Apr 22, 2015

I would like to send a big thank you to every person who has supported this project. Your willingness to contribute is a huge inspiration. For those of you who are following along, chapter two is available, and if you have not yet read chapter one you can view it here. I feel we made a lot of progress in the last week, but the train does not stop until we hit the finish line. You are officially on Team Terzieva, now and you are not required to do anything, but alone I am just a man with a dream and a pile of words. 

Public opinion considers writing to be a solitary craft, but in reality it is an incredible group effort. A complete product requires contributions from the writer, publisher, artists, editors, and you the reader, and as a reader I need your help. When I talk about this project, It is not just me anymore. It's your project too, and together we make it a success. 

Milestones

There are two major milestones to be aware of as we run this campaign along, the end of the Sword & Laser Collection Contest and the pre-order deadline. The contest ends at midnight PST May 31st and to consider this milestone a success we need to ensure the book has enough pre-orders to remain in the top 5. This goal will guarantee publication of the book, and ideally we would like to keep it somewhere in the middle of the pack. The top would be great, but we are an unproven underdog against a competition of proven pedigree. If we expend effort trying to outshine the other novels, we lose valuable time that should be used to create the highest quality product. The second deadline is just as important, July 15th, the pre-order deadline. It is our goal to reach 1000 preorders by this point. To accomplish this, we must get as many eyeballs on the project as possible, and I need to ensure the quality of the sample material is as compelling as possible. 

What can you do? 

There are multiple things you can do to help. The first of these is feedback. If you have not already done so, check out the sample chapters, leave a review, or send me an email (joe.terzieva@gmail.com) with your feedback. Without reactions to this initial material, I cannot know if I am moving in the right direction. Does it excite you? Are you eager to read more? Would you recommend this story to a friend? 

The second activity bleeds into the first. Would you recommend this story to a friend? If so, will you? Without a large fanbase, a strong grassroots movement is required to extend the word of Lost Generation. Suggest the story to a friend and encourage them to preorder the book. This project is my dream, but next month, next year, it might be yours, theirs. Let's build the foundation and a network of supporting each other, so we can all follow our hearts. 

What will I do? 

I am the perennial cheerleader of this project. When I am not at work or with Miro, I write for the story or brainstorm new ideas to get the word out, and I will continue to do so until the project meets its completion. If you know me personally, you've already heard me plug the book at least five times in conversation. I live this in every free moment, and when the project ends you won't just get a book, you'll get a piece of my heart, and a little of my soul too. 

Thanks for reading. Please continue to spread the word and help me make this the best project possible.