Suaine created a forum thread: Hitting limits

I’ve been thinking about how Inkshares and the Geeks & Sundry contest have showed me a whole new world and also some of the limits that I’ve encountered in the last few days.

1. Anxiety - a big part of crowd-funding is pestering people you know until they buy your book, but personal interactions and especially ASKING PEOPLE FOR STUFF triggers my anxiety. A couple of days ago I was this close to a panic attack. And there’s not really good advice to help with that except to know that it’s normal and will pass.

2. Language - I’m German and even though I absolutely believe in my ability to craft some good English prose, I’ve encountered a very different but related problem: none of my local social circle speak English well enough to order a book or help me market. There’s also not exactly a sizable English-speaking audience for queer science fiction.

3. Money - I’m a pastry baker, I get minimum wage and work occasionally gruelling hours. I can’t afford to trade pre-orders with the community here. Even more problematic, I don’t own a credit card and neither do many of the friends who might want to buy a book from me. I have super talented friends but not enough money to pay them to design a cover or some background art.

So a couple of days ago I figured I’d absolutely hit my limit of things I could do. I despaired like a romance novel heroine at her worst. Community building is a fight against my own pathologies. Money seems an insurmountable obstacle. I can’t share this burden with my friends and family. But every day I have renewed hope.

Do you know why? I absolutely believe in my story and my ability to tell it. No matter what happens, that’s not going to change.

I’d love to get some more insight from all Inkshare veterans though and build some new relationships right here.

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Dean Newby followed Suaine

Suaine

Queer lady writer, reader and serious geek. I’m also a professional baker/pastry chef.

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Suaine sent an update for Jump the Gun

Readers and followers of Jump the Gun, I want to thank each and every one of your for being interested in this little story. It’s such a labor of love and it means so much to me to one day hold it in my hand as a real, physical book.

If you’ve pre-ordered, there really aren’t any words to say thank you. It means the world to me that you would bet on me, my writing and my story.

I originally entered this story as a bid for the Geeks & Sundry contest. It was a late entry and there was probably never any way we could have made it to the top, not days away from the finish line. Still, with the weekend coming up, it would be great if each of you could think of one other person that might be interested in the book. I know our audience is out there, let’s find them.

As for the future, I’m a professional pastry baker, so I’m thinking about how we could reward some of the people with the most referrals. A small package of handmade space themed chocolates, with fillings of your choice? Believe me, you’ve not had chocolate this good before.

I’m not holding out too much hope for the G&S contest, but I am aiming for hitting that August goal. I will need your help. Anything you can do, from writing reviews, to recommending the book here or on twitter and facebook, to sharing the book with friends, to sweet-talking little old grandmothers into buying a copy of their own.

Again, thank you for your interest. It means so much.

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