Greetings Backers,

Thank you so much for being here! We're in the middle of the funding period when progress is slow. It is even slower because the US Fourth of July holiday is coming this week with all of its distractions. (And there have been other US news distractions this week. Oof.) The holiday was not a surprise, I planned for it. The world news I couldn't plan for specifically, but I'm not going to let it stop me. Creation is an act of rebellion and I will be throwing myself into making this book happen. Including adding a chapter on how to keep creating in the face of existential crisis.

I'm really enjoying the questions some of you had in the Discussion of Creative Challenges. I'll happily continue answering questions there as long as people ask them. 

Then next week I have plans to come back strong with a sample chapter, a more detailed project timeline, and maybe even an infographic or two. I'm going to do everything I can to get this project to hit that audiobook stretch goal at 25k and to be able to do offset printing for higher quality books.

Thank you so much for backing this project. If you celebrate the 4th of July I hope you have a fantastic one. If not, I hope you have a lovely few days anyway. 

All the best, 
Sandra

Greetings!

The draft of Structuring Life to Support Creativity is currently in the hands of an editor, but I'll have another revision pass ahead of me where I can add chapters and information. So I want to know from you:
What questions do you have that you hope are answered by the book?

Ask your question in the comments here. I want to make sure that this book is the resource you need. I'd love to know what you're struggling with and what you hope to be able to accomplish.

All the best,
Sandra

Greetings Backers!

We're entering the second week of this project. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I'll be posting updates a couple of times per week while the project is live to make sure you're informed about how things are going. 

Right now we've entered a slower phase of the funding period. The first week of a crowdfunded project gets the word out to the people who are excited and ready to jump on board. Now I need to create information and resources to provide information for people who are still trying to figure out if buying this book is a good use of their resources and time. So over the next couple of weeks I plan to post a detailed project timeline, sample chapters, and I'll be asking all of you what you hope to get from this book. 

I'll also be seeking out opportunities to do interviews, write guest posts, and find further ways to spread the word so that this project earns enough to fund the audiobook version. 

 Spread the word. So many of you have already done this. Every bit helps. Sometimes it helps a new person back the project, it always helps me feel supported and grateful. (I seriously can't over state that second part!) Every post and recommendation helps raise awareness, helps the project to continue growing even during this middle lull, and helps set up for the surge of support during the final week.

For my part, I'll keep working on all of it, so that we can reach additional stretch goals that can go out to each of you. In the meantime, I do have a couple of project recommendations to share:

Space Wizard Fantasy is an indie publishing house that focuses on queer Science Fiction and Fantasy stories. I know the owners and they're good people who believe in paying forward. Space Wizard Fantasy is currently funding their third year projects and are just shy of their funding goal. If you're looking for ways to support LGBTQIA+ creators during pride month, you want to good and look at what they have to offer. Support Space Wizard Fantasy Year 3.

Mary Robinette Kowal has just launched  a Kickstarter project of stories that take place in the Lady Astronaut universe. She has all sorts of cool options for the book and swag. I've loved these books and this universe. Even if you haven't read any of them, this short story collection makes a nice place to jump in and sample.  You should definitely take a look. Support Silent Spaces.

Thank you so much for following along and giving your support!
Sandra Tayler

Greetings!

We've funded! Not only that, but this project has become the #5 trending project on Backerkit. I truly did not expect this much support so quickly. A crowdfunded project is always a question. It asks "is there enough support?" Thank you for showing up and helping the answer be Yes.  I'm so glad that I get to finish the process of turning Structuring Life to Support Creativity into a book that you can read!

With the first question answered, now this project can reach for stretch goals. On Backerkit they've named them Achievements.  I have three to start:

1. 20k Sandra gets paid: the original funding goal was the bare minimum to cover the production and print costs to make the book. So the first stretch goal is to pay me for my time and effort writing the book. This income will allow me to focus further time on additional materials and breathing room to write more books in the future. If this goal is reached, I'll add a fourth lecture to the lecture bundle as thanks.

2. 25k Audiobook: If we reach this goal, I'll hire a professional narrator and produce an audiobook version of Structuring Life to Support Creativity. The audiobook will be available as a pledge level or as an add-on to this project.

