Archive for August, 2009
Hug a Cowboy Quilt
If you’ve been following us on Facebook, you know that our grand prize this year is the Hug A Cowboy Quilt–handmade by Michelle Baker. This quilt is a colorful, western themed lap quilt about 6 foot square. We call it “Hug a Cowboy” because of the hunky cowboys at the center.
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| From Unleash Your Story |
Here’s a look at the whole quilt.
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| From Unleash Your Story |
I love the creative way Michelle adds to the Western theme with her quilting detail. Notice how the the quilting pattern loops around in a manner reminiscent of a lariat. Also–note the hat, boot and cactus detailing in each corner of the center box.
Here’s a close-up of the boot.
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| From Unleash Your Story |
You can look at the full album for more close-up detail of this quilt. You’d pay hundreds of dollars for a handmade quilt of this quality. Only one lucky participant will get to take this beauty home and curl up with these cowboys and a good book on a cold winter’s night. Will it be you?
Last year’s top money earner brought in over $1,000. You can do it.
Do you have a favorite spot you like to curl up with a good book?
We have lift-off!
I’m waiting for an official report, but it looks like we have a few hundred dollars on our way to $23,000 as we start our campaign. Thanks to all of you have signed up to participate!
Remember our special incentive to get the event going on a fast start–every participant who brings in 15 donors during the first week will receive a $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Certificate. They must be 15 unique donors (not multiple donations from the same person) and each donation must be for $5 or more.
We will have special incentives for different things each week, including reading and writing totals. The top reader (highest number of pages) and top writer (highest number of words) this week will each receive a $5 Amazon Gifts Certificate. So–take a few minutes today and send out 15 or more e-mails to friends and family, asking them to support your goal. Then get started reading and writing up a storm.
Good luck to everyone in making your goals. And remember–your participation in this event helps the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation‘s efforts to find better treatments and a cure for cystic fibrosis.
The Joys of the TBR
Welcome guest blogger Wendy Crutcher. The fiction buyer for a large southern California library system, Wendy has been blogging for the past six years at The Misadventures of Super Librarian .
In one guise or another, I’ve been floating around the online romance community for roughly ten years. I’ve seen the rise of online review sites, message boards, listservs, blogging, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter. I’ve seen sub genres declared dead, then miraculously reborn. However, one thing has always remained constant…..
My insane To Be Read mountain range.
It ceased being a mere pile years ago.
It all started innocently enough with some of the listservs I was on. I discovered I liked historical western romances, and boom! I suddenly had readers from all over the world giving me suggestions on what authors I should try. Then I discovered the wonderful world of category romance and boom! I had suggestions for what lines and authors I should try. I’d always loved mysteries, discovered that I also liked romantic suspense and boom! Another host of authors to consider.
Soon the suggestions were coming not only from my listservs, but also review sites and blogs as well.
Is it any wonder that my TBR can currently be seen from space?
Readers ask me all the time if the sheer volume of my TBR ever becomes a crushing weight on my psyche. Sure it does. I wonder if and when I’ll ever have the time to read all those yummy, wonderful books. But you know what? As much as the anxiety sometimes gets to me, when you get right down to it? My TBR is all about possibilities.
Every book holds the key to the universe. What type of story will it be? Will it be the next keeper? Will I discover a new favorite author and find myself going on a massive glom? Or, perish the thought, will I discover I don’t care for the author’s voice or a plot theme that doesn’t work for me?
My TBR is like my own undiscovered country. A lost city waiting for an explorer to discover it’s buried treasures, hidden depths, and the dangers that may be lurking within. So yes, while having a TBR that currently equals the gross national product of most third world countries is a bit daunting, it’s also a bit exhilarating. New characters to discover, empathize and fall in love with. New worlds to explore, journeys and adventures to be had. I could succumb to TBR Anxiety, and heaven knows it would be easy for me. However, I think instead I’ll sit back, ponder the possibilities, and dig through the mountain range to uncover my next great read.
Countdown to launch
If you’re wondering about the daily struggle of living with cystic fibrosis, here is another blog for you to check out. I’m going to add some of these CF blogs I’ve found to our list of links. I hope reading something about the reality a person with CF faces every day will inspire you to work a bit harder to reach your goals in the next few weeks.
And speaking of inspiration, we have a great line-up of guest bloggers who will be talking about reading and writing. Writers include, aspiring author Jessica Scott who is currently serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq where she has managed to keep writing. New York Times bestselling author, Angie Fox will talk about writing with young children in the house.
