Within just a few minutes of posting the first update to the 40 Day Writer Reality TV Series campaign, the first donation came in, and more people began following. While this donation was just $5 (thank you to Kevin Levine , it was a further validation of the fact that there were people who were willing to literally buy in to the dream.
I announced the donation on my Twitter feed. Congratulations came in from Crowdfunding Centre (@CrowdCBoost), who encouraged me to claim our campaign on their website. I did. Retweets of my post were given by Leon Kim (@benuagency) and BackerClub (@backerclub).
Likes were given by BackerCamp (@backercamp), Hubbub (@hubbubnet), Darren Webb of CrowdAssist (@crowdassistco), Bridges to Italy (@bridges2italy), and Backer Club (@BackerClub).
I gained more followers: @GrowthChamp), Donation Camp (@Donation_Camp), EcoDanny (@EcoDanny) (Penned (@PennedApp), Crowdfunding Biz (@cfbiz), Crowdfunding Campaigner (@CrowdFundEMag), Dan Baird(@Whistln), Crowd Mole(@AskCrowdMole), Crowded Space (@crowded__space), Backer Club(@backercamp), Magi Entertainment (@Megami_Saga), and Someone Must Die Literary Journal (@S1mdZine).
Continuing to Serve
I wrote a new blog post for the 40 day writer website, and I posted a video to help writers get started writing on my new 40 Day Writer Youtube channel. Penned (@PennedApp) reached out to me and requested permission to repost my articles to help their writers. I was delighted to be able to say yes.
New Developments
My partner, Surai Sparks, connected with me to let me know she’d located a television crew to help her capture her story on video. It was an idea that had come from our first meeting’s conversation, and I was delighted to see her pursuing it. I knew good things would come from this, for her and for the campaign.
My other partner, Bobby, connected with me to discuss reaching out to business coaches. As he pointed out, our readers are going to need help to master marketing and develop their businesses. Writing coaches can help them write, agents can help them connect with publishers, but business people can help them find the potential treasure mine that will spring from their book. We agreed it was a very good idea, and he began work on that.
Then, I set out to develop a course for the writers teaching them how to take their book and find the other products they can develop from that. Because the thing most writers don’t know, that I’ve discovered along the way, is that the majority of the money made in book publishing is not in the book itself.
Few writers make very much beyond the initial royalties they may receive from a publisher, and writers who don’t manage to make book sales beyond those first royalties can find themselves with an uphill climb to get that next book published. So I know that if I really want to help writers, I have to help them think beyond the book to what can be done with the book.
The Lessons of the Day
Yesterday, I gained and lost followers. I received the first $5 from Kevin Levine, and our team made steps forward in the promoting the campaign and driving awareness of the vision. There are many more steps to go on this journey, and we’re a long way from where I would like to be, but the progress is being made and the vision is being carried forward.
The biggest lesson I have learned, after facing down my fears of launching, is that you can’t expect others to buy into your dream if you don’t believe in it enough to act on it.
Reminder
Remember: If you contribute to it in any way by donating to it, posting about it, sharing it, or blogging about it, contact me and let me know or come here and comment below. I will be happy to let the world know that you supported our dream of helping people achieve their dreams.