Posts Tagged "Princess Celestia"
Investing Time: When It Backfires
So my best friend growing up, Mike, made this observation about me: “You work really hard so that you don’t have to work harder later.” He told me this when I said that my summer should be easy because of how far ahead I was on my thesis. So the class to begin preparing someone’s thesis would be easy.
My thesis prep class is a one on one class with a faculty instructor. By then end of the summer you need 60 pages of ready to print work. I gave her about 90 pages on the first day.
“Here’s the thesis I’ve been working on since undergrad. I’m going to go off to enjoy my summer now. BYE!”
As you might have expected, this did not go as planned.
Meeting 1
She pretty much said that master’s thesis is supposed to be representative of the work I’ve done at during my master’s degree. She didn’t feel the poetry worked well with the fiction and so the poetry was kicked out. Also she didn’t kick out my fiction, but she just didn’t really talk about my other stories. She just said “Unicorn Hunting” is ready for print.
“What do you mean I have to write another 35 pages? I just need 60 pages. Didn’t I give you 75 pages of awesome stories?”
“No, you gave me 25 pages of AN awesome story and 50 pages of failure.”
Finally she said that it would be in my best interest if we worked on a short story from scratch together so I could have one more solid, finished piece in my arsenal. We decided we would work on new work for meetings 2 & 3 while using meetings 4 & 5 to edit.
“My friends have thesis advisers that are lazy, don’t show up, and/or let them get away with terrible writing. Why did I have to get a thesis adviser who cares about my development, supports my aesthetic, and worst of all has integrity?! You’re getting in the way of summer. I have a Universal Studios pass that’s about to expire, and I paid way more to get parking on the pass, and I didn’t use it enough to actually get a return on that investment!”
“I’m sorry, I guess I just wanted you to get the most out of our meetings. Hey, wait! You’re the one who ask ME to be your thesis adviser! You’re not the only one who has a summer, jerk!”
Meetings 2 & 3
The story I decided to write was ambitious and beyond my current skill as a writer. I had to develop more in order to do it justice. My adviser really guided me on exactly how to do it. I really can’t imagine the story coming out as well as it did without her help. Although, because the idea pushed me so far beyond what I was used to, not surprisingly my submissions were almost always tardy and short on pages.
I was supposed to give her a short story for meeting 2 and a new short story for meeting 3. I gave her half of a short story for meeting 2 and the second half for meeting 3. On top of that those pages were several hours late. She didn’t seem to mind, but I felt like if I were a better writer I could have managed the deadlines. So it just felt overwhelmingly like a personal failure, even though what I was doing was actually a personal best.
“You have submitted your pages 12-24 hours past your deadline. Your tardiness has made it impossible for me to print your manuscript before my flight. You will NOT receive gentle, personal, pencil notes on a physical manuscript which would be bound together with a doggie-shaped paperclip. Instead you shall receive a cold, sterile Microsoft Word document marked up with the comments feature. The only personal touch you will feel is my attempt to lessen the blows of your failures with smiley face emoticons.”
“That’s actually better. It’s easier for me to lose a manuscript bound together with a doggie-paperclip than it is to lose my laptop.”
“Oh, well, should we just do this from now on then?”
“I mean, whatever is easier for you.”
“Well, the university gives me free printing services, so if you want a physical copy…”
“Actually I have access to free printing services too, so–“
“Yeah, I’ll just send this to you, and you can decide to make it tangible or not.”
“I’ll probably keep it digital, because when I edit I can do a dual monitor setup with my TV and my laptop. It’s kinda neat actually.”
“We’ll do this from now on then. But get your work done on time!”
Between Meetings 3 & 4
In between this time I wrote The Art of the Dress: Lesson on Criticism
After the a lot of trying to think smarter rather than work harder, I still ended up working a lot to fix up the story. She replied with an e-mail saying that she wanted to talk about the story, which I mentioned at the end of my last post.
I had no idea what I could possibly do. I was getting some slight anxiety over it.
“I don’t know what to do anymore. Any of you girls have a gun I can borrow and a bullet I can have? No, I will not call the suicide helpline.”
Meeting 4
I must have had at least some sound logic in the Art of the Dress post. It turned out she liked it. I must have been reading into things from a place of insecurity, because she said she could sign off on it after a few slight revisions. Finally, all that hard work paid off and we were done! Ahead of time!
“Well, if we have 60 approved pages and ahead of schedule, then I guess I’ll just head over to Universal Studios…”
“I want you to write me another short story for our last meeting. It would be a shame to break your current momentum.”
“It would also be a shame if I let my Universal Studios pass go to waste, but I guess a writer is someone who writes, not someone who goes on the new Tranformer’s ride…”
Note: My thesis adviser is the nicest person and would never say the things I wrote in here for humor. USC mostly has a fantastic faculty of caring individuals, but you do hear the occasional horror story. I know this was told in the style of complaining, mostly for comedic effect. However, since my adviser didn’t let me be lazy, I’m that much further along in my work. And perhaps next year when I finish my final project, I’ll get to skate by on the work I did this summer, though I doubt it. I guess the real lesson I’ve learned is that I’m not the type of person who should get annual passes to theme parks.
