Ongoing communication via updates throughout the course of a crowdfunding campaign is work, but updates are proven to be a major factor in campaign success, so don’t scrimp on them.
Here are just a few of the reasons why:
Read MoreBeauty is in the Eye…
Cybill was THE model of teenage perfection in the 1970s, as visualized in Cover Girl ads in many issues of influential magazines, like this one.
I’m a pretty typical late Baby Boomer woman, I think. I grew up in an era (a really long one) where women were objectified constantly in the media (not that we’re entirely finished doing that) and where certain cultural definitions of beauty were foisted on young women at a most vulnerable time in life–high school.
Literary Lighthouse: Crafting Effective Book Titles (& Sub-Titles)
One question I get often is “How do I make sure I craft the best title for my non-fiction book?” It’s a great question and shows that an author is clued in to how important is their book’s title (and sub-title!). Why is it so important? I think there are a few reasons, and maybe others have other ideas. (If so, please comment!) Here are a few of the most important: Read More
The Gift of the Other
Today is my birth year birthday. I was born in 1958, and today I turn 58 years old. I was only recently acquainted with this special birthday and decided it was a random reason to do a little thinking. (Apparently there’s also a “golden” birthday, which happens when your birthday falls on the day of your birth [i.e. if you were born on a Thursday, every birthday that falls on Thursday is golden.] I think. If you know it’s different, please comment!) But only the birth year birthday happens once in a lifetime.
Selecting Advance Reviewers: Combine These 5 Types for Biggest Bang
Think about what influences you when you browse for a book…do you read the book’s description, maybe read a passage or two, and check out the back cover or inside for reviews? And are you a critical reviewer of reviewers? Do you look at the credentials of the reviewers to see how “weighty” or valid they appear to be?
If you don’t, you’re atypical, according to the 2015 Canadian Book Buyers Report by BookNet Canada. Read More
Errata Non Grata: How Fresh Eyes Can Save Costly & Embarrassing Book Errors
So you know those Commandments, right? The one about adultery? God definitely meant it was a sin. Definitely. So imagine the impact when publishers of a new Bible in 1631 accidentally left out the word not in that particular commandment. Proud and loud, it advocated, nay, required that its readers fornicate away with those who weren’t their spouses by saying, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” Oops.
ABCs of Crowdfunding: S is for Story
Developing and then articulating a clear vision for your campaign is essential. You may already have a specific project in mind, like the development of a book trailer, or travel to do research for your historical project. Perhaps your goal is more general, such as paying for production costs for your book.
No matter what is your goal, it will be unique, and it will have a story. Your job is to identify and tell that story. There are four traits your story should have to help convince your communities of interest to support your campaign goals. Think of these four Cs when you’re writing your campaign story. I’ve used some examples from one of my favorite recent (and wildly successful) campaigns to which I contributed, Thin Ice and Physiclo.
What I Learned About Life From Berry-Picking
When I was a pre-teen, we moved out of the city to a rural acreage. We did this because my brother had died tragically at 19 in a car accident, and my mother couldn’t bear living in the house where he’d been raised. It was meant to be a fresh start for our family, and it was full of new adventures. The first thing that happened was that my sister and I got horses. The property housed a large dog kennel operation, which we inherited. It became the focus of our lives for the next seven years.
Healthy Blackberry Crisp
Prep Time: 15 minutes (not counting berry-picking! 🙂
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Cooling Time: 10-15 minutes
Time to table: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4 (I always double this at least, bake in separate pans and freeze the extra.)
Morning Pages: Ivanka Schmanka
So I grew up in Kansas at a time when the state was Republican, but had a Democrat as its governor. Is it any wonder I was politically conflicted? The older I get the more I realize that left and right party ideals are not nearly as black and white as they used to be. And in those decades, the traditional two parties have devolved into a spectrum of grays, like center Republicans (are they conservative Democrats?) and other splinters like the Tea Party that some describe as just a smidge left of the Ku Klux Klan. So these days I define myself more by what I feel is right and wrong to me rather than by a party affiliation. Read More