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on July 15, 2011
Connor Coyne
backed a project
The Island of Misfit Toys Eastbound Tour! by The Island of Misfit Toys
The Island of Misfit Toys from Chicago are raising money for their first tour ever, with a destination of New York. please help!
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116% funded $1,510 pledged
- 50 backers
- Funded Jul 24, 2011
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on September 28, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #28Hungry Rats: Pseudopostmortem
Post CommentFriends,
I can't call this a true postmortem, because there are probably a couple more updates coming. I'll certainly send one out when the Kickstarter Budget has been fully spent. But now that the book has been published and launched in two cities, it seems an appropriate time for a little wrap-up.
FIRST (and most importantly), I've been able to get out about half of the rewards, but many of you will be expecting stuff in the mail. If you requested:
1. A snail-mail thank-you note.
2. A CD of Hungry Rats music
3. A collection of Hungry Rats "outtakes"
4. A copy of the book in the mail
5. A coffee mug
Please send me your mailing address.
You can send it to me at connor@connorcoyne.comSECOND,
I welcome your help in these early days and weeks plugging the book. We had a great turnout at our events in Chicago and Flint, hosted by two great venues, with contributing artists and lively afterparties. Now we just have to keep the momentum going.Remember: Every cent I earn between now and 12/31 goes straight to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan. The 42 books we've already sold have already earned about $200 for that organization.
If you want to buy a copy (or recommend it to a friend):
- Hungry Rats website: http://hungryrats.com
- Buy Hungry Rats online at Lulu: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/hungry-rats/12301832If you want to hear more:
- Join our Hungry Rats Facebook Group: http://tinyurl.com/hungryratsfacebook
- "Like" me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/connorcoyne
- Drop me an email with any ideas or suggestions you may have: connor@connorcoyne.comThanks again for all you have done!
~ Connor
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on September 1, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #27Hungry Rats: Published and Available for Purchase!
Post CommentThanks to everyone for bearing with me through this long process: the book is finished and available for purchase. Just follow the links from:
http://hungryrats.com
NOTE: Hold off on ordering a copy if you have already requested one as a reward for your Kickstarter contribution; I've set these copies aside for you. Correspondingly, if you are coming to the Chicago Launch (9/10) or the Flint Launch (9/16), I will be selling the book at a modest discount, with food/drink vouchers. All other Kickstarter Rewards will follow shortly.ALSO: Remember all author profits through 12/31/10 will go to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.
Thanks again!
~ Connor
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on August 10, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #26Hungry Rats Publication - An Important Update
Post CommentDear Backers,
Thank you once again for your generous gift to support the publication of Hungry Rats.
Recent events in Flint have just about turned this project on its head. I have made a decision about publication and have written a letter explaining my course of action. I hope you will check it out. I have posted it on my blog here: http://www.connorcoyne.com/blog/2010/08/hungry-rats-the-rat-man-and-the-flint-serial-killer/
I am ready to receive any of your thoughts or suggestions.Best wishes,
Connor Coyne
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on June 1, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #25Hungry Rats Promo Video #3
Post CommentHello!
Please take a minute to watch the new Hungry Rats promo video, shot in Chicago and Flint. It features the music of Richard Whaling, and was filmed by Sam Perkins-Harbin and the Gothic Funk Press.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-qHJeC2AzN8
If you enjoy the video, please consider sharing it with friends and family. You can use the "share" button at the bottom of the screen to send the video to Facebook, Twitter, and other networks.Also, we are developing your rewards and hope send out the first of them starting next week.
Best wishes,
Connor Coyne
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on May 14, 2010
Connor Coyne
backed a project
ScriptFrenzy 2010 by Dawn
Dawn WON ScriptFrenzy 2010 by completing a 100 page script in 30 days (actually 10 days) - Buy the script and read your new favorite RomCom! TODAY!
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127% funded $636 pledged
- 22 backers
- Funded May 16, 2010
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on May 7, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #24The Last Update (for a While)
Post CommentHello Everyone!
