crowdfunding | Entries tagged with spotlight

minor-architect.livejournal.com

Hello, everyone! I've been asked to reprise the comments I made about those who support crowdfunded projects, which I posted to my own journal last week. So here is that entry again - although edited to make it less of a rant and more fit for general consumption. :)

I've been following the

crowdfunding community's turn in the LiveJournal Spotlight, since I'm a patron of several art, poetry, and fiction projects. On the first day, I noticed two posts with similar themes: "On Patronage" by

the_vulture and "Let’s Discuss How Creators Can Attract Customers and Patrons" by

laffingkat. While the former concentrated on the patron's perspective, in what I believe was an effort to encourage more patrons to discuss their reasons for donating, the latter encouraged both patrons and creators to share their thoughts - which many creators did, quite enthusiastically.

Comments to the "Let's Discuss" post: 40. Comments to the "On Patronage" post: 4. [Author's note: At the time of this writing, those numbers stood at 53 and 30, respectively.]

The disparity between these numbers worries me because it implies that the patrons who read those posts weren't willing to make their voices heard. But we should be hearing from them as much as we're hearing from creators, because as the title of this entry suggests, patrons put the "funds" into "crowdfunding." Without patrons to support them, most independently-produced films and albums or prompted art and fiction projects wouldn't survive past the "free trial" stage. Not only does this limit everyone's entertainment options, it also keeps outstanding creators from doing the work at which they excel because they're forced to take other jobs to feed themselves. And that leaves us to the small mercies of the Big Industries, which aren't always receptive to the wants of their customers.

Fortunately, the creators of crowdfunded projects are receptive to our wants - or they need to become so, if they intend to keep the patrons they've wowed with their talent. So speak up! Tell the creators you admire what you'd like to see from them! (Politely, of course; as they say, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.") Start your own discussions here at the

crowdfunding community so there's more balance between the creator-driven posts and the patron-driven ones. (Bonus: this also increases communication between the two groups that should be talking to each other, anyway.)

[Author's second note: Casting your vote in this poll would also help the entire community get a better idea of just how many patrons are circulating here.]

Drive the point home: we're one half of this equation, too. Crowdfunding patrons of the world, unite!

ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com

I'm pleased to present this interview with Steven Lambert aka jadedeath . One of the co-creators of Aether Dancer, he also serves as the producer and director. Aether Dancer is a steampunk television show, currently in crowdfunding at IndieGoGo to raise money for filming the pilot episode. That campaign is currently at $515 of $50,000 with 27 days left. Let's sit down with Steve and find out what makes this project so exciting!

( Pull up a chair and join the conversation... )

Current Mood: busy

red-trillium.livejournal.com

While I do create, I don't currently use my photography for crowdfunding. I mostly drop coins into crowdfunding-hats (both the virtual and the literal kinds).

ysabetwordsmith asked some of us who are more patronly-inclined to share our thoughts on crowdfunding.

In real-life I've supported musicians and a street performer (mime) who busk on the street I work on. I sometimes go on a walk at lunch to get away from the frustrations at work and to specifically drop coins in hats along the way.

Online I've supported a film, stories, art, photography, poetry, divination, a small publisher and a start-up business. Wow, when I list it I didn't realise how much I've done in the last year and a half to couple of years being introduced to the concept of Crowdfunding!

Most of my online support has been to people I've met on LiveJournal or Dreamwidth. I start by enjoying their work and after reading/viewing for awhile realise I really want to support their efforts and show my appreciation. It's kind of a "thank you, please do something again soon!". I've also supported a couple of things over on Kickstarter. There's a lot on there and I try to keep my budget under control so I don't tend to support a lot there.

Recently I discovered a musician I really like. She's working on building a music career. She busks on Queen Street (legal if you have a license and follow a few rules), has a cd, plays at farmer's markets. I've heard her a couple times on Queen Street but don't usually get the chance to listen for very long. When I found she'd be playing at a local farmer's market I jumped at the chance!

I had a good time, felt myself relaxing as I walked around and picked up some stuff and then later sat and listened to her play. It was nice to connect and just take time to enjoy her voice and her music. I realised I wasn't used to the smaller audience and more direct contact with a musician. I don't usually sit and watch the buskers at work for very long, and other than that I haven't watched much live music in decades other than large-audience concerts and I have missed it.

Crowdfunding is like that visit. As a society we seem to become more accustomed to mass-produced things, from the food we buy to the gifts, to our entertainment. Face-to-face interactions with artists becomes less common, and I wonder if people will become uncomfortable with it or not realise it's ok, that it's a great way to influence and further be influenced by art/artists.

khaoskomix.livejournal.com

I’m Tab Kimpton. I write a webcomic called Khaos Komix, a GLBT Queer teen comic. It’s been online 5 years now (which is a scary thought and makes me feel old), has 40,000 hits a day and has been picked up by the publisher Rosalarian.

But even now when I say that I’m a webcomic author, I see that little sneer in people. I’m sure comic artists get this all the time anyway, but my sneer is slightly more pronounced. I think it’s because I’m not only drawing silly comics, I’m doing them on the internet, which we all know isn’t real anyway.

