My Crowdfunding Activity from 2011
I've decided to try tallying up all the stuff I've done with cyberfunded creativity in 2011 ...
I served as a maintainer of the Crowdfunding communities on Dreamwidth and on LiveJournal. I organized a bunch of posts on different topics during Spotlight week on LJ. I wrote about a dozen essays on crowdfunding, which you can read in the Crowdfunding section of my website, mostly filed under "How To." I also did post on " Let's Make Some Bookstores" to encourage people to feature bookstores in their crowdfunding projects.
I organized the 2011 Rose & Bay Awards, recognizing excellence in crowdfunding across the categories of Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. My Poetry Fishbowl project won the Poetry category, and there's a post listing all the 2011 winners.
In 2011 I added a " from my prompts" tag on my LJ so folks can see what people have created based on my inspiration. If you enjoy my ideas when I'm writing, you'll probably enjoy the literature, art, and other goodies that other folks have developed based on something I suggested.
Events (3)
Several communities or websites host activities where lots of folks can gather to swap ideas and items. Here are a few that I frequent.
Crowdfunding Creative Jam on crowdfunding
This 2-day activity gives everyone a chance to post prompts, create whatever they want, collaborate or cascade inspiration, and sponsor things that they like. Anything goes, everyone can play, third weekend of the month.
Muse Fusion on torn_world
Torn World folks get together to swap prompts and make art, fiction, poetry, background articles, etc. Usually some things are shared for free, while others must be sponsored or else they get posted on the Torn World site for subscribers only. There's a Muse Fusion about once a month on the community.
Sketch Fest organized by ellenmillion
Montly activity where people can leave prompts for artists. There's a one-hour limit on what is created during the Sketch Fest, although items may be refined later. Artists often post prints or originals for sale.
Projects I Sponsored (7)
Our household budget is very tight, so I don't get to sponsor as much stuff as I'd like. Consider these projects the cream of the crop. I'm kind of surprised that there are even this many; guess I'm doing a little better than I realized. This qualifies me for the Patron category of the Rose & Bay Awards.
Aether Dancer by Steven Lambert aka jadedeath
I first encountered this through the IndieGoGo project, which didn't get fully funded but has done more proof-of-concept work since in hopes of eventually making this a full show. It's a steampunk adventure about the very diverse crew of an airship, set not in the past but a post-apocalyptic future. (You gotta love a story that STARTS with "rocks fall, almost everybody dies.") I want TV that doesn't suck. Meanwhile, there are YouTube videos, interviews, and other stuff you can find online. There is a Facebook feed for project updates.
Filk Music by filkertom
Fantasy, science fiction, horror, and humor song downloads, albums, custom-designed songs, and fun blogging by a full-time professional filker. <3 This guy can do what I do in a fishbowl, but faster and with a guitar. At one houseparty I gave him "antidisestablishmentarianism" as a prompt and he filked it.
Free Small Art by ankewehner -- see the gallery website
Character illustrations, variously in B/W or color. I'm thrilled with the portraits of Apricot the mule.
Hunt Press Needs a New Computer by quennessa
IndieGoGo project to fund a professional-caliber computer for the crowdfunding-friendly small publisher, Hunt Press. Let there be diversity in publication! quennessa wants to issue hardcopies of my poetic series The Origami Mage and Monster House.
Icon Day by djinni
Lovely little LJ icons of people, characters, animals, etc. This artist has illustrated many of my characters. This project won the Art category of the 2010 Rose & Bay Award. It's one of the most popular free art projects.
The Many Writings of K.A. Jones by kajones_writing aka moonwolf1988 -- see the " Welcome" page
Over a dozen series, mostly fantasy, some horror, some Pagan fiction, etc. My favorites include Donor House, Afterlife, Pagans, and World Walkers. Stories are written in installments, which can be extended based on comments, donations, and/or credits depending on the context. There are prompt calls about once a month, along with tons of other audience interaction opportunities like featured characters/settings or polls. Audience members can even help with worldbuilding, adopt characters, create characters or locations, and otherwise influence what happens. There is a credit system to reward folks for spotting typos, boosting the signal, creating fanart, and other activities; then those credits can be used to get more stories written, or background material posted, or other things. Some stuff is shared privately, some is posted publically, and there are lists of what can be sponsored for publication. This project has one of the highest levels of audience interaction.
