Have you been biting your nails wondering what I’m going to do to up my Clarion Write-a-thon fundraising game?  To recap, last post I talked about the three things I see Marie Vibbert do that blows the rest of us out of the water:

1. Be social
2. Ask and repeat the ask regularly
3. Offer a prize

I think #1 is a lost cause for me.  I’m social compared to some but there are just somethings I don’t do well or the emotional wear-in-tear of doing them is too much for my poor nerves.  BUT, I do know social people or people who know people who are social.  Share my post!  Even if you can’t contribute, sharing helps others see this so they can donate.

That leaves us with #2 and #3.  I’ve written about the importance of doing bad art that isn’t the art form you are working to perfect.  Fear not! I am not offering my awful acrylic paintings as a prize.  No, I’m going a step further.  String Art (or Pin and String Art) was super popular in the 1960’s,  It’s had something of a revival in recent years–with embellishments.

Here is something I did recently for a friend:

Yes, friends, if you donate to my Clarion Write-a-thon (that is the link to donate right there), you will be entered in for a chance to win your own poorly executed Chesire Cat string art.  I will be sharing details of my progress, both in the Write-a-thon and on the prize, as people make donations.

From https://wallpaperaccess.com/cheshire-cat.

So, what are your action steps?

1. Go to my Clarion Write-a-thon page and donate money for scholarships for the Clarion Workshop, a 6-week intensive, professional, genre writing program.
2. Share this with your network.

Make it so!

During Clarion Write-a-thon Marie Vibbert puts the rest of the Clarion fundraisers to shame.  I’ve watched her do Write-a-thon several years running now and I think I know her secret:

1. She’s a social butterfly.  She is networked with a good number of people.  She is friends online with a friend of mine in Baltimore that she met once at a New Years Eve party at my house over 15 years ago.  That wider audience pays off when she has an ask like, “Support my Clarion Write-a-thon.” (Marie’s Write-a-thon link)
2. She posts her fundraising request and she repeats it weekly, sometimes more often.
3. She offers a prize that is personal.  Several years running she has offered a hand-knitted sweater to a lucky random donor.  This year, she’s offering 3 shawls she knitted, one to each of 3 lucky winners, because she was feeling bad at the growing number of people who donated in hopes of a sweater and came up empty-handed year after year (myself included).

I don’t think Marie would bury the lead like I’m doing here.  So… rather than post how I’m fixing my fundraising for Clarion at the bottom of a long and boring post I will leave you hanging.  Want to know what I’m going to do to up my fundraising game?  Stay tuned.  Or, get a jump on the rush and donate to my Write-a-thon.