Calling for Year-End Reports and New Year's Resolutions

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm working on notes for my year-end reports as well as for my 2012 plans and goals.  I'd like to invite other folks to share theirs too.

Creators:  Did you host a crowdfunding project during 2011?  If so, please consider posting a year-end report about what you did and how well it worked for you, along with any major news in project development.

Do you have plans for a new project in 2012, or expansions and refinements in a current project?  Share your creative goals here too.

Patrons and fans:  What crowdfunding project(s) did you support during 2011?  Are you looking for anything new in 2012?  Maybe someone else is thinking along similar lines.

Everyone:  What do you think about this community?  How well is it meeting your needs?  Are there things you'd like to see more or less of here?  Let us know what the crowdfunding community does for you.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>On the other hand it limits how much detail I can put in and get the image done in a reasonable time (considering that it doesn't pay much, and since it's mostly character- or pet portraits, I don't really expect interest from people other than the one who requested an image, RE buying originals the requesters did not want, or buying prints, to be a bit mercenary.)<<

You might be surprised what people will like. I've sold poems that I thought were really personal -- to someone other than the original prompter. Then too, consider that you may pick up character portraits that already have an audience attached. I tend to spread out my requests across my series, but sooner or later I'm likely to ask for a portrait of one of my more popular characters, and then prints might be worthwhile. I'm not the only person running multiple series; you could well pick up someone else who is.

Notice that you're not in direct competition with anyone else. djinni is mostly doing icons. meeksp is doing whole scenes. You've staked out a small but not tiny character portrait size, and you're good at it and can do various styles; that's likely to catch on.

Another possibility, if you'd like to do some larger pictures, would be making that a perk or a donation option. Frex, you might say if you get 12 participants, you'll randomly select one to get a picture at the next size larger (whatever standard sizes you work with). Or you could just set a donation threshold for a larger size picture, maybe $20 since you already have one at $10.

>>On the third hand just getting more practise would do me good. That mule was a challenge, and I was pretty happy with the result.<<

I've found it highly valuable to set a combination of monetary and nonmonetary goals for my projects. Practice is often one of them -- frex, with Schrodinger's Heroes I started out practicing script writing as for podcasts (a format that never interested me before) and then got into exploring comics and how to write for those.

Maybe think of some techniques in art that you'd like to improve? Or set a theme for something you draw sort-of well to see if you can get the hang of it better?

>>What's important there is that it does not stress me out - I have a tendency to freeze up when I take on too much. That includes that I don't want to make things too complicated bookkeeping-wise.<<

Okay, so you know that and you can work with it. Ideally, goals should be where you can reach them with a bit of a stretch, not too easy but not daunting either. Then as you meet them, you can gradually raise the bar higher.

I try to keep my bookkeeping fairly straightforward, although it does add up. Some folks I know have marvelous but intricate systems that I could never handle. But that's okay. My system works tolerably well for me, so I know who's reached various donation thresholds. If you start simple you can let the system evolve along with your project; that seems to be the best way.

Re: Thoughts

[ankewehner.livejournal.com]

I'll be experimenting with how to add larger format things to the call, yep, thanks for the additional ideas.

I'm using a spreadsheet with name (and link to their request), amount donated and people referred. If I get more practise, I might add linkbacks, too, but I'm leaving that out for now.
I'm also counting referrals as an extra tip since that is easier than coming up and keeping track of a separate kind of perk.

I'm trying a few things for the "not wanting to get overwhelmed" bit: staggering plugs over a few days (so I can start on the first requests before the last come in, rather than having all of them up front), or this time not promising art by a date.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions and encouragement!

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you have some good plans in progress. I look forward to watching your projects develop.