Story Sketches by meeksp -- see the " story sketch" tag and the Mikaspace website
Creators or fans leave prompts of scenes from literature, which meeksp then illustrates. Rough sketches may be refined if enough people comment and/or donate on a sketch. There are also weekly drawings to get a free color icon. This artist has illustated numerous scenes from my writing. She is also crowdfunding an Inkling pen. Here's another project with a very high degree of audience interaction, partly because it's a hub connecting lots of audiences attached to other projects.
Other Projects I Supported as a Fan (28)
On the other hoof, I'm pretty much made of words and will happily boost the signal for lots of different projects. I didn't include everything that I linked, but mainly focused on favorite projects, regulars, or ones that I thought were especially interesting.
100 Sketchbook Retrospective by haikujaguar
Donations sponsor more scans of sketches, mostly science fiction and fantasy.
Art by DW user Moonvoice aka Ravenari
Vividly colored spiritual art, especially the totem series, along with some great speculative fiction art. She won the Art category of the Rose & Bay Award in 2011, so is not eligible in 2012.
Bard to the Bone by wordslinger
Stories about a talking pig who is a bard.
Bellydancing by Inutska aka mikalay
Suggest songs, see a short dance to each, and vote on which gets danced in full. See the Inutska channel on YouTube.
Clays Beneath the Skies by haikujaguar
A collection of sociological science fiction short stories.
Crowdfunding for Neurodiversity by southabi
A Kickstarter project using the arts to raise awareness of bipolar disorder.
The Dancers Tarot
Kickstarter project to fund a Tarot deck with photographs of dancers.
Demimonde by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Kickstarter project to fund a book of erotic, chromatic science fiction. Your crowdfunding dollars at work for a more inclusive future!
Divination by siege -- see " channeling" and " hero's deck" tags
Lots of people offer readings via various card decks, but siege is the only one I've seen thus far who offers open channeling sessions with a spirit guide.
Fiction by aldersprig -- see the Landing Page Landing Page
Many series of fantasy and science fiction; the Unicorn/Factory and Bug Invasion are among my personal favorites. Microfic can be extended by donations or other means. The Giraffe Call is now a monthly opportunity to give prompts, often with themes. This is one of the more popular microfic projects.
Flash Fiction Fishbowl by ankewehner
Ficlets extendable by donations.
Free Microfic Day by skjam
Short fiction based on audience prompts.
Free Sketch Day by shadows_gallery
These are rough sketches done electronically, with a light free style that reminds me of the figure sketching exercise in art where you just take a few minutes per image.
Garden of Prose by DW user clare_dragonfly -- see the "call for prompts" and "summary" tags, along with others
Microfic based on themes, which can be extended by donations.
Hold Something by bodlon
Unusual in that it's a hardcopy project rather than a cyber project, but organized online; photography and fiction.
The Incidental Tarot by Hunt Press (quennessa)
Kickstarter project to fund a Tarot deck with vivid art and thoughtful symbolism.
Nightlights by chrysoula
A paranormal young adult story with adventure and romance.
One-Card Draw by DW user ariestess
This diviner works with multiple decks so you can choose which one you want a card from. There are donation threshold perks and drawings where you can win a more complex reading.
One-Card Draw by miintikwa
Divination with various perks for donations.
One-Card Draw by stonetalker -- see the " tarot" tag
Most months there is a free one-card draw, and more elaborate readings are available for a donation.
One-Card Draw by DW user Wrenstarling
This is the only augury project I know of: divination based on birds. The auspex is quite talented. She has also done a prompt call on wisdom and magic, another uniquity.
OpinioNation by wbm
Political and satirical cartoon strips. If you want to see teh stoopud stabbed with sharp pins, this is the place to go.
Poetry Kitchen by stryck
Periodic prompt calls and free poems, with a donation button. "Sonnet Side Up" was an amusing session.
Prompted Abstracts by ellenmillion
These are pretty little ACEOs with colorful painted designs based on audience prompts. She made icons of them once too.
