Day: November 25, 2013

Kickstarter Observations

By / November 25, 2013

There is an increase of interest when days left in the project drops below double digits. This is nice because the project has been sort of idling its way through the middle span of time, which is normal, but can feel discouraging after the frantic energy of the first ten days.

In theory I should nurture that swell and use it to build toward the end of the project.
I have a long list of things I should do to build interest and spread the word. I’ve got people waiting on me. I don’t want to let them down, not when so many people have been so kind and expressed so much enthusiasm for the project.

I am exhausted. Not just from the project, but also because of all the other things that landed in this same time.

My life is made out of “other things” and I don’t know that any other time would have been better. In any case I waited for years hoping for a good time to show up. Instead I had to shoehorn it in even though the timing was not ideal. The truth is that if I wait until there is a “good time” before I reach for my own creative dreams, I’ll be waiting forever. I had to put a stake in the ground, launch the Kickstarter, and declare “this thing is happening now.”

I hope.

Thanksgiving is in two days. Everyone will be away from their computers. Any momentum I build Today, tomorrow, Wednesday is going to vanish. I’ll have to start over again on Monday.

Note to all would-be Kickstarter folks: Dodge holidays, putting them in the last 10 days of your project is not wise.

I’ve heard that December is an abysmal month for Kickstarter. I believe that. I am worried that everyone will have moved on and be otherwise occupied. It is possible that December will prevent me from getting that final 30%.

Running this project has already given me many things. All the support and kindness will not go away even if the project fails to fund. I get to treasure all of it. I’m already very grateful. Very glad. The originals from Angela arrived today and they deserve a joyful post of their very own. I so very much want them to be in a book that I can share over and over again.

70% funded. So close. So far away.

Warehouse Day

By / November 25, 2013

I knew that having a warehouse would change my shipping system. I did not know exactly how. I’m still figuring that out. I thought I would shift all the postage printing over there right away, but right now the invoices and postage printing are still happening downstairs at my desk. Then I go to the warehouse to do the shipping. This means I can’t just do a little packaging in the 30 minutes between homework and dinner. I have to plan ahead. Which in turn means that I can plan ahead to take the kids with me.

Gleek and Patch had never been to the warehouse before. They are small enough that they could not help with the heavy lifting. The were very impressed with the space we had. Then we set up four work stations. Gleek and Link worked on shrink wrapping boxed sets. Patch put calendars into envelopes. I did a little bit of everything. At first they squabbled a bit over who got to do which job, but then we all settled in to working. Ninety minutes later we had a stack of neatly wrapped sets and about a hundred packages. It all went much faster than I could have done by myself.

As I worked, I listened to Link and Gleek working and laughing. Those two do not naturally gravitate to playing together and often when they do, it ends with arguments. Yet once we got going, they worked together pretty well. In the car on the way home they all talked with each other and I realized that they need more chances to work together. My kids need more chances to do work that they know contributes to our family income. I can picture myself taking various kids over to the warehouse to help with jobs an hour at a time. It could be a really good thing.

The fire marshall came by the warehouse and gave his approval. I’m expecting a city inspector on Wednesday and then it can be an official place of business. I even installed blinds in the window. Poorly. But they’re hung. I emptied the storage units and set up a bed for Kiki. I think I may finally be completing some of the projects at last. That would be good. Because I am very tired.