I think it’s quite funny. All of the supposed “downsides” to webcomics are actually what make them amazing.

They’re free! You don’t earn any money from that!

Most comics make most of their money from merchandise. For example I also write a little steampunk comic book. I can sell a 28 page comic book for £3, or a poster for £5. Posters sell more, take me less time to make and take me far less work. T-shirts are even more profitable.

By making your comic free, you’re opening it up to far more fans. More fans means more fans with money, means more merchandise, means more money.

This year alone I earned enough money from my web comic for it to be a full time job. All that money was in donations, merchandise and print copies of the books that fans decided to buy anyway, even when they could still read it free online.

Anyone can make one! Being a webcomic artist is easy, it doesn’t mean you’re actually good!

Well, you do have a point there. That’s why when I talk about my comic, I mention how many hits I get a day (to give you an idea, a quick google tells me I get the same as 1000awesomethings). With anyone having the ability to make a webcomic, it can sometimes be hard to weed through the copy pasta, lazily drawn, filler filled comics packing out the internet.

But think about it. Anyone can write a webcomic. Webcomics get such a vast range of authors, and in consequence subjects, that I would consider them to be one of the most diverse, interesting and creative forms of media that exists today.

To use myself as an example, (because I am a fantastic example of this) if I hadn’t written a webcomic, I would have never been published. I write about gay things, and while the world is changing, people aren’t exactly banging at my door begging to publish my stories where the girls kiss each other. This is also because while I like drawing comics, I’m not a great artist. I wouldn’t have met the standard to be published as a comic writer, especially with my earlier work. Maybe in a few years time I could have presented work to a publisher and been picked up, but without drawing my comic I wouldn’t have gotten the drive to get better at art to get myself to a professional level. Webcomics are a transitional stage for many artists, which give them the experience in comic writing to go into other work.

By putting my comic online I have tested the market. I have proven that there are many lonely queer people out there, looking for comics that make them feel less like freaks. The same applies to any type of author out there who doesn’t want to write about characters who are straight, white, cis gendered males who’s just discovered they have super powers (though things are getting better). With no standards of publishing, webcomics make their own standards, and through that they bring amazing work that would have otherwise been ignored into the light.

But I don’t like reading things on a computer! Can’t it just be in book form?

I prefer to read things online. It could be that I was brought up on computers, so I am a child of technology, but I honestly prefer reading on my phone or desktop. I’ve read more on the computer than I have printed books (to give an idea, in my college days when I first discovered fan fiction I read for at least 4 hours a day, every day. In print books I read about 100 pages an hour, so that’s almost 300,000 pages, or 835 average length novels in the space of 2 years). There are many people out there also like me.

However not everyone is like me. Personally, I consider things and people on the internet to be as valid as things I encounter in real life. Other people are still getting used to the idea. Many people have never even used the internet, so to them my work doesn’t even exist. We’re currently moving from the physical to digital age, so it’s going to take some getting used to. Digital music is now sold online in massive quantities and the music industry is way ahead when it come to online sales, but it’s only a short amount of time until everything else catches up.

But just because something is online doesn’t mean it can’t be printed, and showing something online first tests the waters to see if people will buy it. Many webcomics get self published, which is actually a fantastic way to be published.

To put things in perspective, if you get picked up by a publisher who sells your books in stores, after the cost of printing and retail mark-up you’re only going to get around £1 per book. Normally less. Self publishing, while you’re paying the initial printing costs and have a much smaller market, you get a lot more per book.

So you’ve convinced me, how do I get into these webcomic things?

Well, as an artist your best thing is just to get working on it. The worst thing you can do in life is say you’re going to do something and never get around to it. Even if it’s rubbish, just make some work, and chuck it up onto one of the free webcomic hosts like Drunk Duck or Comic Genesis

If you’re a reader, then just go to a site like Top Webcomics, and work your way down the list until you find things you like. Then go to the links page of comics you like to see if there’s anything similar that tickles your fancy. Now enjoy the wonderful world of webcomicdom.

my-partner-doug.livejournal.com

ysabetwordsmith has encouraged me to post some thoughts about an online game I patronize, and to share aspects of the crowdfunding model that's been the company's primary source of income since October, 2004. It is a very tongue-in-cheek fantasy game, The Kingdom of Loathing, and it plays entirely in your web-browser of choice without the need to download any software. Anyone with an e-dress can open a free account, create a character, and partake in quests geared to prepare you for the ultimate challenge: freeing the King from the clutches of The Naughty Sorceress.

