Poetry Fishbowl Perks for 2012

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've finished compiling and distributing the perks for the 2011 Poetry Fishbowl project.  There were 9 k-fans, people who spent $100 or more during the year.  Interestingly, some of them were 'superfans' who spent substantially more than that and would have qualified several times over.  There were 36 donors in all.  The k-fan collection of all the

Comments

[the_vulture]

>>The full-year collection keeps getting bigger, even with my duplex printer using both sides of the paper,...<<

Yes, this year's collection was quite a bit heftier than last year's.

Thank you so very much for everything you put into making and sending those out! They really area a treasure. :)

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Yes, this year's collection was quite a bit heftier than last year's.<<

The 2010 collection was 192 pages, compared to 2011's heap of 333.

The covers I found this year were rated for 300 sheets of paper, but I'm a bit dubious of that since they have folded rather than flat spines. That tends to leave part of the flyleaf uncovered. They'll hold somewhat more than I put in this year, but probably not a lot. That's why I'm keeping an eye on the 3-ring binder option, but those are unfortunately a lot more expensive and also heavier.

>> Thank you so very much for everything you put into making and sending those out! They really area a treasure. <<

*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service. I want to do something awesome for my main supporters, so I'm glad that you enjoy the collections.

[haikujaguar]

Instead of printing out all the poems and binding them, why not consider printing them through someplace like Createspace or Lulu? All you'd need is a document with all of them in order, and then you can just order them for fairly cheap and send them out instead of having to do the printing yourself.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

I have considered taking the collections to a print shop or online service, when they get to be too much for me to handle individually.

Among the reasons for not doing that from the beginning:
* It probably costs more than making them myself.
* I think people appreciate having something handmade and unique. If the collections come from a printer, they'll all be the same. Right now, each has a different flyleaf paper design and a dedication letter with the recipient's name on it.
* Handmade copies make it clear that this isn't "publication" in the official sense. It's in the same realm as handing out a few copies of a manuscript to first-readers. So there's less likelihood of getting into an argument over rights if I later decide to issue a collection of poetry as a regular book.

[marina_bonomi]

Very, very exciting. The perks for 2012 sound great to me.

Elizabeth, I shudder to think of the mailing fee to ship this year's collection over here... I'll try to come up with some ideas for different options.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Very, very exciting. The perks for 2012 sound great to me.<<

Yay! I'm happy to hear that.

>>Elizabeth, I shudder to think of the mailing fee to ship this year's collection over here... I'll try to come up with some ideas for different options.<<

We managed to find a mailing option that was doable. It's not cheap to send things overseas, but not hopelessly unreasonable. Besides, over the years I've spent more on total postage to magazines that never bought anything from me -- and the Poetry Fishbowl is my second-biggest market. It very nearly matched the Llewellyn annuals this year, which is impressive. So it's worth what support I can manage in return.

Other options are worth considering too, though, if you come up with any good ideas.

[ravan]

I guess I'm going to have to budget more $$$ for you this year. As long as I'm working, I can do it, unless my bills bite me in the butt again.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

That would be awesome, if you can manage it. If not, I'll understand; money is tight for most folks these days. What kind of stuff did you have your eye on?

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I've opened up a whole discussion on this topic here:
http://ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com/2078906.html
If there's enough interest and the details can be made to work, it's possible.

In general though, remember that people can reach donation thresholds by contributing a little at a time or all at once if they have windfalls. I have k-fans of both kinds. Sponsoring one $10 poem a month will do it, and even $5 a month will get you more than halfway to k-fan status. One or two epics can do it, too, if you want to think in bigger chunks.

Feel free to check back with me in August to see what options are available.