory

I'm sorry, but while I too value limited editions, I DON'T think $20-$25 for a book is normal - even in Canada where the cover price is always about $5 more than the US. I doubt if I'm the only person who routinely waits for the soft cover version :D It saves space, too !

I would much rather see you think about a book that was affordable for everyone - through createspace or something. I do know that I personally, even as a rabid collector, couldn't justify spending $50 on a quite small book. And you would "do more good for more people" through a wider circulation. You do say you want to help people - your route would only help 100 of them. I think that's sad.
 

Warlordlono

Gregory,
I certainly did not set out to make anyone sad. The idea for this limited edition book is only a part of the whole. I would love to make a far more affordable version, but that version would not be made by hand. It would either be an e-book or a paperback.

What I started this thread for was to gauge interest in an *extremely limited* run of the book. So let me be clear: Mass production is totally in my interest.

All told there would be--at minimum--two versions. The first would be the limited edition that was sold via Kickstarter. These 100 copies would be the only ones to ever exist. There would never be another made once the project was over. Each and every one of the special limited editions would be unique (no two would be identical). Each one would be made by hand. The text would be printed on high quality paper and copied from scans of the paper the story was written on (I write using a German typewriter that was made before World War II).

Once the initial Make/100 Kickstarter project was done (assuming it was a success) I would look into getting a mass produced version. This might include e-book versions (which I could provide for very little, $5 or less), paperback, and maybe even hardback. These would be far more wallet friendly.

As far as the size; please do not use those pictures I gave a link to as examples of the finished product. They are nothing more than visual examples to give your eyes an idea of what it might look something like. As far as the size goes, I would want it to be carry friendly. Something you can toss in a bag or fit into a larger pocket (vest, coat, jacket, etc). Small books can have big stories though. -_^
 

gregory

Thanks - fair enough (not that I have ANYTHING against the images, BTW !) Great - I shall hold out for the paperback (please don't make it ONLY an e-book ! one does like the TACTILE side of paper.)
 

grubbaj0

I think this is a great idea. I read through aeclectic's story of the fool making his way through the major arcana cards and find it very helpful. I even just started doing this same thing with my new shadowscapes deck which I find has very vivid imagery for storytelling. However I'd love to see this done with the classic RiderWaite deck (which my mind automatically refers back to when looking at a card but I have a hard time connecting with)