Your character's stats fall into three very basic categories: muscle, mysticality, and moxie, one of which is chosen by you to be your main stat. Each mainstat offers two distinct but related character classes: Turtle Tamers and Seal Clubbers for the muscle-bound; Pastamancers and Saucerors for the mysticality-minded; and Disco Bandits and Accordion Thieves for the moxie-driven. Each class can learn a distinct set of skills as they progress, utilizing them to fight a wide variety of monsters. Successful combat incurs multiple possible results, including stat gains, currency accumulation, and item acquisition, all of which improve your chances of taking on the even-stronger monsters you'll encounter at the next level. The game is almost exclusively text-based; the graphics are limited, more often than not, to simply stick-figures, although some limited animation does pop up at times. Puns abound throughout the Kingdom (for instance, the mining operation on Mt. McLargeHuge is known as the "Itznotyerzitz Mine"), as do pop culture (and other cultural) references ranging from Walt Whitman's poetry through 1960's TV cartoons on to current movie quotes and spoofs of the latest hip-hop tunes. Once you've freed the King (after completing 13 levels of play), your character can either continue to advance in level, accruing wealth and goodies from still-more-difficult gaming zones, or choose to "ascend", re-incarnating as a different character class, but keeping many of the goods, all of the wealth, and one of the skills acquired in the just-completed life; characters will continue to accrue skills each time they ascend, becoming more powerful each subsequent lifetime.

There is a thriving in-game economy, as players can sell duplicated or otherwise unwanted items in a flea market, or purchase a store in the Mall of Loathing, where investing in advertising may attract you far more business than the catch-as-catch can flea market. And it is in regard to this in-game economy that crowdfunding comes into play, for the designers have built a system which encourages, but does not require, the players to donate cash to acquire in-game items which are only available for a limited time, typically one month.

For a ten dollar donation, a player receives an item known as a "Mr. Accessory", which, unto itself, can be used in-game to increase all of the character's stats by 10 points while worn. But Mr. A's (as they're short-handed in the game) can also be traded in at the "Mr. Store" for the "Item of the Month", which can be powerful equipment, unique skills, or "familiar" sidekicks to assist you throughout your game play. Not only that, but Mr. A's have a value in in-game currency (average mall price is, as of this writing, approximately 8 million), so they can be sold to provide funds with which to purchase other equipment from either NPCs or the mall. Given the ever-increasing number of players, most early Items of the Month are in far shorter supply than the current demand, and those players that choose to sell their earlier acquisitions can make a substantial in-game profit: many such IoM's regularly pull 7- and 8-figure prices when offered in the mall.

This 'investment' aspect seriously works in the company's favor, as many players will buy multiple Mr. A's per month, trading them in for that month's limited item, then to wait patiently for the price to (hopefully) rise to where they feel it's worthwhile to 'cash in'. But even players who can't afford to donate regularly can still accrue enough currency in-game (eventually) to purchase the items they want from the mall, so nobody's excluded from collecting to the extent of their desire. And the Kingdom's parent company, Asymmetric Publications, is providing full-time work for about half-a-dozen programmers and game developers, all of whom are being paid from donated funds!

The development team (AKA TPTB, "The Powers That Be") maintains much interaction with their patrons/player base, by way of a forums network and via twice-weekly podcasts, in which current developments and player questions are discussed. There is a strong sense of community among the players, expressed both in- and out-of-game, via those same forums, formation of Clans within the game setting, multiple channels in an in-game chat room, and even a once-a-year live convention, held in the Phoenix, AZ vicinity of the company's home office.

The game's is defined by TPTB as being in a state of eternal Beta; new content is frequently added, and other aspects are tweaked as needed (or demanded by the players, to some extent). It's been running since 2003, and exclusively crowdfunded since October of 2004. Drop by, have a look, and if you like what you see, drop a k-mail (in-game e-mail system) to BillysBalloon to say "thanks" for having pointed you in that direction.

Disclaimer: I have no professional affiliation with KoL, TPTB, Asymmetric Publications, or any of its members, owners, or staff, and have received no considerations (other than encouragement from my partner,

ysabetwordsmith ) for plugging their materials in this forum. I'm just a patron who's enjoyed their efforts for about the last 5 years, and continue to play the game daily.

comicfury.livejournal.com

Hello there, crowdfunding community. I am Kyo, and I am an Administrator as well as the owner of ComicFury.com.

So yeah, we offer free Webcomic hosting, you can click that link to get to our Site. 10 days ago a lovely lady named Elizabeth contacted me and asked me introduce ComicFury to the crowdfunding community and talk about it a bit, options for crowdfunding on it and such. To be honest I'm not really sure what's expected of me here, so bear with me;

First, let me explain a bit what ComicFury is all about. We offer free Webcomic Hosting, which means that we give you an easily managable website to put your webcomics online, and some free advertising on the ComicFury website. Should you choose to enable the features, people will also be able to rate and comment on your comic pages. The whole thing is pretty community driven, people read each others comics, you can subscribe to webcomics not unlike on youtube, there's a forum, etc. Of course a lot of people also use ComicFury as a means to an end, just as somewhere to put their webcomic without participating in the community.

Now that we got the basics down let's talk about what makes ComicFury special. First of all, ComicFury is non-profit, i.e. the goal of the site is not to earn money. This is the first thing that differentiates us from similar services. In that same spirit, ComicFury will not put up any advertisements on webcomics hosted, unless you choose to voluntarily enable them to support the site (they are disabled by default). The site strives to give you as much freedom and control over your content as possible. The sites you make with ComicFury are completely customizable, and thus, if you want to, they can be completely indistinguishable from any self-hosted webcomic.

