Prior to the ambitious Thesaurus Canada book project, the plan is to have a local, Manitoba treasure hunt. Free, on a new website, $1,500 prize. This will be a signal flare/pilot project for Thesaurus Canada. New stuff for me :-|
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I'm starting to look favourably on a crawl, then walk, then run model. That is Plan O, self-published TC with training wheels, then Thesaurus Canada.
 
 
 
 

What is the flavour problem? Treasure hunts are fun games where you try to get a treasure. But the location of the treasure is secret; you have to figure it out. If I use flavour A for an early treasure hunt, people will associate that style with Manitoba, me, when it's used in Thesaurus Canada. We also want to avoid a situation where people won't buy books because there are no active hunts in their province. Flavour A hunts could have other little issues too. See above.
 
 
 
 

Publishers, proper publishers vs. self publishing, is a separate topic.

I've been checking out publishing.

Self publishing would have its ups and downs. One advantage of self publishing is you would have control over timing. Self publishing is apparently good for niche books. A book series works well. This self publishing business makes it feel more doable.

Traditional publishing would have advantages. A bigger publishing house would offer an advance, which would come in handy. There would be an editor for the narrative treasure hunt. Cover art and layout would be taken care of. They would work on the accounting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thesaurus Canada works in English and in French. Right? It's thésaurus in French (shouldn't the last s be silent?). The accent shakes things up. Thesaurus Canada was chosen because the Greco-Roman word works in English and French. Thesaurus Canada might be renamed. What should it be renamed to? Treasure Canada? Uninspired, but also unambiguous. Treasure Hunt Canada (THC) would be interesting.
 
 

Should I use the term criteria, quotas, or requirements?
 
 

Should I use the term variety instead of diversity? Same meaning, less baggage.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

If these conditions are not met, the project will not happen (well ... see the Book page).
 
 

This is ambitious and has the criteria to be followed. The first book in the series could be Thesaurus Canada light, TC with training wheels, with fun hunts but the criteria do not have to be followed. Could be self published.
 
 
 
 

Make whatever kind of treasure hunt you feel like. Having said that, a hunt with illustrations Whistill, The Secret 13th is useful. Even better is a narrative hunt, a story, partly because it would pad out the page count.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Different types of treasure hunts are desired, so there is a soft quota. Narrative, poems Utah, salad, ciphers, pictures Masquerade, word play, map, word search. Sequential puzzle, where one clue helps you figure out the next. Sequential road trip, going from spot to spot like in a Hollywood movie. A hike in the country. History (more subject than puzzle type).

Salad is my vague term meaning a treasure hunt uses a number of these types of puzzles at once. A ticket, a newspaper article, a photograph, some weird symbols over there ..

Narrative hunts include autobiography (the famous big hunts do this), history, story Dyscordia, mystery, I propose a ghost story. A long-winded narrative treasure hunt is not just desired but needed, even in a relaxed TC light. That's because it would fill out page count.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Here is an early look at what to do about money. Designers would get paid a percentage of sales as a fellow member of the team. The person who places the treasure should be compensated; it's more work than it sounds. A designer would be paid twice for two treasure hunts. Tasks like website work or translation would not be compensated. Would treasure hunt art be paid for by the designer? The person who puts together the book, arranging this and that, would get .. Money would have to go toward, oh, a cover artist.

Money going toward treasure would be .. a mess, if you think it through. I have decided that each designer must provide the treasure for his own hunt. Potential designers might recoil from this, but here are some things to consider. This would mean cleaner lines. Responsibility and decisions would be decentralised. It's actually normal for designers to fund the treasure for their hunts. What should we do if John has a big $12,000 treasure, or Veronica is impoverished?

If you aim to make money, you've probably come to the wrong place. Lady Liberty