Rose and Bay Awards Update

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

We're continuing to make progress with the Rose and Bay Awards.  Please keep spreading the word.

Activity Report
Here are the current tallies for the categories.

Art -- 4 projects nominated.  We still need more here.
Fiction -- 21 projects nominated.  This category is doing fine.
Poetry -- 4 projects nominated.  We really need more poetry too.
Other Project -- 11 projects nominated.  Remember webcomics go here; more nominations are welcome.
Patron -- 12 people nominated.  More would be good; every active creator should be nominating patrons here.

Promotional Materials and Art
We are continuing to create materials to support the award. Here are some things you may find helpful for promotion.

Use the landing page as a focal point when you are telling people about the Rose and Bay Awards.  This page describes the award and its rules, gives links to the individual nomination pages, lists our volunteers, notes features in progress, and explains how people can help.  Most links about the award should point here, unless you are talking about a specific nomination page.

Artwork, including Nominee badges, is here.  We would like to thank all the folks who have posted the various badges and banners on their blogs!

Introduction!

[ceciliatan.livejournal.com]

Just read the actual userinfo on this comm--which I've really been enjoying, by the way--and saw this: Introductions: When you first join this community, please make an introductory post telling folks who you are and what you do. Are you a creative person, a donor, or both? What kind of goods or services do you offer? What kind do you like to read or view? Why do you like crowdfunded creativity?

So, hi, I'm Cecilia Tan, and I've been a pro writer since I was a teenager which was (mumble) decades ago. I've published a lot through the 'traditional' press, but I've turned to web publishing of various kinds because traditional print publishing is in such crisis now.

I have one main crowdfunded serial going on right now, called Daron's Guitar Chronicles, which updates every M/W/F and although I just added some Project Wonderful ads to the site, probably if it makes anything it will be from donors. It launched November 1st, and so far hasn't earned anything, but I would rather be trying to put it out there and at least having READERS enjoying it, rather than it moldering in a drawer. But I would like to see if I can make the crowdfunded model work.

The novel-serial is written from Daron's point of view, and so I've given him his own Twitter account, and he's bucking for his own LiveJournal, but I told him he can write "liner notes" posts on the novel site if he really wants. So he's doing that. Most of the comments on the site, what few we've gotten, have been directed at him, so he's answered them. I don't know if the audience will eventually get intrigued by that, I hope so, but even if they don't, I'm having fun with it.

As a reader I've gotten easily sucked into several other online novels. I have gotten more and more out of the habit of reading physical books and more and more into reading fanfic online, and that has made an easy transition to reading original fic and ebooks for me.

Save the Dragons - Chapter 23

[masgramondou.livejournal.com]

Chapter 23 of "Save the Dragons" about "Right hand men" (sounds a bit sinister to me) is now up

http://www.savethedragons.nu/

There are only 2 more chapters to go now and then Dave has reached his goal of $10,000. However please continue to give and to spread the word as the costs of quarantine are not met by the $10,000 target as Dave explains in the FAQ:

The costs explained: The animals need to spend 210 days in quarantine, 30 of which must be in Australia, and 90 in South Africa. The cheapest option is for them to spend the maximum time, i.e. 180 days, in South Africa. The lowest quote we have from one of the kennels is R150,000. ($19,633 US) which also includes their flights to Australia.

Then in Australia we'll need a further AUS $5,713 ($4,800US.)

We had budgeted US$6,000 of income for all of this (which was worth just over R60,000 and is now worth R45,000) and the total cost - at today's exchange rate - is $24,433.00. There is no way that we have that, given that we also have to spend a lot of money to move and then start anew in Australia. But with a bit of this and that I hope we can get there if we add $10,000 we're targeting here. However if we raise that then we'll still end up with a shortfall of nearly $14 500. Subtracting the budgeted $6,000 means we're still looking for another $8,500 - however we do have 6 months to find $4,500 we'd have to spend in Australia. So this means we would have to find $4000 more than we planned immediately (or in other words we will spend about equal to our minimum target - $10,000, and then have to find another $4500 in 6 months)

If we fail to raise $10,000 then we can't do this at all. Any more will go to offset some of the costs. If we ever reach pie-in-the sky $20,000 we will be shutting down the paypal facility and we'll use anything that's left towards the costs of the site etc. and anything further that is left will go to CorgiAid Inc.