I will admit that first I was a bit unsure what to talk about in relation to crowdfunding. ComicFury doesn't explicitly help you monetize your webcomic, since it's a very community-oriented site. It's all about sharing your art, and all that good stuff. There are ways to earn money with your ComicFury site, of course, but they are nothing special. You can put your own advertisements or a donation button on your webcomic pages, but that an article about crowdfunding does not make.

I came to a realization, however, that ComicFury, and as such all the webcomics created and hosted there, are crowdfunded. This never really occured to me until yesterday, but the fact is that the average ComicFury member does not earn the site any money. There is no ad-revenue, and thus no profit from gaining new members. However, as I've previously mentioned, people both have the ability to voluntarily enable ads on their own comics as well as donate to the site. A donation history can be found here, for those interested.

There's been lots of donations ever since the option was enabled, and a lot of people enabled the voluntary advertisements on their webcomics, with no strong encouragement from the site for either. This is something I personally think is really wonderful about the community. The amount of money gained from these two sources is almost enough to reimburse all the money ever put into ComicFury, retroactively. So as a comicfury member, you basically have the ability to crowdfund your own projects in addition to those of like-minded people by donating, choosing to display advertisements on your webcomic site, or even just by bringing in new members.

I guess the moral of the story is that though people were never forced to help the site earn a penny, they did. And thus a self-supporting non-profit yes-freedom webcomic host was born.

Hope you all enjoyed this post

-Kyo

Current Mood: excited
Current Location: Germany

gallo-de-pelea.livejournal.com

Hi, my name's E.K. Weaver, and I write and draw a comic called The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal. Although it's intended for print, I've been publishing it online for the past two years, and have recently been able to take TJ and Amal to press, thanks to the magic of crowdfunding.

( Q&A on webcomics, reader support, and more )

ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com

So far there is no central hub for all kinds of crowdfunded projects. What we have are a few general communities like this one, some dedicated fundraising sites, and a bunch of sites dedicated to one specific format. Plus word-of-mouth advertising and actual ads, of course.

I usually find out about new crowdfunded projects from posts here or on Crowdfunding at Dreamwidth, occasionally freestuffday. Sometimes I hear about them from friends.

Where do you find crowdfunded projects?

Current Mood: busy

meeksp.livejournal.com

Hi, I'm Meeks. If you started following us earlier this week, you've probably seen me mentioned a disproportionate number of times for someone who's actually rather new to this whole crowdfunding thing :P I launched Story Sketches just this past April, and I really appreciate all the attention it's gotten since then!

the project
Story Sketches is a crowdfunded illustration project in which writers are invited to request art based on scenes they have written. I post rough sketches for free, and do more work on them when my audience expresses enough interest by leaving feedback comments, sending monetary tips, and linking to the image.

the reason
I studied illustration in art school, but a lot has changed since then.
The internet has empowered authors to connect directly with readers, so the big publishers who traditionally assigned stories to be illustrated are now an option rather than a necessity. Illustration and writing have always gone hand-in-hand, so I couldn't help wondering what the rise of crowdfunded weblit might mean for me as an artist. With more and more writers choosing to publish their work on the web, it seemed natural to me that illustration should follow.

What I realized is that there is unprecedented opportunity for direct collaboration between artists and writers. My strength lies not in creativity, but in my craft; I work best when other people provide the ideas. Others (most notably

djinni) were already offering icons based on audience requests, and those can be a lot of fun to do…but, fresh from my first experience as a storybook illustrator, I wanted a bigger canvas to work on. If icons can be thought of as the digital equivalent of spot illustrations, my Story Sketches are more like full-page or cover art. Most self-published writers have neither the budget, nor the need for the same usage rights that publishing companies typically license for this type of artwork, and one of my goals is to make it more accessible to them.

the benefits
Most authors, in my experience, are delighted to see their characters take visual form, so I think the *SQUEE!* factor is a big part of my project's appeal, and has probably motivated at least a few of my prompters ;) A good illustration can also capture readers' interest, and I've had more than one person comment that a sketch of mine drove them to check out the story. So, writers link their fans to my sketches, and my sketches attract new readers to their work. Readers (including me!) can find new stuff to read. Everybody wins!

the process
When an author requests a sketch, I read the story I've been asked to illustrate, and do a rough sketch, which I post here on LJ. I've divided the work needed to go from rough sketch to finished illustration into several distinct stages, and set contribution targets for each. There's a tip button at the bottom of every sketch post, and supporters can use it to fund specific revisions or help move a sketch toward the next stage. I know that a lack of money is not equivalent to a lack of enthusiasm, and I do appreciate different types of involvement, so some additional work can also be prompted by comments or linkbacks.

I try to encourage participation by soliciting feedback and incorporating suggestions from commenters when I refine a sketch. There's a weekly draw for a free custom icon to reward thoughtful critique, and I also make an effort to answer questions and take part in discussions that develop.

So far, I've been extremely fortunate in that my project seems to be attracting an audience of very talented people, many of whom have a good eye for art. Not only do they help me by pointing out what is and isn't working in my pictures, their comments will often call attention to aspects of my own art that I hadn't consciously thought about. Best of all, when creative people gather to share their thoughts, inspiration becomes infectious, and new ideas start popping up even when we don't expect them.