Seder-Masochism by Nina Paley
Kickstarter project for a new film by a favorite cartoonist.
Streetbooks
A mobile library for the homeless, funded first by a grant and later by a Kickstarter project.
The Three Micahs by haikujaguar
Brilliant, detailed, practical articles on the art and business of creativity; highly useful for crowdfunders. One of the rare nonfiction crowdfunded projects. Ideas for articles often come from readers, and there's a tip jar for donations.
Triangulation: Last Contact by Parsec Ink
Science fiction anthology on Kickstarter because the sponsoring editor passed away. I had a story in a previous volume.
Wonder City Stories by DW user wonder_city
Superhero soap opera fiction series with chromatically and sexually diverse characters.
My Own Projects (4)
I've explored all kinds of different things with crowdfunding. These projects made me at least a bit of money in 2011.
Photography by Elizabeth Barrette (eligible for the Art category of the Rose & Bay Awards)
I post mostly nature photos and people can sponsor extra images. xjenavivex bought some snow photos.
The Poetry Fishbowl -- see the " fishbowl" and " poem" tags, along with the Serial Poetry page
Once a month I host a poetry fishbowl where you can give me prompts on a theme and I'll write some poetry based on whatever I get. Some gets posted free and the rest is available to be sponsored. There are lots of different perks available. You can also buy scrapbooked poetry pages, or custom-designed poetry. This project won the Poetry category of the Rose & Bay Award in 2010 and 2011, so is ineligible for 2012.
Schrodinger's Heroes (eligible for the Other Project category of the Rose & Bay Awards)
A complex project about the imaginary fandom of an apocryphal television show featuring quantum physics and saving the world from alternate dimensions. Enjoy strong, smart characters of eclectic colors, sexual interests, and other flavors. There is background material plus fiction, poetry, podcast scripts, LOLcats humor, and all kinds of fun stuff. See the menu post for a concise guide to the content.
Torn World organized by ellenmillion (eligible for the Other Project category of the Rose & Bay Awards)
Science fantasy about a fractured world that is slowly healing. Explore fiction, poetry, artwork, music, crafts, background material and other goodies. The website is massive; if you're new to it, I recommend that you start here.
I served as a maintainer of the Crowdfunding communities on Dreamwidth and on LiveJournal. I organized a bunch of posts on different topics during Spotlight week on LJ. I wrote about a dozen essays on crowdfunding, which you can read in the Crowdfunding section of my website, mostly filed under "How To." I also did post on " Let's Make Some Bookstores" to encourage people to feature bookstores in their crowdfunding projects.
I organized the 2011 Rose & Bay Awards, recognizing excellence in crowdfunding across the categories of Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. My Poetry Fishbowl project won the Poetry category, and there's a post listing all the 2011 winners.
In 2011 I added a " from my prompts" tag on my LJ so folks can see what people have created based on my inspiration. If you enjoy my ideas when I'm writing, you'll probably enjoy the literature, art, and other goodies that other folks have developed based on something I suggested.
Events (3)
Several communities or websites host activities where lots of folks can gather to swap ideas and items. Here are a few that I frequent.
Crowdfunding Creative Jam on crowdfunding
This 2-day activity gives everyone a chance to post prompts, create whatever they want, collaborate or cascade inspiration, and sponsor things that they like. Anything goes, everyone can play, third weekend of the month.
Muse Fusion on torn_world
Torn World folks get together to swap prompts and make art, fiction, poetry, background articles, etc. Usually some things are shared for free, while others must be sponsored or else they get posted on the Torn World site for subscribers only. There's a Muse Fusion about once a month on the community.
Sketch Fest organized by ellenmillion
Montly activity where people can leave prompts for artists. There's a one-hour limit on what is created during the Sketch Fest, although items may be refined later. Artists often post prints or originals for sale.
Projects I Sponsored (7)
Our household budget is very tight, so I don't get to sponsor as much stuff as I'd like. Consider these projects the cream of the crop. I'm kind of surprised that there are even this many; guess I'm doing a little better than I realized. This qualifies me for the Patron category of the Rose & Bay Awards.