We also have some super-readers lined up. Besides our Pacesetter, Michelle Buonfiglio, we also have Smart Bitch Sarah from Smart Bitches Trashy Books and Super Librarian Wendy Crutcher.
Wendy Crutcher’s post will appear tomorrow, August 27. Please stay tuned. To be sure you don’t miss any of these wonderful posts, we have two options for you. Look on the sidebar to the right for links to “Subscribe to Unleash Your Story Make a Difference by E-mail” or subscribe to the RSS feed.
Hope you’re about ready to start writing, reading or both. Launch is just five days away!
Pacesetter Pep Talk
Dear Writers,As an added incentive, any published or unpublished author who matches Lori’s 60,000 word production during the event will receive a $10 Borders Gift Card. Match the 60,000 words and raise $250 and you’ll get a $25 gift card. Good luck to everyone, whatever your goal!
Talking UYS at H2H
Michell Buonfiglio, our Pacesetter Reader/Blogger is the host of Barnes & Noble’s Romance Reader blog, “Heart to Heart” (H2H). Today she has posted about our Unleash Your Story event. Check it out.
Michelle Buonfiglio sets a goal!
Our 2009 Pacesetter reader, Michelle Buonfiglio, has announced her reading and writing goals. Drum roll, please!
Michelle plans to read 10,00 pages and write 10,000 words in blogs and comments.
Readers and bloggers? Are you up to the challenge? Who can keep up with our pacesetter?
Each reader and blogger who meets the challenge and matches Michelle’s pages or word count will receive a $10 B&N gift card.
Bonus–if you match Michelle’s pages or word count and raise at least $250, you will receive a $25 B&N gift card. These prizes are in addition to any other UYS prizes for which you are eligible. (Visit our Prizes Page to see the prizes we are offering).
Visit Michelle’s Pacesetter page to learn more about the driving force behind her obsession for reading and writing about romance. And don’t forget to follow Michelle at RomanceBuytheBook.com and Barnes & Noble’s new “Heart to Heart” (H2H) romance fiction blog.
Making the ask
This is the hard part of raising money. Most people hate asking for money.
I know I do.
I learned a little secret from my years in Girl Scouts. If you ask, they might give something. If you don’t ask, they almost certainly will not give. You guarantee you won’t raise the money you need if you never ask.
People, it turns out, want to help a good cause. But most people don’t go out of their way to find the cause. They wait for someone to ask. If that someone is a person they know, they are more likely to give. That’s where you come in.
We have a great cause and a realistic goal. We could ask 920 strangers to give $25 each and maybe hit our goal. Chances are, though, we will need to ask several thousand strangers before we find those generous 920. You, on the other hand, only need to ask five, ten, twenty or thirty of your close friends, neighbors and relatives to give. Between us, we have enough friends who can each give a small amount that will add up to our $23,000 goal.
The longest journey begins with that first step. I’m going to suggest you take these three steps today.
1. Register on our Unleash Your Story Event page on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website.
2. Once you’re registered, you’ll have a chance to sign in and go to your account page. From your account page, click on “Edit Home Page.” Here you will have a chance to customize your home page, add a photo, decide whether your donors can leave public messages, etc. Don’t be afraid, it isn’t like designing a web site. You just fill in the form. Uploading a picture is optional and CFF makes all of it simple.
The most important thing to do here is “Step 2 Write a personal message.” This is the place where you explain to your potential donors what you are doing and why. The CFF has a basic message that you can use, but it is much better if you modify the message with your own words. For example, here is my personal message:
I’m participating in the Unleash Your Story write-a-thon to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This event brings readers and writers together to raise money and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
My personal goal is to write 15,000 words toward my new novel and raise $300. Please help support my goals by making a donation today.
Donating online is easy and fast! Just click the “Donate” button on this page to begin the process.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system. More than ten million Americans are symptomless carriers of the defective CF gene. Advances continue to be made in finding a cure, but your help is needed now-more than ever-to help keep up the momentum of this life-saving research. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.
As a romance writer, I’m all about happy endings. My dream is to see the day when the story of cystic fibrosis the fatal genetic disease changes to the happily ever after story of a disease with a cure. Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation!
Feel free to use any of my wording or create your own. Then move on to the next step.
3. Click on the “Invite donors” link on the sidebar of your account page. List the first ten people you think of and their e-mail addresses. Use the personal message from your home page, or enter different text. Add a photo, if you wish, then click “Send e-mail.”
Your journey has begun!
FAQ
We received some more excellent questions today and have drafted a set of Frequently Asked Questions. Our goal is to keep things simple and make things as easy as possible for participants. But confusion seems to ensue in spite of our best efforts. Always feel free to e-mail us at: info@unleashyourstory.com if you have a question. But do check out our FAQs.