If you'd like to participate in the Story Sketches project, please check out my call for prompts, and feel free to browse the art I've done for others!

ellenmillion.livejournal.com

What is Sketch Fest?

Sketch Fest involves artists from all over the world, working on a pool of audience-generated prompts and ideas for up to - but no more than! - one hour an any given sketch. For 24 hours, we creatively jam, share our results with each other, and sell our work. Artists can work in any media, for any part of the 24 hours, on any of the prompts, and are welcome to sell or crowdfund their work themselves off-site, or sell them through the Sketch Fest site.

The Crowdfunding Aspect of Sketch Fest

One of the bummers of micro-funding things is that so much gets lost in the transfer - the ones really making out are services like Paypal, who take a big cut from small payments. I've set it up so that artists get a percentage of their sale back in credits (up to 90%, they set their own rate), and they can use those credits to buy other available sketches, as well as have the option to buy things ...or they can simply cash out their credits. I plan to add the tools to let people use the credits to tip writers and artists at EMG-Zine or Torn World, or the critics at Fantastic Portfolios, as well... without watching it decrease in value as it passes through hands. (They can do this manually now, just by asking me.)

What about the donation portion? These, and straight donations through the site, go to pay me to program improvements onto the webpage, which has been entirely crowdfunded. You can see a complete accounting of the improvements made for each fest here. Requested improvements are usually added to the site before the next Sketch Fest, so users get fairly immediate rewards for their donations! I choose which improvements to focus on based on direct user feedback, sometimes running a poll, sometimes asking for input, and sometimes simply distilling the emails and comments I get.

Sketches available for purchase are cleared a few hours before each Sketch Fest, so artists don't have to remember to remove them if they lose their sketch, accidentally finish it, or simply no longer want to sell it. These will clear in just an hour or so, to make room for the work that will become available as Sketch Fest #16 moves into motion!

A Brief History

Sketch Fest sprouted from Torn World's Muse Fusions, which were inspired by

ysabetwordsmith's Poetry Fishbowls, which were spawned by Harlan Ellison's Stories Under Glass.

Our first event was hosted at livejournal, on March 26th, 2010. 20 people left prompts, between 1 and about dozen apiece, 19 artists participated with sketches. It ran for 12 hours, and about 75 sketches were posted. I say 'about' because it was spread out over 239 comments, and very chaotic, indeed.

We've had nearly monthly Sketch Fests since that time (barring major surgery on my part and NaNoWriMo, which delayed the November fest to a second one in January), and each month the site has some shiny new improvements.

On average, about 50 artists participate, producing between 175 and 250 sketches, and they take home several hundred dollars in total, while funding another 3-5 hours of work on the site. We've got 2,459 total sketches on the site, and 284 pieces have been finished from sketches started during Sketch Fests.

Where are we going?

Most of the improvements I wanted to add back at the one year mark have been accomplished, but there are many things left to do... I want to add more options for artists when uploading their work (including being able to flag ACEOs, and add keywords, and add a link to buy off-site), which will lead to better ways to browse the sketches. I'd like to make better integration with the other EMG sites, so that it's easier to spend and share credits. I'd like to develop the karma (non-monetary units) system so that people are rewarded for commenting, participating and leaving prompts (this system is in its infancy - the barest of frameworks is in place). We're going to need paginated browsing on some pages in the not-so-far future, I suspect. I'd also like to discuss opening the project to other forms of art, such as writing (still bound by the one-hour limit!). It would be fun to add a meter, too, to show how many hours of improvements the Sketch Fest has earned...

I've worked on ambitious projects a lot over the years (a LOT *shakes cane*), and often find that I come out at the end with things that are close to what I had in mind, but that won't pay off for years and years (if they ever do!). Sketch Fest is vastly different in that it was entirely front-funded - and has exceeded my vision. I was paid professional programming rates at every step of the way to create exactly what was needed and requested in direct response to the users. The project itself makes me wildly happy because it's getting people to do art, and love doing it again - and even make money at it!

I've gotten a lot of feedback from people who have rediscovered their muses through Sketch Fest, and that's the very best part of the project. I want to keep doing that.

Come Get involved!

Come and play at Sketch Fest #16 (Sweet 16!) today and tomorrow, July 22-23, noon to noon Alaska time. (In about 2 1/2 hours!) I've got some suggestions from last month about how to get ready for a Sketch Fest.

Participants may play along without registering, but there are lots of extra tools if you do register, including a look at a wall of pieces you've inspired as a prompter, the ability to edit your pieces and upload finished versions as an artist, as well as buy artwork instantly with credits! It also allows you to leave comments after the Sketch Fest has closed. (Note that registration is ONLY available when Sketch Fest is open, due to constant battles with spam-joins. Better spam filtering is an option for a future improvement, and then registration could be generally open!)

