I come here seeking talented fans of Jack Vance, the Hugo and Nebula award winning author of many an SF & F novel and story. I head a project (with full permission) to translate Jack Vance into Esperanto. Yes really, no kidding, Esperanto.That being the case, I perforce gave up any hope of so much as breaking even, much less making a profit twenty-some long years ago. Still I persist because it is fun. To date I my effort runs to about 200k words divided across two whole novels and part of a third (in his Dying Earth series), plus one novella, and four short stories. All are published as free ebooks on-line. Utterly, completely and totally free. All download from a wholly ad-free website. Such is my hobby.
More importantly yet, my little project was authorized by Jack Vance himself. And since his death in 2013, remains fully authorized by his heir and estate. The official Jack Vance website and mine are interlinked.
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I have a small, international team, mostly proofreaders, audio readers and also a very few illustration artists among them. So as not to tax anyone's generosity over-much, I search from time to time in hope of finding yet other Jack Vance fans who might enjoy to contribute. One or two illustrators would be very welcome indeed, as some of my translated stories are wholly lacking. Hence I have come here a mooching, but not without first having donated hundreds, possibly even more than a thousand, hours on the project myself. All uncompensated for except for joy of the effort itself.
So then, what of any members here? Might there be one who counts themself a most ardent fan of my own favorite author, the one and only Jack Vance? You'd need to be that because just like the rest of us, my own self included, you'd be contributing effort for free. What I am most in need of at present is chapter-head illustrations for a couple short stories. Black and white line art, in the main, so as to be in keeping with the 60's & 70's era pulp-fiction genre. Visit our website and download the first book there listed for an example, if you so wish. Email me from the website (or straight from here) if that be the case.
http://esperanto.usYour contribution would, of course, be clearly attributed. And no commercial use would be made of it ever. Each e-book has an section titled "Atribuoj" wherein is listed all who contribute. Another section details the Creative Commons license forbidding all derivative works or any commercial use. For three or more drawings, I list the illustrator's name additionally on the ebook's title page, and likewise on the website itself. But as I said, since the project consistently operates at a loss, never does anyone receive pay, myself least of all. I trust that my mooching shall not offend insofar as I myself have put in many hundreds of hours toward the same goal, meanwhile absorbing all the expenses. This I can do since to earn my own living I work as an aerospace test engineer. But when you're a fan, and can afford it, then that's what one does. Perhaps one of you might be such a fan.