How To Do a Kickstarter: E-Mails
Skullgirls has probably done one of the most successful campaigns ever. Their initial goal was $150,000, but they ended up earning close to a million dollars. If you look back at the How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version), and compare it with how Skullgirls did their campaign, you can see what they’ve done right.
One really important thing that I forgot to mention in the short list (might go back and add it) is INVOLVE YOUR DONORS IN THE PROJECT! Skullgirls created surveys and everyone who donated any amount of money got some say in who the new downloadable character would be. This is how they got me to donate. I paid $1 so that I could vote for Marie, a character voiced by Rina-Chan. By the way I should note, I DON’T EVEN PLAY SKULLGIRLS!
This brings me to the greatest benefits and faults of their campaign, E-mails.
Do’s
1. Keep your donors updated
Use the e-mail feature of Kickstarter to keep your donors informed about what their money is doing. People work hard for their money. They want to know what they helped to create with it. This will make them more inclined to contribute to future projects or spread word of mouth on this one. Dale Carnegie said, “People support a world they help to create.” And boy, let me tell you, Skullgirls kept the donors updated…maybe too much. More on that in the “don’ts” section.
Dear Jerks,
Today I used your funds to buy a burrito. It was delicious. You guys are such saps.
-Spike (Bad example. Good idea.)
2. Involve your donors
Skullgirls gave all donors a chance to vote on the new downloadable character. They used the e-mails to send out links to surveys which allowed the donors a chance to take a real role in the development of the game. Based upon how much additional funding they’ve received, I believe this alone could easily be responsible for over $100,000 of their contributions.
3. Rally the troops
People have given you money, because you’re their friend and they don’t want to hear you bitch about how you didn’t support them they believe in what you want to do. Sending out mid-campaign e-mails to remind people the clock is ticking and that they can help by sharing your campaign with their friends is a good way to make money. Don’t just crowd source your funds, crowd source your fund gathering. With Rina-Chan’s participation, quite a few bronies championed the funding of Skullgirls. At least I know Spenser from the Brony Clubhouse was shouting from the social media heavens about it.
4. Sell to the lower tiers
So your creative team is paid, your work is done, and the final product is hitting stores. Now what? Well, not everyone bought your work. The lowest tiers probably gave you a dollar for basically nothing in return. They’re clearly a hot lead for someone who likes the project. E-mail them and let them know that your movie/game/hot dogs are now for sale.
“I know you didn’t give me enough money to actually get a ‘free’ bus playset, but it’s now available in stores for you to purchase with additional money.” (Image Source Dawn Somewhere)
Maybes?
1. Numbered only for uniformity but this is the only maybe. It’s a good idea to use this e-mail list serve to promote future projects.
This is a good idea, because these people are already interested in what you do and are hot leads for your next project. IT IS A BAD IDEA TO JUST START E-MAILING PEOPLE! The right way to do this is to e-mail your donors (burying the lead) thanking them, and then asking if they would like to sign up for a mailing list about your future projects.
Trust me, you don’t want to e-mail people directly about your other projects (see the first don’t). Best case scenario people unsubscribe. Worst case scenario, they flag you as spam and your e-mail will get shot down by spam blockers. It’s in your best interest to ask them to subscribe to your personal newsletter (Bonus tip: You’ll get more people if you reassure them that they can unsubscribe! Also make a method for them to unsubscribe.)
If you’re so daring, don’t be a selfish tool when doing this. Keep in mind that your work may have brought publicity for the stars of your project. Your donors may want to follow the artists or actors on Twitter or Facebook. Spread the love, because those stars probably promoted your Kickstarter.
Don’ts
1. Don’t spam!
Do not send people info about other people’s projects or the projects of your friends. Try to keep everything relevant and on topic to what people signed up for (I know this kinda contradicts the advice immediately above this).
2. Don’t overwhelm your donors.
This is the one thing I hated with the Skullgirls campaign. They e-mailed me ALL THE TIME. Limit e-mails to a MAXIMUM of 2 a week.
“Sh*t”
3. Most importantly, don’t make it all about yourself or your project.
Your donors have just made it possible for you to fulfill a dream. They may do it, because they love you. But they can also be motivated by their desire to be a part of something important. It is never a bad idea to make someone feel special. Look through your e-mail and see how many times you say “I” or “We” versus how many times you say “you.” Remember even though this is about you, make it about them. They gave you money, it’s the least you could do…other than the perks they bought.
More:
How To Do a Kickstarter: Sharif Acts Like Don Draper on an E-Mail (Public Relations)
How To Do a Kickstarter: Perks
How To Do a Kickstarter: E-Mails
How To Do a Kickstarter (Short Version)