You don't have to be an amazing artist - or consider yourself an artist at all! - to sketch along and have fun. You may be amazed by what you can do if you put your mind to it, and the one hour time limit actually takes some of the pressure off; no one is expecting you to create a masterpiece in one hour or less, and we're all posting work in various awkward stages. Many people do 10 or 15 minute sketches - you don't even have to commit to a whole hour! Sketch Fest teaches you to observe your own work habits and improve your speed and creativity, as well as try subjects you might otherwise never tackle. Feedback and interaction is lively throughout the weekend, and our community of artists is very warm and welcoming. We're available on chat, and I check my email between my own sketches so I can solve problems, retrieve passwords and help out.

I welcome your input, ideas, and suggestions! If you've already been involved, what's your favorite part of Sketch Fest? Are there any future features you are particularly looking forward to? Do you have a favorite sketch or finished piece at the site? If you're new to Sketch Fest, can I answer any questions for you? Is anything about the site confusing or overwhelming?

Warning! Sketch Fest is highly addictive!

wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com

Now that I once again have a day job, it’s probably time to consider how successful my ventures in crowdfunding have been. I have a lot less time--should I keep doing this?

Financially, I didn’t make a lot of money. It certainly never came close to replacing a day job. I didn’t get wealthy (or even famous). But then, even with traditional publishing, there’s very few science fiction writers who don’t need a day job or other source of financial support. In the crowd-funded world, the people I look up to—people like

haikujaguar and

ysabetwordsmith —aren’t rich yet either. Another example, Shadow Unit, by award winning authors including Elizabeth Bear and Emma Bull, reportedly makes them “pizza money”.

If I were to measure my results in terms of hourly wage, I’d have to say it was a failure. In fact, I’m sure I’d make more per hour doing old-fashioned busking, me and my autoharp or guitar and a few songs on a street corner.

So, why do I feel like it was a good experiment, one that I want to find time to continue, in the time left over from working the day job?

Well, I’ve never wanted my writing and art to do nothing more than satisfy me. There’s nothing wrong with doing that, if it’s what you want—but I always wanted more. I’ve always wanted to share what I do, to bring other people the same kinds of joy I get from my favorite writers, musicians, and artists.

In terms of having my work read and enjoyed by people, I’d have to say it’s been at least as big a success, so far, as traditional publishing. It’s also been a success in giving me a chance to hear from my readers, both what people liked and what they didn’t like.

In terms of getting better at my craft, it has also worked well, by providing both deadlines and real-world feedback. (I don't blame editors for using form rejection slips, but they're neither informative or satisfying. That's part of why I love comments—even the negative comments people have left me taught me something about what I'm doing right, and what I can do better.)

But the best thing, I think, is the inspiration people bring me. Part of that is the deliberate inspiration people offer when they have given me prompts, story ideas, questions, or requests for more about one of my characters. Part of it is the cash—our culture teaches us to measure value in terms of dollars, and I’m susceptible to that frame of mind (and to the need to pay bills).

But the biggest inspiration has just been knowing that there are people who want to read my next story—knowing that I could bring a smile to friends I rarely see in person; knowing my words will cheer the day of someone on the other side of the world; knowing that if I do a good enough job, I might startle someone out of lurking to say hello.

So, all you creators out there—and you readers/viewers too—how do you measure the success of a crowdfunded project?

Current Mood: thoughtful
Current Location: sacred ground

ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com

Several folks have mentioned that they like progress meters, tickers, widgets that show how much money has been donated toward a project or word count written. Pretty much any goal can be tracked with these tools. You put the thing on your project page, and depending on the model, either it updates automatically or you change it manually. This gives your donors a sense of accomplishment when they make a donation and see the number ring up, which can encourage people to give more.

aldersprig mentioned that progress meters can be found for free on the web, so I looked up some resources.

[EDIT 7-22-11] NOTE:

dreamwriteremmy commented on my blog that ticker graphics are not very accessible. If you use one, please consider including a text tally for people who can't see the graphic image. Some tickers may be enabled for interface with assistance software but you'd have to check that.

The main crowdfunding hubs, such as IndieGoGo and Kickstarter, have amount tracking as a standard feature on their project page; there's a place that tells about the progress toward goal. ChipIn offers a Flash widget that automatically updates funds received. I've seen artists with multiple webcomics set up a competition with a ChipIn widget for each series, and the one that gets the most donations will get a free wallpaper drawn for it.

Some websites offer progress meters of various types. Writertopia offers a plain bar and a customizable cartoon writer, for tracking wordcount. ProgPress is one of several ticker plug-ins built for WordPress. StoryToolz offers a simple wordcount meter. Fundraiser Insight provides several free thermometers in different styles, vertical and horizontal. TickerFactory lets you customize tickers for all different kinds of things -- fundraising, deadlines, etc.

It's also possible to create your own progress meter from scratch. That takes more work for the coding (or a volunteer to do it for you) but can be unique and perfectly matched to your project.

Creators: Do you use progress meters? If so, how well do they work for you?
Patrons: Do you like or dislike progress meters? Why?

Current Mood: busy

miintikwa.livejournal.com

Hi everyone!

I'm Kara, I do a crowdfunded monthly One Card draw over in my journal. I've been doing it for a while, and I have definitely found it to be an awesome and fun experience. I've learned a lot, and been inspired by things posted here to change my format to make it more accessible to other people. I've added perks and incentives and, I think, made my draw a better event!

