I'm never out there on the cutting edge of new ideas. Instead, I stumble across them long after they've come and gone, but that doesn't diminish my excitement in finding them.

Thus it is with a guy called Kevin Kelly, who came up with an idea called the 1000 true fans model.

Basically, he says if an artist, writer, composer, can gather up a thousand fans who are willing to spend money--Kelly suggests a rational amount, on said artists work, that artist can make a decent living and go on producing material without the nagging worry of where his next mortgage payment is coming from.

Kelly says in his blog at www.kk.org/thetechnorium/archives, I am suggesting there is a home for creatives in between poverty and stardom. Somewhere lower than stratospheric bestsellerdom, but higher than the obscurity of the long tail. I don't know the actual true number, but I think a dedicated artist could cultivate 1,000 True Fans, and by their direct support using new technology, make an honest living. I'd love to hear from anyone who might have settled on such a path.

Well, people responded. For instance, in 1999 John Kelsey and Bruce Schneier published a model for this in First Monday, an online journal. They called it the Street Performer Protocol.

Using the logic of a street performer, the author goes directly to the readers before the book is published; perhaps even before the book is written. The author bypasses the publisher and makes a public statement on the order of: "When I get $100,000 in donations, I will release the next novel in this series."  Or $10,000--or whatever figure seems generous to you.

Readers can go to the author's Web site, see how much money has already been donated, and donate money to the cause of getting his novel out. Note that the author doesn't care who pays to get the next chapter out; nor does he care how many people read the book that didn't pay for it. He just cares that his $100,000 pot gets filled. When it does, he publishes the next book. In this case "publish" simply means "make available," not "bind and distribute through bookstores." The book is made available, free of charge, to everyone: those who paid for it and those who did not.

I like this a lot. As a writer, my writing friends and I bemoan the fact that none of us are on the elusive best seller list. Maybe we should stop beating ourselves up for not achieving that, and start thinking in terms of a thousand fans.

Me, I'd settle for 300 true fans, why be greedy?

How about you?