It has been 4 weeks into the book project.

Bing, bing, bing!

Thank you all very very much for your support and enthusiasm! It has been a very interesting and sometimes unpredictable experience. Often, I got neither help nor interest from people whom I expected to be passionate project supporters. And in many  cases I received tremendous attention and involvement from totally unexpected people.

There was some media exposure last month:
* Article about my book and Inkshares on FinBuzz (in Russian) http://finbuzz.ru/sergej-grechishkin-vspomnil-sovetskoe-detstvo/

*  My article about loving and hating Soviet childhood on Republic.ru (In Russian) https://republic.ru/posts/80271

Also, I was approached by 3 Russian publishing houses, who would be interested in Russian translation and publication. This is early, but nice to know!

Today we already have 555 copies pre-ordered out of 750 target (so 195 still left to go). Now I believe that it can really happen !!!
 
Could you please think about your friends or connections who may be interested in pre-ordering another copy and share it with them!
 
https://www.inkshares.com/books/everything-is-normal-the-life-and-times-of-a-soviet-kid-a33d0d
 
Thank you again and have a great weekend!

Regards
Sergey

It’s weekly update time! Been grappling with the decision of whether or not to accept the Quill light-publishing contract and move on to production, or continue pushing toward the full contract. I’ve come to the conclusion that the differences between the two contracts are just too vast not to continue.

The book is steadily selling copies every day, but not at a rate that will reach 750 in just one month. So, I have extended my campaign through the end of June. I am optimistic that the book can get there. Most who take the time to read the material that is up, feel a connection to the story, and preorder the book.

So, the name of the game now is - reaching a larger audience. Keep in mind that if 750 orders are placed before the campaign end date, that production will begin. So, reaching 750 as soon as possible is the goal! If anyone has any brilliant(or not so brilliant) ideas for spreading the word, I am all ears. If you have not gone through your email list to see if there is anyone you know that would support a book such as this, it would mean the world to me if you could take a few minutes to do that.

In other news, Inigo Online Magazine ran an interview with me earlier this week. Check it out! https://inigoonline.com/2017/03/08/author-of-the-walls-are-closing-in-discusses-her-dystopian-novel/

Update on the book itself: I will be sending the manuscript off to beta readers over the next few weeks so it’s ready to submit to Inkshares the moment the goal is met. News headlines continue to shape the story-line, so I’m continuously combing through the backstory to ensure that the final work is as poignant, yet malleable, as possible. It’s a fine line.

The last couple days I’ve stepped back, intentionally blacked out the number 750 that blinks in the back of my mind, and reflected on the fact that I have sold 335 copies of my first book before it has even been published. This is an amazing feat, and I am incredibly grateful to each and every one of you for the support. THANK YOU.

Until next time,

-Jacqui

Dear hallowed Reader: 

Since I was last in touch I’ve been up to lots of things, but none that seemed worthy of an isolated update. So here’s a quick bulleted version to bring you up to speed:

• With the help of other crowdfunding writers, I created a short video series to help other crowdfunding writers
• Summarized the key lessons of said crowdfunding writers
• Throughout, I’ve been out back beating my manuscript with a sledgehammer, trying to turn its lumpiness into a recognizable shape. (More on what that’s been like, here.)

Looking forward, what I’m most excited about are ILLUSTRATIONS. I LOVE THEM! It’s been an eye-opening and magical experience to watch Maria derive meaning from words, and then channel that into her own visual art form.

Most of all, I’m excited about Maria, the woman behind the illustrations. It’s with all the enthusiasm and exclamation marks in the world that I introduce her to you in video format (https://youtu.be/h6bv19i_7k4).

When I kicked off this project I spoke about why I think a diverse set of skills amongst creators can foster much-needed compassion. That’s why I’m so excited about Maria. She’s a professional accountant, not someone who would have self-identified as an artist, much less an illustrator, before this. But now she’s just as excited as I am to be working on a creative project that will one day make a meaningful impact. (See what Community Edition and Communitech have to say about it.) 

On the topic of TIMING, the TL;DR is that it probably won’t be until mid or late 2018 that you get your copy of Where the Sun Sets, or at the very latest, by next century.

(LOOONG VERSION: Timing is where things get a little weird. Shortly after hitting 250 pre-orders I inquired about whether a campaign extension was possible. In response, my campaign was extended! An extension means the possibility of receiving full publishing services is still on the table. But, I haven’t been doing much to sell those units (and I feel as though I’m squandering an opportunity). (But enough of that.) To distill it, an extension means that I’m still in funding mode, and that my timeline has been pushed out by three months. The revised funding period ends on April 10, 2017. After April 10, I’ll submit the manuscript to Inkshares. When it makes it to the top of their long list of books to look at, they’ll inform me of next steps. That’s when I can provide you with more concrete details. That said, I suspect timelines will be fuzzy for a long time. It probably won’t be until mid or late 2018 that you get your copy, or at the very latest, by the next century.)

I can’t emphasize enough just how grateful I am for your patience. Thank you for your phenomenal support. I hope you take the time to watch the video to learn more about Maria (https://youtu.be/h6bv19i_7k4), and I welcome your questions and comments. 

--

EPILOGUE (for all you below-the-folders)

Here’s what I really wanted to share with you all.

I think of International Women’s Day (IWD) as Swift Kick in the Ass Day (SKAD). I think SKAD could catch on, because we all need a good swift kick in the ass sometimes. Mine came last night from a diminutive woman (in stature only, let me assure you) wearing glittery gold sneakers and pants with elastic ankles, whose name conveniently rhymes with Butt. 

Dr. Sam Nutt, the sulky pants kicker (also voted a Kickass Canadian by Amanda Sage in 2014), or Dr. Sam, as she prefers to be called, has spent the past two decades fighting for world peace. Literally. The woman’s come under gun fire countless times, and she’s picked a gnarly fight with the behemoth global arms industry. Even before reading Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath, I would have put my money on her. She’s a disruptive humanitarian, the founder of War Child Canada and War Child USA, and she serves as the mouthpiece for our world’s most easily forgotten members. If you’ve never heard of this tough Nutt, you should stop reading immediately, and go find out where you can get your very own swiftly delivered butt kick from Dr. Sam Nutt.

Thank you Innovation Guelph for getting Dr. Sam to come speak on International Women’s Day. Thank you mom for making sure I got to hear her speak. And thank you Dr. Sam for telling me (without telling me) to get my ass in gear, and give ya’ll a much-needed update. 

Princess Gail and I just returned from a busy week in Florida. I golfed with old high school friends in the Clearwater/Tampa/St. Pete’s area and Gail visited her niece, Lana. It is always great catching up with family and friends!

Then we crossed over to the Atlantic side of the state for a multi-purpose side trip. We spent two glorious mornings exploring the Merritt Island NWR. Even before the Spring migration, this is a spectacular site for birders like us. We particularly enjoyed spotting the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay in its dwindling natural habitat.

We visited the Kennedy Space Center in the afternoons. There aren’t strong enough superlatives to describe the things that happened and continue to happen here. We’ll have to come back someday to experience a launch at close range.

On top of all that, one of the reasons I wanted to come to this area was for Mission 51 research, as the final chapters of the book take place around here. It was great to visualize this important geography first hand. It can only make the book better.

Keep your eyes open for the Mission 51 Inkshares campaign which I anticipate to be in the near future!

I’ll leave you with this image of a Great Blue Heron taking flight, which I took two days ago at the Merritt Island NWR.

Peace! 👽