We will be updating these answers and adding questions to the list as more questions come in. Please let us know if our answers are confusing so that we can attempt to clarify.
I’d like to elaborate on one basic question here.
How are donations linked to a participants reading and writing goals?
The simple answer is donations are not linked to your goals. Just ask donors to give a flat amount in support of your goal.
Maybe when you were a kid you participated in a walk-a-thon where your neighbors donated a penny or a nickel a lap. Do you remember how that worked? You walked around the neighborhood and told each donor that you planned to walk around the track 20 times, would they donate $1 for your cause? That would be a nickel for each lap walked. They might agree to that, or they might offer a dime a lap. They signed your sheet and you went on to the next neighbor, but you didn’t collect the money.
Came the big day, you walked 20 laps, or maybe you only made 17, or maybe you were sick and didn’t walk at all. Then you go back to each of the donors and collect the nickel per lap you actually walked. Maybe they weren’t home when you went back and you had to go back twice or three times to collect. The entire adventure turned into a pain.
Our idea is to avoid the need for that second contact. Instead of getting a pledge per page you will read, or per word you will write we just ask for a single, flat amount. It is easier for you and it is also easier for the donors. They know they can afford $50 (or $5 or whatever amount). They can give that flat amount without having to do the math.
If you try for an amount per word or page, you end up with this scenario:
“Hmm, let’s see I know I can afford to give $20 and she planning write 30,000 words, so that is . . . let’s see 30,000 into $20. . . Okay. I give up!”
Instead, you can ask something like this: I’m participating in the Unleash Your Story event to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. My goal is to read 5,000 pages during the month of September. Will you please make a donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in support of my goal? No amount is too small or too large. Every donation is appreciated. Thanks for your support!
Q&A
Got a couple of great questions today and thought I should share the answers here.
Question 1: Does all the money go to you?
I assume the questioner is asking whether the money goes to us here at Unleash Your Story. No. All donations go directly to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Donations can be made online or by mail to the Madison office of the CFF. Any costs for running our website, mailing prizes, etc. is paid out of pocket by the Romance Unleashed authors and our generous prize donors.
We are thrilled not to have to count the money or deal with the money in any way. The way this works is, participants register at: http://www.cff.org/Chapters/madison/index.cfm?id=12135&event=12135
This is the page the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has set up especially for our event. Once you have registered, you will have your own page on the CFF website. For example, here is Teresa’s page: http://www.cff.org/LWC/dsp_DonationPage.cfm?idEvent=12135&idUser=345139
You can also customize your page (notice I’ve added a photo to mine). From your page you can send e-mails to all your friends asking them to support your goal and help fight Cystic Fibrosis. The site provides you with a form letter that you can edit as you wish. If your friends choose to donate, the e-mail gives them a link directly to the CFF site, their donation is logged for the Unleash Your Story event and credited to you to make you eligible for prizes, etc. If you do have some friends who don’t want to donate online, they can send their donations by mail as well. That’s a bit slower, but the CFF will log those donations into the system as well as long as the donations are clearly marked for Unleash Your Story and for you as a participant. The address to send donations is:
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Attn: Unleash Your Story
2990 Cahill Main
Madison, WI 53711
It actually sounds more complicated than it is. Once you’ve registered into the system, all the instructions are there explaining what you need to do. The CFF has hundreds of events nationally and their site has been tweaked a lot to make it easy to use and to help you reach out to your potential donors.
Question 2: I’ve never read for charity before. How do I keep track of pages read? Can I just submit the number of books I’ve read instead?
The reading and writing goals we handle directly through volunteers at Unleash Your Story. We use pages rather than books because books vary so much in length. If you read 3 books of 300 pages each, that is 900 pages. If you read one 900 page book, that is also 900 pages. Of course some books are quicker reads, have tons of pictures, graphs or space. There are a million variables and we can’t account for all of them. We settled on pages read to make it simple for you and for us to keep track. Come on–are you seriously going to read picture books just to ratchet up your page count? We doubt that will happen.
To set your goal, I’d suggest you look at a couple of the books on your TBR pile. If they are all around 350 pages and you expect to read 10 books during the 4 week event, then set your goal at 3,500 pages. If you’re really organized and know exactly the books you plan to read, you can be more precise. If you like to walk on the wild side, just take a guess.
If you have any additional questions, please use the contact form on the Registration page, or e-mail us at: info@unleashyourstory.com
As always, thanks for your support!
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