( Things I have learned as time passed: )

I think the best thing about doing the One Card draw, for me, is being able to help people I wouldn't be able to help otherwise. I definitely enjoy it, and I plan on keeping it up for as long as I can! :)

Feel free to ask questions if you have them!

Current Mood: happy

stonetalker.livejournal.com

I have a friend who ghost writes articles, and gets paid very poorly for doing so. It seems to me that there has to be a better way of getting writing skills funded, and I know

ysabetwordsmith does very well with her poetry fishbowls, but I'm wondering if crowd-funding cannot be done to take writing and other skills to their next level of evolution.

Looking at the different angles, here's what I deduced.
1) Writers love to write
2) Readers enjoy reading
3) Writers need to be paid
4) Not everyone who reads can afford to purchase an entire work
5) The amount of free downloaded music on the web makes me think this applies to music.
6) Further thought leads me to think that this applies to nearly any skill or art form.

Rather than getting paid a royalty by a publishing house in a lump sum, and then that publisher (or agent or gallery -- whatever fits) handle the marking and revenue of the item, in some instances it just makes sense for the creator to do it themselves.

Let's take a knitting pattern, for example. It could be included in a collection of patterns by the same designer, or it could be sold to a publishing house who can put it in an anthology from different designers. Could it be crowd-funded? The designer shows a picture of the completed item and gives a brief description of its history and purpose, maybe citing materials used. As donations come in, the instructions, along with photos and step by step progress, can be uploaded. This way the designer gets paid for their work, the item is funded, and once the financial goal has been reached it can be available for free distribution. It seems that this way, everyone benefits.

It is my belief that many other items can be funded by crowd-sourcing. At our house we do needlework, soap-making, brewing, pottery, and a host of other hands on activities. I see the potential for crowd-sourcing in all of them, and certainly plan on giving this more thought.

Current Mood: thoughtful

stonetalker.livejournal.com

There are many ways that crowd-funding can be advantageous when it comes to divination projects. I started doing the one-card draws because it is in my nature to share what I enjoy doing, especially if it seems to help others in their own lives. In the couple of years that I have been hosting one-card draws, I have learned many things about them and also about crowd-funding.

First we have to look at what kinds of divination are suitable for this type of venture, for not all divination is created equally. What I have found in my experience though is that while people are curious about their own fate, they also enjoy reading the advice that is given to others. In this way, both people are blessed.

Many people expect a 'one-card draw' to feature Tarot, and indeed there are many different Tarot decks from which to choose. As a professional reader and a teacher of divination, I have quite a collection of decks. I favor some more than others for ease of use, particularly when it comes to crowd-funded projects. It is nice for everyone to have a similar reference.

Other divination oracles can be used during the one-card draws. I have used stones with great success. Others have used non-Tarot oracles, and in other venues I have even seen herbs and colored ribbons used as a means for conveying messages and advice. The success of the venture depends both on what the reader enjoys doing, and where the audience's reception lies.

Doing projects like this among the crowd-funding community has many advantages for the reader. It introduces them to a wide audience. It allows them to showcase their skills and talents as a diviner. It gives them a chance to promote the other more detailed readings that they can offer as a paid service. it serves as a platform for them to display any oracles or divination tools which they themselves might be creating.

The community spirit of the one-card draws goes much further than the actual event. It has been my experience to get repeat customers from this type of a showcase, and some of these have become good friends. It gives the audience who requests a reading a chance to see what messages come for others. This can help them to progress on their own path, as well as help those who are interested learn more about the oracle being used. Finally, they do seem to be very popular events for bringing people together. Often I have seen the 'guests' at my readings support each other through the comments thread. In this day and age, none of us can have too many friends.

So where do I see the future of the one-card draw events heading? That is a very good question. I notice they are increasing in popularity, and this in the long run could help readers and diviners become a more integrated part of society, rather than being considered 'evil' or 'sideshow attractions.' I also feel that it would be possible to host teaching seminars on the individual Tarot cards, the different decks being published, perhaps even on how to create a personal oracle.

One-card draws are limited largely by the imagination of the persons who participate in them. My experience in the crowd-funding community has been nothing but positive, and I encourage all who are curios to pop along to the next one card draw. I will be hosting a Tarot draw using the circular deck, The Tarot of the Cloisters, on Monday, 25 July.

Current Mood: busy

wrenstarling.livejournal.com

I'm here as someone who has just done her first one card draw to talk about starting a crowdfunded project. I've known

miintikwa for a long time, and she's been doing one-card draws for all that time, so that's where I first encountered them. When my own calling as an auspex (one who practices divination via birds, quickly swallowed by the broader term "augur") came along, it was quite natural to think that I might someday be doing one card draws of my own.
I'd actually started paying attention before then, though, because I got involved in

ysabetwordsmith's Poetry Fishbowl. Having been a poet myself, I was interested to see someone actually making an income as one, and so I paid attention to what she did and how she did it as well, even though I quickly decided that I didn't have the chops to make it as a poet.
As a patron, I soon joined

crowdfunding as a way to find still more nifty stuff, like

stonetalker's work, and that, of course, led to reading about things that other people were doing to get and keep their audiences and the funds they bring.
All of this was pretty organic in my case, but it's exactly the right thing to do deliberately when you decide you might like to start a crowdfunded project; any crowdfunded project, not just a one card draw; watch, learn, and synthesize all the data you gather into something that will work for you. The broader your exposure, the more likely you are to come up with a "just right" plan.

