THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT BOOK

My new climate fiction mystery, The EarthStar Solution, is a not-for-profit book. Any profits from the sale of the book will be put back into building The Climate Story Garden as a resource for readers and authors of climate fiction with hope and heart.

I have worked on this book for ten years. It has become part of my advocacy for healing the climate. I will be so pleased if it touches hearts, changes minds, nudges people to reduce emissions, and inspires other writers to create stories that do the same.

But why a not-for-profit book? Let me explain:

In sharing it with the world, I also want to model an idea that has captured my attention—building the post-growth economy that does not feed the demands of investors for ever-increasing profits and unlimited growth. One idea for transitioning to that economy is the not-for-profit enterprise. Listen to the excellent podcast with Jennifer Hinton that explains this. Or read her books and articles here.

We often think of profit as the evil that is wrecking the Earth because profit always needs to grow to satisfy investors, forcing corporations to increase consumer demand for their product or cut costs by depressing wages or polluting the environment. As a result, they plunder Earth’s resources, including the climate, as if those resources are unlimited.

However, profit can have a different role. Instead of reaping profit for personal gain, profits can be used to make life on this planet better. It can be a constructive twist on our capitalistic system. And it is already happening. There are currently many foundation-owned companies that are very successful, especially in Northern Europe.

I’ve mentioned this idea in a previous post, discussing a book by Jennifer Hinton and Donnie Maclurcan. They co-wrote How on Earth: Flourishing in a Not-for-Profit World by 2050. Their basic premise is that the problem with capitalism isn’t the profit motive. The problem is what happens to the profit after it is created. In the current system, profits are siphoned off to enrich investors and not used to invest in the workers, the business, the community, or the environment.

Profit becomes the false god we bow down to in worship. Yet, profit can be the servant instead, used to help others, or used to clean the water, restore species, and stabilize the climate so human society can thrive. The not-for-profit enterprise can move us toward a more sustainable economy.

In my own small way, I want to try this out with profit from my book, using it to help the Garden grow. I’m not focusing on maximizing sales and therefore profit. My goal is to have it read widely, and my plan is to offer a free review copy of The EarthStar Solution to anyone who subscribes to The Climate Story Garden for the next six months to build up subscriptions. It will still be offered for sale to help pay expenses for growing the Garden.

So, spread the word. You can share my announcement post with your friends and social media followers by sending this link to them: https://www.climatestorygarden.com/subscribe-to-get-a-free-review-copy/.

Let them know the newsletter is free. Mention that they can also purchase the book, if they prefer, as an ebook or paperback from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, or Apple. Any proceeds beyond expenses will benefit the Garden.

The bottom line: healing the climate is more valuable to me than any amount of money. What is money worth if my grandchildren face a very bleak future?

For me, money’s only value comes from using it to clean up our climate mess, and my part of that is The Climate Story Garden.

Read my book. Help me build the garden. Get this book out into the world.