3. Offset Printing: If the project sells more than 1000 paperback books I'll do an offset print run instead of print on demand. This will mean that the book you receive is higher quality and I'll have more control over multiple aspects of how the book is designed. 

I have ideas for further stretch goals beyond these including additional items for the creativity bundles, a custom designed activities notebook, and upgrades to the book itself.   

I also have plans for posting sample chapters and more detailed information about the content of the book so that people who are less familiar with me or the classes I teach can see what I offer and whether it will be useful to them. 

Thank you so much for being part of this project! I'm looking forward to seeing how we can make this project even better.

Sandra

Greetings! 

The project to fund Structuring Life to Support Creativity launches in one week!

I'm very excited to make this book and get it into the hands of people who need it. To make that happen, I could use your help. There are two ways you can help right now:
1. Make sure you sign up on the pre-launch page so that you'll be notified as soon as the project launches. 
2. Spread the word to people you think might want this book. You can tell people about it in any way that is comfortable to you: social media, email, conversation, or even carrier pigeon if you happen to have one. Feel free to grab the graphic from this post if that helps you spread the word.

Thank you so much for backing previous projects. I hope you'll join me for this next one!
All the best,
Sandra

Structuring Life to Support Creativity has a cover!

 

This cover was created for me by Melissa Williams Design. I love how they captured exactly the warm and constructive feel that I want for my book. I’m now working with the amazing Traci Turner to create more refined social media graphics and advertisement posts that I’ll be using to promote this book over the next month or more.  I’ve also heard back from my editor that she’ll have notes for me toward the end of this week. Things are coming together and my current plan is to launch funding for the book on June 18th.

Thank you so much for being part of this journey! And if you haven’t signed up yet, you can click here to be notified as soon as the project launches!

Thank you,
Sandra Tayler

Greetings!

I'm about 30 days out from my hoped-for launch date for Structuring Life to Support Creativity. That simultaneously feels like plenty of time, but also like I will never get everything lined up to go.

If this is the first you've heard about this project. Welcome! I'm publishing a resource book to help creative people make more space in their lives for the creative work they want to be doing. The book is drawn from thirty years of experience and a decade of giving presentations at conventions and events. I'm excited to get it all collected into a book format.

Here are some updates about the project

Interior text:
I handed a draft of the book to an editor who will tell me how close what I have written is to being ready. I fully expect additional rounds of revision and editing even during and after the funding period. Those different editing passes are how a draft is turned into a polished book. If this editor comes back telling me about large scale issues, then I may have to push back the launch date. Right now it feels like that won't be necessary. fingers crossed.

Cover:
I've contracted a cover designer and she'll be getting me drafts of the cover next week.  One of the purposes of this fundraiser is to help pay for the cover design, but I know that the project will fund much better if there is a gorgeous cover to show off, so I'm investing in the cover in advance. This is simply one of the costs of being your own publisher.

Cost quotes on book printing:
I pinged an offset book printer to get a quote. The lowest-cost plan for this book is to go with Print on Demand suppliers, BUT if there are enough backers I can work with an offset printer to create a fancier, higher quality book.  Getting this quote will help me do the math on how many backers I need in order to upgrade the book to offset, and how many more I'll need to make the book hardback. I have careful math to do about production on this book and in order to set stretch goals.

Cost quotes on bonus items:
I have ideas for "book box" pledge levels which would include pretty swag and other items. I need to source good things to go into that box and calculate costs so I can price it appropriately.

Finalizing back end set up:
I have some additional set up steps to take here on Backerkit so that the project can be cleared to launch. Fortunately these steps are very familiar to me, so getting this part done just requires me to find a day when I can focus on it. 

There are so many moving parts in a crowdfunded project. Most of them are my job, but the one you can help me with is clicking the follow button. Backerkit's calculator says I'll need around 300 followers to help this project launch successfully.  So click that follow button, and if you have a friend who you think would be interested, have them click follow too!

Thank you so much for backing a prior project of mine. I hope you'll join me for this one as well!
Sandra Tayler