The hardest part of beginning a crowdfunding project is waiting to launch till you are really prepared. It's also hard to know when you ARE prepared; you want to keep some things open so that you don't use up everything you've got in one go. For example, I launched my bird oracle deck while the art is still in progress, in part because I thought that my followers might enjoy being involved in it; one of the things I've learned is that one must INVOLVE the audience in a crowdfunded project; this brings a sense of ownership that is more likely to lead to investment down the road.
On the other hand, going off half-cocked and then having a massive amount of downtime or having to rescind on promises is going to kill an audience very quickly, so it's important to make sure you have a solid something to offer and are able to follow through on the promises you make. I tried to start a few groups (not crowdfunded, but the situation is similar enough to transfer) on LJ that never really got off the ground because I wasn't truly ready when I launched them. One must be prepared to really support one's audience and idea in those early days; no one else will do it for you!

So, I launched my one card draw. I had a working (tested privately) oracle deck. I had my pricing and an initial set of products (readings, in this case) in place, as well as a way for people to give me money. I was already a member of a couple of vibrant communities friendly to my activities, and I had a small group of interested friends. My first draw was a success beyond my wildest dreams. Part of my success was my unique offering; part was connections and publicity, part was my preparation, and part was luck. Now, I'm working on follow up and follow through; I'll be making an extra post to my Wren Starling blog, I'm even more active here, etc. Soon, I'll be looking at scheduling my second one card draw. My most important preparatory step? Accepting that it will almost certainly be less successful than my first one, since some of the novelty that is a big draw in my case has worn off.

See, the most important thing about crowdfunding I've learned so far is that this field that attracts a lot of sensitive artist types requires those people to be far tougher than they probably are by nature. You might have to keep talking into a void for a while. You might invest far more than you get back for a LONG time. Find ways to get a boost when you can, but, in the end, be prepared the feel like there's no point to it all and you should just give up, take your ball, and go home...and keep going anyway, always innovating, always trying something new, until that magic moment comes and suddenly you realize that you have a real audience and, hey, you're DOING this.
And then keep working, because it never, ever stops...but that's part of the fun when you are a creative person!

Current Mood: productive

the-vulture.livejournal.com

[Poll #1763400]

ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com

growly discusses the process of working on commission and how to determine if it's a good business plan for you. This is a very insightful examination of creativity and work style.

Most of my work relies on other models, but I do a bit of commission. For instance, you can get a scrapbooked poem from me, like these sample pages; or hire me to compose a poem from scratch.

Who here likes to work on commission? Who likes to buy things that way?

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com

We're about halfway through the LiveJournal Spotlight. So far, it's working. Let's take a look...

There is a bunch of new content, with more to come. Those are just the scheduled posts on major crowdfunding topics, tagged as "Spotlight." You can see more stuff, the introductory posts and project updates, by viewing the general community feed.

There are new members. Our membership numbers are doing this:
Sunday, July 17 -- 208
Monday, July 18 -- 242
Tuesday, July 19 -- 264
Wednesday, July 20 -- 282
So that's 74 already. Helloooo, new people! We're happy to have you here. Three of you have introduced yourselves so far. It would be great to hear from more of you. Who are you? What do you create and/or sponsor? What caught your eye about crowdfunding?

The Spotlight is a community event. Anyone is welcome to post about crowdfunding stuff. Please tell us what you're up to or interested in. YOU are crowdfunding -- whatever you want, make it happen. Comment on the content posts. Visit the projects. Make some new friends. Have fun!

Current Mood: excited

ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com

Here is a concise guide to the content posts organized for the LiveJournal Spotlight July 18-24. Welcome to our many new members! Special thanks to all the folks who have written these posts so everyone would have exciting new material to enjoy.

Monday, July 18 -- Shared Worlds and Patrons
"Welcome, Spotlight Visitors!" by

ysabetwordsmith
"On patronage..." by

the_vulture
"Sharing a World for Fun ... and Profit" by

ellenmillion
"Let's Discuss How Creators Can Attract Customers and Patrons" by

laffingkat

Tuesday, July 19 -- Webserials
"Serialised Novels, Engagement, and Extribulum" by

copperbadge
"What's So Great About Writing Webfiction? :-)" by

aldersprig
"Let's discuss what makes a serial!" by

chrysoula
"A retrospective on Tin Man, and a look forward at Hiraeth" by

robling_t

Wednesday, July 20 -- Prompted Literature / Fishbowls
"The Poetry Fishbowl and Other Prompted Literature" by

ysabetwordsmith
"So, I do this thing... or prompted fiction and writing directly to the audience" by

aldersprig
"Discussion: Audience Participation" by

ysabetwordsmith

Thursday, July 21 -- Divination / One-Card Draw
"So let's look at the demographics, shall we?" by

the_vulture (poll)
"Starting a One-Card Draw" by