Monday Variety: Mentoring Sale, Crowdfunding Q, Camp...

[dancinghorse]

Signal boosts for any or all of this would be much, much appreciated.

The Writing Mentor Has a Sale

Thanks to very helpful friends, we are working on a brand! new! updated! Mentoring and Camp page (and eventually website). I'm adding some services and updating some details. But because you are all awesome and because I have $700 worth of hay and shoer bills that really have got to get paid, I'm having a pre-update sale. Mention this entry and it's yours. Previous and current mentees can play. Details of the old/current services are here. The sale is: Book a four-hour package and get a fifth hour FREE. That's $160.00 for five hours of whatever you need: plot help, R&D, editorial services of all kinds from line edits to general critique.

AND, if what you need doesn't require five hours' worth of work, I've got a new service on offer: Spot-checking and fact-checking. For $50 I will check specific portions of your project, up to 30 pages'/one hour's worth. Additional hours can be negotiated on an individual basis. Areas of expertise include include horses and equestrian subjects in general, historical periods (especially ancient Greece/Rome, Egypt, and Western Middle Ages), American Southwest, New England, Latin (Classical and Medieval). Got something else you might like a look at? Email and see if I can help.

And if that's too big but you'd like your Latin checked, I'll do that on a custom basis; email for rates and estimates. I might even take payment in chocolate. Do ask. :)

Interested? My email is at gmail and my username is capriole.

Camp Lipizzan Is Booking For 2010/11

We're ending this season with two Camps in the next month, but bookings for October through April are fairly open. We have one in early January and one in late April so far. Interested in a 3-5-day writing retreat with horses? Not afraid of discovering that if you do it once, you're 90% likely to book another either before you leave or soon thereafter? Email and let me know when you'd like to come. First person to book a date gets dibs. One or two additional persons may join us for those dates. For a sampling of what we do, here's one Camper's photoblog. That was her second Camp. She's since booked a third. :)

Rates start at $350 for 3 days/2 nights, and include food, board, and hot and cold running Lipizzans. And lots and lots of lovely, peaceful writing time in a farmhouse in rural Arizona.

Sneak Preview of Other New Stuff

I'm also pondering and putting together some online units/classes in various aspects of writing, for individuals (customized to fit) and groups. Subjects would include Horses for Writers, Inhabiting the Character's Skin, Finding the Exact Right Word, Research Skills (Mad and Otherwise), and Plotting Evilly for Fun and Profit. I'm thinking a format of a "lecture" article that you read and ask questions on, and a set of short exercises that you do and I review. Pricing in the region of $50 per unit, with discounts for multiple units. Another possibility would be an online class for 3-10 students, with "lecture" and exercises and discussion to be held over the course of a week (so that everyone can get in and participate), with an lj-style posting and comment structure plus a short, private critique for each student. Still working out logistics there. If you have requests or suggestions, do let me know. Especially if you'd like to beta-test a unit for a reduced price.

Question for the Crowdfunders Among Us

I know some of my flist have done crowdfunded projects with good success. I have a novel--space opera, Attack Novel, compulsively readable and I cannot stop writing it, either--that I would like to try on this model. But I'm not sure where to start or how to present it. I see some of you use lj and a Donate button. Does this get you into trouble with lj's TOS? How do you promote your project and get it out there where people can find it? Any details you can share would be much appreciated.

And Let Us Not Forget...

Today's my day at Book View Cafe. New chapter of Ars Magica (previous chapters are up as well, if you want to read from the beginning; if you want the whole thing Right Now, it's available as an ebook in multiple formats). Aaaaand, a new Horseblog, in which we talk about the War Mare side of the Force.

Comments

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

We promoted to our emailing list, talked about it on our blogs -- nowadays I guess it'd go to FB and Twitter, too. We sent a press release to SFSite, which ran it; (and another to Locus Online, which didn't). Best promotion, as always, was word of mouth.

We published both of our novels to the korval.com domain, which we own, to avoid any Unpleasant Discussions with LJ. We did, however, start an LJ community specifically for readers to talk about the story and speculate on what was going to happen next, the characters' motivations, &c.

We found that announcing a Definite Time for the weekly/biweekly/triweekly update and sticking to it was Key. Also, we set up another LJ community specifically for teasers. Any time from the night before to an hour before the update, we'd let loose a short, provocative snippet to remind people that the update was coming and to whet their appetite -- that's something that might also usefully be done as a tweet.

[ceffyl.livejournal.com]

oOooOo!! Must do budget and find out if Horse Camp is an option. :) If not, maybe some mentoring or other related work.

Would you be open for translating classical Latin inscriptions?

[galeni.livejournal.com]

Very interested in "Finding the Exact Word" and other such exercises, classes, etc.

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

The Schedule is key with crowdfunded things! Also, there's an LJ community (crowdfunding) that could probably give you more tips. But I found the scedule to be the biggest one.

Weblit resources, getting your name out there, all that happens if they know the story is good and it's going to be there regularly.

PS: add me to the list of REALLY interested in an online class people! I've taken online classes, but it's been a while.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Yay! Horse Camp is pretty much the Best Thing Ever, and I'm so excited to be going back. :)

And I'm very interested in the online classes.

[seachanges.livejournal.com]

Signal has been boosted! Good luck with the sale. 8)

[greenbirds.livejournal.com]

Here via another blog (yay signal boost!). RE: horse camp -- how early in January? Horses + writing sounds AWESOME. I'm usually in AZ anyway during that part of the year visiting family, but I'm also a professor and have to be back on the other side of the country to teach my classes by 1/10. :)

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

I would kill to go to horse camp.

But the kids would want to come, especially Rob, and that would be Not-Writing time, instead of writing time...

*sigh*

[aerinha]

Oh, horse camp... I really want to go. I'm a wishful writer, but could always just fool around with my "notes" and read books; and enjoy not being at home. But I have to admit I'm intimidated because I'm shy with new people, especially new horsepeople!
Still - I will consider, because I would love to come.

As far as the online classes, I would be very interested in the Research Skills and Plotting units if those get off the ground!

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

He he. And the "camp staffer" will add a bonus photo package of campers and horses, light and schedule permitting to any and all attendees. :>)

[klrichardsson.livejournal.com]

I loved Horse Camp so much. Words can't express how much. And being a solo camper definitely rocked. ;) S is a fantastic teacher, and I think my seat definitely improved by Day 3. And it's always nice to geek out with people and not have to worry about how geeky I appear!

Bring on January!