Aether Dancer by Steven Lambert aka jadedeath
I first encountered this through the IndieGoGo project, which didn't get fully funded but has done more proof-of-concept work since in hopes of eventually making this a full show. It's a steampunk adventure about the very diverse crew of an airship, set not in the past but a post-apocalyptic future. (You gotta love a story that STARTS with "rocks fall, almost everybody dies.") I want TV that doesn't suck. Meanwhile, there are YouTube videos, interviews, and other stuff you can find online. There is a Facebook feed for project updates.
Filk Music by filkertom
Fantasy, science fiction, horror, and humor song downloads, albums, custom-designed songs, and fun blogging by a full-time professional filker. <3 This guy can do what I do in a fishbowl, but faster and with a guitar. At one houseparty I gave him "antidisestablishmentarianism" as a prompt and he filked it.
Free Small Art by ankewehner -- see the gallery website
Character illustrations, variously in B/W or color. I'm thrilled with the portraits of Apricot the mule.
Hunt Press Needs a New Computer by quennessa
IndieGoGo project to fund a professional-caliber computer for the crowdfunding-friendly small publisher, Hunt Press. Let there be diversity in publication! quennessa wants to issue hardcopies of my poetic series The Origami Mage and Monster House.
Icon Day by djinni
Lovely little LJ icons of people, characters, animals, etc. This artist has illustrated many of my characters. This project won the Art category of the 2010 Rose & Bay Award. It's one of the most popular free art projects.
The Many Writings of K.A. Jones by kajones_writing aka moonwolf1988 -- see the " Welcome" page
Over a dozen series, mostly fantasy, some horror, some Pagan fiction, etc. My favorites include Donor House, Afterlife, Pagans, and World Walkers. Stories are written in installments, which can be extended based on comments, donations, and/or credits depending on the context. There are prompt calls about once a month, along with tons of other audience interaction opportunities like featured characters/settings or polls. Audience members can even help with worldbuilding, adopt characters, create characters or locations, and otherwise influence what happens. There is a credit system to reward folks for spotting typos, boosting the signal, creating fanart, and other activities; then those credits can be used to get more stories written, or background material posted, or other things. Some stuff is shared privately, some is posted publically, and there are lists of what can be sponsored for publication. This project has one of the highest levels of audience interaction.
Story Sketches by meeksp -- see the " story sketch" tag and the Mikaspace website
Creators or fans leave prompts of scenes from literature, which meeksp then illustrates. Rough sketches may be refined if enough people comment and/or donate on a sketch. There are also weekly drawings to get a free color icon. This artist has illustated numerous scenes from my writing. She is also crowdfunding an Inkling pen. Here's another project with a very high degree of audience interaction, partly because it's a hub connecting lots of audiences attached to other projects.
Other Projects I Supported as a Fan (28)
On the other hoof, I'm pretty much made of words and will happily boost the signal for lots of different projects. I didn't include everything that I linked, but mainly focused on favorite projects, regulars, or ones that I thought were especially interesting.
100 Sketchbook Retrospective by haikujaguar
Donations sponsor more scans of sketches, mostly science fiction and fantasy.
Art by DW user Moonvoice aka Ravenari
Vividly colored spiritual art, especially the totem series, along with some great speculative fiction art. She won the Art category of the Rose & Bay Award in 2011, so is not eligible in 2012.
Bard to the Bone by wordslinger
Stories about a talking pig who is a bard.
Bellydancing by Inutska aka mikalay
Suggest songs, see a short dance to each, and vote on which gets danced in full. See the Inutska channel on YouTube.
Clays Beneath the Skies by haikujaguar
A collection of sociological science fiction short stories.
Crowdfunding for Neurodiversity by southabi
A Kickstarter project using the arts to raise awareness of bipolar disorder.
The Dancers Tarot
Kickstarter project to fund a Tarot deck with photographs of dancers.
Demimonde by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Kickstarter project to fund a book of erotic, chromatic science fiction. Your crowdfunding dollars at work for a more inclusive future!
Divination by siege -- see " channeling" and " hero's deck" tags
Lots of people offer readings via various card decks, but siege is the only one I've seen thus far who offers open channeling sessions with a spirit guide.
