by Mister Money
First published 2017
Mister Money sits at his computer, typing what he calls both a shameless capitalist venture and a social experiment. Armed with a PhD in social science but lacking the elite connections of internet billionaires, he creates an absurdly expensive book designed to extract maximum profit from wealthy buyers. The project stems from a metaphorical wager with his wife, one he plans to celebrate endlessly if even a single copy sells. He targets rich Instagram users and trust fund recipients who can afford his inflated prices, positioning the purchase as either a status symbol or an act of charity. The book functions as his alternative to crowdfunding, wrapped in academic pretense and brutal honesty about his financial needs. Each sale would cover months of his mortgage, his toddler's health insurance, or the college fund he cannot otherwise afford. The experiment tests whether people will buy anything with minimal marketing effort, while the author wrestles with his own economic limitations in a system that favors the already privileged.
Genres: fiction, satire, business, contemporary, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, satirical, thought-provoking
Tropes: social-commentary, unreliable-narrator
Period: 21st-Century
28 pages · Paperback · Createspace Independent Publishing Platform