Sigh. Just got my proof copy of the Pig book from Lulu and it’s horribly mangled. The preview in the build-the-book phase came out okay, but once it was printed and shipped, somehow all the text got flipped inside out. Very, very wrong. So I’m heading down to the local book printer today to get a proper proof done (without the long waits for UPS’s crippled African swallows to deliver it) so I can be sure that what I offer to y’all will actually look the way it should.
So my follow-up to the Pig is called The Crow Who Could Fly… and while I work on the art and text and all the other fiddly things that go into making one of these suckers, I thought I’d post a preview. The words may change a bit, but this is basically what you’re in for. Hope y’all like it!
”I INVENTED FLYING!” yelled the crow, “and if you want to keep on flying, you had better be nice to me! If you don’t, I will fly after you no matter where you go, and gobble you up!”
This scared the butterfly so much she lost three spots on her wings.
Just then the crow’s tummy grumbled like this: WAKAWAKA-BIDDLY-DOO-DAH!
So he said: “I have an idea, little miss butterfly… if you bring me a snack every Monday at noon, I will not eat you at all, and you can keep on flying.”
So here’s the deal. The license to The Pig and the Box is currently CC-NC-SA, which prohibits folks from selling whatever derivative works they make. It has been argued that these terms will stifle creativity, and that by using it instead of CC-SA is a half-assed statement on the importance of free culture.
So to remedy the situation, I am going to try out a theory that many have tried before: after-the-fact patronage. I have set up a group action at Fundable.org which aims to switch the license of the book to CC-SA, making it free for all. If I raise the required amount within 25 days, I’ll re-release all the translations under the new license*, culture as a whole will triumph, and angels will sing in the heavens. Or, well, something.
So what does it cost to Free the Pig? 100 people pledging $20 each. It’s not much, but I know it’s a lot.
To make it a better deal for y’all, I’m offering a secondary incentive: if you pledge your money and help free the wee piggie, I will send you a signed copy of the book. (Note: the value of my signature on a limited-run book has been estimated at anywhere from $0.0003 to $0.05, depending on the kind of pen I use). You’ll have to pay shipping, but only because sending stuff to places like Australia costs half a million dollars.
As always, half the profits go to Oxfam, so you’re doing good while doing good.
Relatedly, I’m very close to being able to offer my book for sale via Lulu.com, and I intend to keep selling it that way if and when the Pig is Freed. Those books should cost about $13 plus shipping, based on current estimates. And you can frighten people with a Lolipop Jones shirt at the Spreadshirt store (click the bunny above).
I don’t know if this is going to go anywhere, but I want to give it a try. If it fails, I don’t think CC-NC-SA is all that bad… but I do agree it feels right for the swine to be as free as he can be.
Thanks to all, and have a Merry Christmas.
Help free the pig here!
* Update: The ever-clever Crosbie has pointed out that the translations will remain CC-NC-SA until the translators decide to re-license their text. At the moment that includes Chinese, Danish, French, German, Italian and Spanish. [list will be revised as I get confirmation from the various translators]. Thanks, Crosbie!
Updated again: It’s pledging, not donating. Thanks again, Crosbie 
Minor Update: It’s been said in a few places that I’m trying to raise $2,000 to change the license… but when you consider each book I print will cost me about $10 and about $1 to prep and package, I’m actually only trying to raise $900, half of which I’m giving to charity. $2,000 for a picture book comes off as a bit loony, I thought. Just wanted to clarify that
I won’t make any more new posts about the Pig because it’s getting silly (which is saying something). So my last notes on the subject before I return to Push and the Crow and all the other fun projects that eat my days and nights:
If you want to buy Pig shirts etc, go to The Pig and the Box Shop at Spreadshirt.com. If there are any other images you’d prefer, just drop me a line and I can make whatever you fancy. Half of the $3 profits go to Oxfam, and the rest offsets my bandwidth bill
There are 3 translations still to come (that I’ve been told about). When those are done and I get my test print from Lulu.com (thanks to all who suggested it!) I will put all the translations online for order in print form. From what I understand, I don’t have to worry about pre-orders because lulu takes care of it all for me. So soon you might be able to damage children away from the computer screen, too!
There is a big discussion (far bigger than the Pig) about the merits of DRM and the issue of artists and consumers and money and rights… I want to address that sometime (I’ve talked about similar things before, but I want to put it into something more comprehensive), but for now let me just say that technological DRM is a fundamental waste of money and resources, but sociological DRM (which would then not be called DRM, I guess) is something that all people should try and define and appreciate. I won’t burn that bridge till I get to it, though.
Finally, another very big thank you to everyone for all the kind things you’ve said about the book… I especially appreciate how you pretend the artwork didn’t fry your retinas. It’s been so much fun the past few days, I’m dreading returning to the real world next week.
If you have anything new and exciting you want to talk about, add it to the comments below. Thanks again, all!
Update: Audiobook Question:
A bunch of people have suggested an audiobook version of the story, or creating animations of it. That’s definitely 200% great, and so to maybe help kick things off for those so inclined, I’d like to see what people think about a read-aloud version… sounds like fun? Personally, I’d want to have one of those little tingly chime noises to tell people to turn pages (like on my old records when I was a kid), and I think Alex Albrecht (of Diggnation fame would be a great narrator (“Youuuuu stinky pig!”… sorry, it sounds funny in my head).
So if anyone has any ideas, let’s bring ‘em out in the open here, cause I’m obviously bad at coordinating
UPDATE: You might also be interested in reading how you can Free the Pig.
The Pig has eaten my webserver. I will probably owe Hostway nine trillion dollars by the time this is all over. Thank god the digg story didn’t really catch on.
The Pig and the Box is quite possibly in the process of being translated into German, Slovenian, Norwegian, Japanese and Spanish. Being a good Canadian, I am going to try and find a francophone to do French too. Most likely I’m going to fail. I live in BC, there aren’t that many to choose from.
Between answering hundreds of emails and making sure the server’s not dead, I’ve been working on The Crow Who Could Fly my follow-up-but-not-a-sequel book. Thus far, my kids hate it, so I think I have a long way to go.
My younger daughter saw the dedication page for the first time tonight and said to me very seriously: “Daddy, erase my name from that page. I don’t want to own this book.” Her true feelings emerge!
Thanks to all for the kind words, and I hope to entertain you again shortly. If not with badly-drawn animals, perhaps with deranged pastafarians.
Updates!
See the top of the left column on this page for the various language translations. A big thanks to nex, Wei, Frank, Laura and half the population of Norway for their efforts!
French is done! See the links on the top left of the page.
Still missing is Japanese! That’s just my wishlist. If anyone can do one it, or knows someone who can, please send them my way.
UPDATE AGAIN: If you’re really nuts and would like a Lolipop Jones shirt or whatnot, I quickly threw together a cafepress store of the bunny jumping with glee. I’ll do other doodles on request, but for now I’m going back to my emails until I cut the unread count down to something sane. Pig and the Box Shop is here.
