Now, where is Mirth and Company? Short answer is that it is growing and in constant development, if a bit slowly. Mirth (standard shorthand for MirthnCo and Mirth and Company if the explanation is needed) is a content company. At its core, it is about stories that stretch the imagination, prompt creativity, and, of course, entertain.
As I wrote earlier, I would like to experiment more than writing stories and shopping them to publishers. That is a perfectly respectable approach for many, however, I think there are many, many other approaches and possibilities out there. I have the ability and opportunity to try them.
First, Mirth and Company will share its stories through a regular podcast. Now, as a I wait for you to pick up your jaw and dust yourself of, I know that podcasts are not ground breaking or shocking. I could start self-publishing .pdf’s on a website but without any traction or audience, then I’d be waiting awhile for readers.
Enter the podcast. The goal is to entertain in multiple mediums so that interesting listeners can find the stories on different platforms. Podcast provide an easy to search, easy to find, and easy to utilize medium. Stories on a long (or even short) drive are awesome for kids. Bedtime stories through podcast are really helpful for the exhausted parent or babysitter. However, podcasts have their limitations.
Enter the tablet. An app that can access stories, in audio and written format, provides much more access to stories than through physical books. The app will likely evolve over time, starting from simple access to stories growing into reading assistance and activities. I love the idea of using my stories to help kids read! But what about when kids age past the stories? Well, first, the age range for my stories is growing as my children are. My best inspiration is still telling Calvin stories at bedtime. (I tell the babies “stories” but not really.) I hope they provide years of entertainment. Second, the goal is to make them shareable.
Enter the NFT. I think access to stories should be permanent and not based solely on access to the app. I think that a reader should own their stories and, when they decide to move on, be able to transfer them for some value. There are a number of technical challenges to this which is why it will not likely be the starting point. In the weeks and months to come you will see me experiment with NFT’s and blockchain, partly out of curiosity and enthusiasm but also experimenting to get this part of the plan off the ground.
Finally, enter the physical book. It is my eventual goal to allow children and readers to collect physical books. I have a couple of ideas how to make this possible. Printing books is the most cost-prohibitive element of publishing and carries the largest risk – which is why publishers love e-books! After getting information, feedback, and data from the above, I believe that we can build a system to get real books into the hands of as many of Mirth and Company’s readers as possible!
There are other plans, elements, and ideas in the works but this is the main game plan for Mirth and Company. As always, I would love feedback, comments, and ideas. Thank you!