Blowing Out Some Discs and Melissa Gijsbers

I have been absent from the blogging scene because I blew out five discs in an accident here on our farm. YOUCHIE!!!!! Oh, THE pain! I'm doing this without pain meds too. YOUCHIE!!!!!!! 

But here's the real reason we're here today. 

Everyone please welcome Melissa Gijsbers. Melissa has a crowdfunding campaign going on right now for her book SWALLOW ME, NOW! Her target is  $3,500. Her deadline is September 20^th. This book deals with the subject of bullying. A very important subject for all of us. Especially our kids.

This is the story of the project. Taken from Melissa’s crowdfunding project page at Pozible. 

‘Swallow Me, NOW!’ is the story of Samantha Phillips, a ten year old kid in grade 5 who relocates back to Australia after spending three years in Nepal. On her first day she meets Felicity, the most popular girl at Green Oaks Primary School, who bullies her, first with exclusion, and then escalating to teasing. The story tells the tale of how Sam overcomes the bullies and builds her confidence to find some new friends.

I first Melissa over at the chapter book challenge facebook group. This girl is full of energy and a love of writing. I knew I had to do something when I saw she was trying to crowdfund.

Melissa, what is the biggest challenge with crowdfunding?

There are two big challenges for me. One is self-promotion, not something I’ve been particularly good at, hand in hand with self-confidence. Something that many writers struggle with. The second is not bugging people all the time with posting links to the campaign!

How do you decide how much money you will need?

I looked at how much each element of the book cost – editing, layout, illustrations, printing, etc. – and then added extra to that amount for the different rewards. I also took into account how much it would be for envelopes and postage as well as the Pozible fees. I then added in a little extra for any unforeseen costs and came up with the figure.

How many rewards does an author need to have? I noticed you have seven. I’ve seen other projects that have two, and some have ten. 

I’ve seen campaigns with more rewards than what I have, and some that has less. I was going to have less. However, I know I have a lot of contacts who are outside Australia, so I wanted to make sure they didn’t miss out on getting a copy of their book too. :-)

How did you find your publisher?

I met Julieann Wallace from Lilly Pilly Press through a writer’s group on Facebook a while ago. I started looking for an editor about 7 months ago, and Julieann put her hand up. One of the biggest selling points for me was she’s a former teacher of the age group I’m aiming the book at, so she was able to edit the book from the point of view of a teacher as well as an editor. She believed in the book so much that she’s helped me every step of the way with publishing.

How many books will be printed?

That will depend a lot on how many books are pre-ordered! There will also be a box or two ready for the book launch in October.

Tell us about Swallow Me Now!

Swallow Me, NOW! was written during the 2013 Chapter Book Challenge and grew as a result of my son being bullied and hitting out. It’s based on my experiences in the late 1980s of being a missionary kid adjusting to life back in Australia and my kids experiences of bullies. One of my aims with the book is to encourage kids who are being bullied to speak up and get help.

Who did the illustrations?

Cecilia Clark (http://ceciliaaclark.blogspot.com.au/) drew Sam; you can see her on the cover. I think she’s done an amazing job as Sam looks just like I imagined her.

 My 12-year-old son is also doing a couple of the internal illustrations. He’s really excited to be involved and is trying to find a way he can pledge to the campaign….!

What can readers do to help you?

First, they can stop by and pledge. There are levels from $5 to $100, and most include a copy of the book. There are also levels where you can get a book for you and one for a friend. If you don’t have a friend you can think of, we would be happy to donate the second copy to a school or library.

Second, they can share the word and encourage their friends to get involved.

I’m looking forward to sending out copies of “Swallow Me, NOW!” to all the supporters of this campaign.

I truly hope you have your money by September 20th, Melissa. It's been wonderful having you here. 

If you want to support Melissa in crowdfunding her chapter book hop over to her home away from home and show her the love. Any amount will be appreciated. Here's the link: Swallow, Me Now! 

Melissa's HOUSE! YEAH! The House!

Melissa's hideaway (her blog) :-) Aussie hideaway

Here's Melissa's FB page: MelissaGijsbers. 

Question. Would YOU ever consider crowdfunding a writing project?