2016 Writer in Residence
I haven’t mentioned it in a while, but I was chosen to be the 2016 Writer in Residence for Tarleton State University’s Langdon Review Weekend – and it’s coming right up! (Click here to read a blog post about last year’s Langdon Review Weekend.)
The Langdon Review Weekend is an amazing annual literary conference, and I am super thrilled and honored to be their resident writer! My residency starts on August 27th. I’ll be staying in the gorgeous historic town of Granbury, Texas for two whole weeks with the sole purpose of creating and reaching out to the community.
Brainstorm
I’ve been brainstorming recently about what to do for the public outreach aspect of the residency as well as how I can really deliver the most creative bang for the buck, and here’s what I came up with:
Book, Photo & Music CD Extravaganza
Book/Photo/Music Project: As part of my residency, I’m having my first-ever photography exhibit! It’s called “Meme, Myself & iPhone” because I took all the photos with my iPhone.
I thought it would be fun to create a book to accompany the photography exhibit. So, now I’m creating a small book (less than 100 pages) that will contain black and white pictures of the photos in the show. The book will also include the lyrics to a few songs I’ve written.
Lyrics need music, right? Yeah, that’s what I thought, too! So, I will also release a music CD featuring 10 of my songs! (In case you haven’t heard any of my music, I’m sharing a link later in this post.)
Am I crazy?
Perhaps, but here’s the thing: While I respect those who stretch their limits by skydiving and running marathons, I am attracted to different challenges. I enjoy pushing my limits and testing my endurance and trying scary things, but the biggest thrills come to me through artistic projects.
Kickstarter Campaign:
Now here’s the scary “out of my comfort zone” aspect to all this. I’m a very independent, DIY-minded person. I actually enjoy designing book covers and creating the interior and all that, and even though I’ve never hung a photography show, my hubby will help and it’s not exactly rocket science.
But I do need some help! There are, however, some aspects to this project that are beyond my DIY ability. The biggest one of these is producing the music CD. I’ve got a fairly decent home studio, but I need professional help with engineering, mastering, distribution and all that.
Here’s why I’m asking for $$$: If I could do this on my own, I would! In fact, I originally planned to spend the money myself. Unfortunately, my husband recently had a trip to the ER that led to an overnight stay in the hospital and left us with a hefty bill to go along with it.
So… that really put a dent in my DIY plans!
That’s why I created a Kickstarter Campaign to help me raise the $3000 needed to make my writer’s residency a great big creative extravaganza!
What is Kickstarter?
You’ve probably heard of Kickstarter, but you may not have used it. Kickstarter is a crowd-funding site. They offer a platform for people like me to showcase their creative ideas. Since 2009, Kickstarter has successfully funded tens of thousands of creative projects!
What’s in it for you?
What makes Kickstarter different from simply asking for money is that donors receive something from the person in exchange. For example, in exchange for a $10 donation to my campaign, I will send you a signed copy of my 10-song CD (Come to My Senses.) You will also get a handwritten thank you note, I’ll mention you in a “donor thank you” post on my blog, give you credit in my book, and a shout out on Twitter and Facebook! :)
To see a full list of all the Donor Rewards I’m offering check out my Kickstarter Campaign link here:
************************************************************ You can hear my music,watch a 2-minute video,& see all the details at this link:************************************************************
Please help me get the word out!
I hope you will check out my Kickstarter campaign. If you can donate something that’s great, but there are other ways you can help me, too:
- Share my Kickstarter on social media (tag me so I can thank you!)
- Tell your friends about it.
- Let me know if you see any typos or dead links in the campaign.
- If you have a good idea for a Donor Reward, let me know.
Any advice?
Have you ever used Kickstarter or some other crowdfunding site? Do you have any tips to share with me? Please tell me in a comment on this blog post. I really want to succeed with this.
Phew! That’s all for now. I’d better quit staring at this screen and get cracking on my project!
Want to read more from Tui Snider?
To read about more weird, offbeat, and overlooked places, check out my best-selling travel guide:
UNEXPECTED TEXAS.
For ghost hunting hot spots, check out my best-selling travel guide to haunted places:
PARANORMAL TEXAS
For a strange-but-true tale of Texas history, check out this bizarre piece of West Texas history:
The Lynching of the Santa Claus Bank Robber
Hey, you! Want to come along for the ride?
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Tui Snider is an author, speaker, and photographer who specializes in North Texas travel, cemetery symbols, and haunted lore. As she puts it, “I used to write fiction – but then, I moved to Texas!”
Snider’s best-selling books include Paranormal Texas , Understanding Cemetery Symbols, and 100 Things to Do in Dallas - Fort Worth Before You Die.
Snider has several more books in progress, and enjoys connecting with writers and readers all over the globe through social media, her newsletter and her website: TuiSnider.com.
[…] Where to begin? I’m pretty overwhelmed, but in a good way. For starters, my Kickstarter Project was fully funded!!! I hated asking for financial help, and it was a really close call, but a few […]