Hand to hand Books: How It Works

What follows are the notes from inside the frontispiece of The Trouble with Wisdom. Readers are asked to sign the Readers' List (below), which allows subsequent readers to see where the book has traveled. It becomes the story of the book across the six degrees of separation.

A New Publishing Paradigm

A book sitting on a shelf has lost its voice.

Hand to Hand is a grassroots publishing and purchasing innovation that saves resources and money. It asks each reader to pay just $5 to help defray the author’s publishing costs, and to pass the book to another reader who is also willing to support it and pass it on. This ensures its journey from hand to hand and builds community between readers and authors through use of the honor system.

Here's Why: 1) Books are smart technology—portable, durable, tactile and organic. And they carry culture. But when owned, they are relegated to shelves. Earth’s resources and the author’s voice are lost. Hand to Hand Books believes that most readers care for both things. 2) Authors are normally paid between $1 and $2 per copy. To better support the source of the art, all Hand to Hand Books income goes directly to the author, who pays all publishing costs. 3) Readers save money by spending only a fraction of the cost of a new book. They also foster community by discussing the book and its reader-distribution plan in person and online.

To Begin: 1) Sign in on the facing page to document the book on its journey and 2) donate $5 on the website using the Paypal button. Or send a check to Hand to Hand Books, P.O. Box 123, Dorset, VT 05251. If you have comments, please share them on the website.

To Continue: Consider the next reader, and then pass on both the book and the awareness of stewarding it in this paradigm. You can proliferate new seed copies by guiding friends to order them through this website (Buy Now) or through Hand to Hand Books. Email: h2hbooks@sover.net.

To End: The Readers’ List describes the journey of the book. To assess the paradigm, Hand to Hand Books requests the final reader (when the copy disintegrates) to detach it and to send it to the above address.

Two Moons: Donating as soon as this copy comes to you speeds the printing of new copies. And please pass it before two cycles of the moon. To own it conventionally, use "Buy Now" on the website.

(On the facing page of the frontispiece is the Readers List)

          Seed Copy # __________

 

The Trouble with Wisdom

 

Readers List

(The Hand to Hand Journey of This Copy)

 

       Name             City, State (& Country)              Date

                  

1)________________________________________________________

 

2)________________________________________________________

 

3)________________________________________________________

 

4)________________________________________________________

 

5)________________________________________________________

 

6)________________________________________________________

 

8)________________________________________________________

 

9)________________________________________________________

 

10)_______________________________________________________

 

11)_______________________________________________________

 

12)_______________________________________________________

 

13)_______________________________________________________

 

14)_______________________________________________________

 

A note to the final reader:

When this copy disintegrates and can no longer be passed on,

please carefully remove this page and send it to:

Hand to Hand Books,

P.O. Box 123, Dorset VT USA 05251

Through this, we can assess the viability of the paradigm.

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