Fiction by aldersprig -- see the Landing Page Landing Page
Many series of fantasy and science fiction; the Unicorn/Factory and Bug Invasion are among my personal favorites. Microfic can be extended by donations or other means. The Giraffe Call is now a monthly opportunity to give prompts, often with themes. This is one of the more popular microfic projects.
Flash Fiction Fishbowl by ankewehner
Ficlets extendable by donations.
Free Microfic Day by skjam
Short fiction based on audience prompts.
Free Sketch Day by shadows_gallery
These are rough sketches done electronically, with a light free style that reminds me of the figure sketching exercise in art where you just take a few minutes per image.
Garden of Prose by DW user clare_dragonfly -- see the "call for prompts" and "summary" tags, along with others
Microfic based on themes, which can be extended by donations.
Hold Something by bodlon
Unusual in that it's a hardcopy project rather than a cyber project, but organized online; photography and fiction.
The Incidental Tarot by Hunt Press (quennessa)
Kickstarter project to fund a Tarot deck with vivid art and thoughtful symbolism.
Nightlights by chrysoula
A paranormal young adult story with adventure and romance.
One-Card Draw by DW user ariestess
This diviner works with multiple decks so you can choose which one you want a card from. There are donation threshold perks and drawings where you can win a more complex reading.
One-Card Draw by miintikwa
Divination with various perks for donations.
One-Card Draw by stonetalker -- see the " tarot" tag
Most months there is a free one-card draw, and more elaborate readings are available for a donation.
One-Card Draw by DW user Wrenstarling
This is the only augury project I know of: divination based on birds. The auspex is quite talented. She has also done a prompt call on wisdom and magic, another uniquity.
OpinioNation by wbm
Political and satirical cartoon strips. If you want to see teh stoopud stabbed with sharp pins, this is the place to go.
Poetry Kitchen by stryck
Periodic prompt calls and free poems, with a donation button. "Sonnet Side Up" was an amusing session.
Prompted Abstracts by ellenmillion
These are pretty little ACEOs with colorful painted designs based on audience prompts. She made icons of them once too.
Seder-Masochism by Nina Paley
Kickstarter project for a new film by a favorite cartoonist.
Streetbooks
A mobile library for the homeless, funded first by a grant and later by a Kickstarter project.
The Three Micahs by haikujaguar
Brilliant, detailed, practical articles on the art and business of creativity; highly useful for crowdfunders. One of the rare nonfiction crowdfunded projects. Ideas for articles often come from readers, and there's a tip jar for donations.
Triangulation: Last Contact by Parsec Ink
Science fiction anthology on Kickstarter because the sponsoring editor passed away. I had a story in a previous volume.
Wonder City Stories by DW user wonder_city
Superhero soap opera fiction series with chromatically and sexually diverse characters.
My Own Projects (4)
I've explored all kinds of different things with crowdfunding. These projects made me at least a bit of money in 2011.
Photography by Elizabeth Barrette (eligible for the Art category of the Rose & Bay Awards)
I post mostly nature photos and people can sponsor extra images. xjenavivex bought some snow photos.
The Poetry Fishbowl -- see the " fishbowl" and " poem" tags, along with the Serial Poetry page
Once a month I host a poetry fishbowl where you can give me prompts on a theme and I'll write some poetry based on whatever I get. Some gets posted free and the rest is available to be sponsored. There are lots of different perks available. You can also buy scrapbooked poetry pages, or custom-designed poetry. This project won the Poetry category of the Rose & Bay Award in 2010 and 2011, so is ineligible for 2012.
Schrodinger's Heroes (eligible for the Other Project category of the Rose & Bay Awards)
A complex project about the imaginary fandom of an apocryphal television show featuring quantum physics and saving the world from alternate dimensions. Enjoy strong, smart characters of eclectic colors, sexual interests, and other flavors. There is background material plus fiction, poetry, podcast scripts, LOLcats humor, and all kinds of fun stuff. See the menu post for a concise guide to the content.
Torn World organized by ellenmillion (eligible for the Other Project category of the Rose & Bay Awards)
Science fantasy about a fractured world that is slowly healing. Explore fiction, poetry, artwork, music, crafts, background material and other goodies. The website is massive; if you're new to it, I recommend that you start here.