Discovery on Kickstarter

Image Source: Kickstarter

My friends and fans have heard all about how they can help support me and the completion of The Evenarian on Kickstarter, but I want to take this moment to give a shout-out to some other great projects I have stumbled upon while clicking through the crowd-funding site.

Those of you that aren't familiar with Kickstarter might be excited to learn that there are more than publishing projects on the site. In fact, there are some great technology, film, fashion and art projects kicking off in every day.

Here are some that caught my eye and I thought I'd show some love and pass on their info.

She's Beautiful When She's Angry
Mary Dore and Nancy Kennedy are working on a film that tells the story of the birth of the women's liberation movement during the 1960s.

They have already compiled a lot of archived footage and have female pioneers from then and now telling their tales.

Both documentarians are set on bringing the enthusiasm  of the 1960s back for women that are now struggling to keep the rights won for them so many years ago.

With 11 days left in their campaign, they still have another $40,000 to raise and reach their $75,000 goal. Check them out.

Downturn Abbey
Accomplished author Michael Gerber of the Barry Trotter series is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund an book-length parody of the British costume drama Downton Abbey.

As the author puts it in his blog: 

"For over 20 years, I have been producing books and magazines for myself and others, and I can tell you: Downturn Abbey is a corker. (I thought the book was going to be in every bookstore in the US for Christmas, so I really sweated the details.) Readers of the US edition of Barry Trotter know that I show a level of care with my projects almost unheard of at big publishing houses. Sad but true."

I certainly know that story but the great news is he has reached his goal -- but we all have stretch goals too.

Image Source: Kickstarter

He has just passed $5,045 of funding, surpassing his $3,500 goal.

Whooz

Image Source: Kickstarter

These are vinyl designed stickers you can apply to Apple product cords and chargers. This great idea is very close to my heart. As an Apple product user in the Apple-centric city of San Francisco, I am constantly having to keep an eye on my chargers and make sure I leave coffee shops and friends' houses with all my accessories.

Whooz not only assures that no one mistakes your cords with theirs but also gives your computer some fun individuality.

I like to think that hosting a Kickstarter campaign is about more than just using a website and its tools. Kickstarter is more like a club that supports members' creative endeavors  It's really fun to discover new ideas and even pledge some dinero to a couple that I think should see the light of day rather than later.

Week One Success!

Image Source: All Posters

I'm seven crazy, fun days into The Evenarian's Kickstarter campaign and I am overjoyed to report that we are 65% of the way to our funding goal of $5,000. A staggering 71 friends and fans have pledged just over $3,400 to help get my book into print.

In order to increase the value going to my current supporters and future backers, I recently unlocked a new reward level on Kickstarter. For $41, anyone can get the regular or e-book version of The Evenarian, plus have their name printed in the book's thank-you page and get a thank-you postcard and social media kudos from me.

I want to continue offering new reward levels with each funding goal we cross. The next reward level I will unlock will be when we break the $5,000 funding goal. But until then, it's a secret. If you have already pledged and like the sound of a new or different reward level, you can always adjust your pledge amount at point before the end of November.

I am so excited to make it through the first hurdle with such a boom, but now comes the challenge of keeping up the momentum and finding people outside my close circle who will support this creative cause.

So at this point, I am asking all those that have already been kind enough to pledge to share my campaign with others - especially people I may not already be connected to. Share Evenarian-related posts on Facebook, tweet about the campaign or tell your friends in person - whatever works for you.

The campaign has 22 days to go. I can't wait to see where this adventure takes me!

Kickstarter campaign is LIVE

Image Source: Twabbit.wordpress.com

Come one, come all! The day I've been telling you about is finally here. No, the book is not yet complete, but I have shot past the half-way point, for those of you keeping track. Today The Evenarian Kickstarter has launched and you are cordially invited to check out this crowd-sourcing campaign and make your pledge.

As I have been hard at work banging out gripping pages for my upcoming fantasy novel, many of you have asked when you can contribute to the cause. Today is the day you finally can.

Since success on Kickstarter is closely tied to a campaign's starting momentum, I'm asking for contributors to make their pledges on Day One for maximum impact.

How to pledge:

1.              Go to this link

2.              Choose the level of support you wish to give.

3.              If you are new to Kickstarter, you can create an account or link it to your Facebook account for speed and ease.

4.              Then click on the “continue to Amazon” link to complete the payment.

5.       Once you have pledged your chosen amount, you can share this pledge via Facebook or Twitter. I would greatly appreciate everyone spreading the word!

Remember that the campaign runs for just 30 days (the month of November), and if the $5,000 goal is not reached, then we don’t receive any of the pledged funds.

I will keep all of you apprized of the campaign's progress throughout the month. If you haven’t done so yet, join the Kickstarter Facebook event page, check out my blog, Kickstarter profile, Facebook and Twitter where I will be sharing this experience and the process of creating a novel.

Stay tuned, because in coming days I will be sharing some sneak peeks into some elements of the novel that I can’t complete without your support.

Thanks again!

Editing is a dirty job, but someone has to do it

Image Source: Excuseeditor.com

Have you ever read a magazine article or even a menu at a local restaurant and been struck by a glaring editing mistake? It happens to me all the time. From simple misspellings to just plain bad grammar, I can't help but see it. My years in journalism taught me that editing mistakes take away from the reader's experience and can be embarrassing to boot. 

As an author, I have experienced both the frustration of running into these errors everywhere I look as well as catching mistakes that I make while writing The Evenarian.

When you are churning out hundred of pages and already going through multiple rounds of edits, all those paragraphs start to look like alphabet soup. This is why I have decided to push my inner copyeditor aside and hand my novel over to a professional editor with a fresh set of eyes. Because heaven help me if there's a single subject-verb disagreement in the book!

However, the real issue with getting a professional to dive into editing an entire novel is that they tend to want to be paid for their time - and rightfully so.

In order to fund this quest for the most high-quality novel possible, I am asking friends, family and grammar sticklers alike to support my upcoming Kickstarter campaign to offset the editing cost before I shop for a publisher.

If you are a fellow fan of error-free reading, then please pledge support for my campaign and share the event with friends and family.

My red pen thanks you!