Well, we did it! $4,022.28 is a very workable budget, and I'm excited to shift the focus to the final editing and design of the novel, as well as marketing. We should have enough of a budget to fund at least a modest tour of the Midwest (the focus will be Detroit, Chicago, Flint, and upstate Michigan) as well as a few stops out east (New York and Philly and possibly D.C. and Boston).
While the budget itself is exciting, I'm just as impressed by the number of people who gave: 50 backers contributed over a 3-month period. That's an average of about 4 per week, and it means that 50 people believe in this project... definitely a morale boost for a very challenging and dynamic enterprise. I can't thank you enough for your support and it is now my job and pleasure to carry this novel to the world with all of the innovation and determination I can muster.
I may use this list to contact you in the future, but it will be more sparingly now that our goal has been achieved. Before I go, though, there's a bit of business to take care of.
FIRST, a few of your payments did not go through... if you got a message from Kickstarter telling you this, please log in and correct the information so that we can complete funding to budget. If you didn't get such a message, or have already addressed it, you may disregard this.
SECOND, you've already helped to fund Hungry Rats. Would you like to help market it? If so, please join our 'Friends of Hungry Rats' Facebook group: http://tinyurl.com/26wqrwj If you don't have a Facebook account, email me at connor at connorcoyne dot com, and I will happily send you updates by email.
THIRD, most of you have selected rewards in exchange for your pledge. These will be distributed between now and August; those of you who requested a 'thank you note,' for example, will be receiving those very soon, while those who requested a copy of the novel will get this around the time of final publication this summer. Kickstarter may send you a request for your mailing address. This is so I can send you your selected reward, so make sure you respond!
FOURTH, all backers have earned a place in the novel's Acknowledgments. If I do not hear from you, I will assume you want to be included under the name of your Kickstarter account. If you do not want to be listed, or if you want to be listed under a different name or handle, please email me at connor at connorcoyne dot come with this information.
FIFTH, I want to thank everyone who pushed this through, from Elisabeth Blair who lobbied hard for Kickstarter a few months ago when I was on the fence to Sam Perkins-Harbin who helped me conceive and develop the videos and rewards, and from those of you who made large donations that propelled us to our goal to those who made a smaller pledge, even though it's been a tight financial year for many of us. You have made this possible, and I thank you sincerely.
I may use Kickstarter updates from time to time, to announce new media (videos, music, and photos), readings and performances, and of course, the publication and release of Hungry Rats. For more info and involvement, I hope that I'll see you on Facebook.
Gratefully,
Connor Coyne
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on May 6, 2010Funded!
Hungry Rats -- an avant-garde noir novel by Connor Coyne
Meredith Malady, a high-schooler from Flint, Michigan runs away from home to pursue a murderous "Rat Man." 2nd Person with delicious, gooey weirdness.
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125% funded $4,022 pledged
- 50 backers
- Funded May 06, 2010
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on May 4, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #23The Last Update (of May 4th)
Post CommentOkay, so this isn't the last Kickstarter update you'll get but it is the last update you'll get before our deadline (which is some arcane time like 6 AM CST on May 6th). There are some exciting things happening, and I wanted to let you know about them.
1. Our deadline is looming! If you know anyone who is interested in becoming a backer of Hungry Rats, they must do so before this May 6th!
2. Tonight (May 4th) I will be reading Tuesday Funk, the Gothic Funk reading series. If you're in the Chicago area, and you'd like to hear me read alongside some other excellent guests, details are here.
3. Take a look at Hungry Rats Promo Video #2. You can see it here: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/7427485/19435340.
4. Kickstarter has been our grassroots fundraising vehicle, but we're using Facebook for our grassroots marketing. If you have a Facebook account, you can join the group here.
Thanks again for your help, and I'll see you on the other side!
~ Connor
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on April 30, 2010
Connor Coyne
Posted project update #22Delays? Absolutely! Regrets? None!
Post CommentI had originally planned on sending out 7-10 updates in a final push on the Kickstarter front, but on Tuesday my wife went into labor for our firstborn -- a lovely little girl named Mary -- and with 5 days left for Kickstarter, that plan is out the window!
No regrets! Thanks to your generosity, we've already raised $3800, and even after Kickstarter's commission and other expenses, it's still far-and-away enough to publish the book. I will be sending out a few updates over the next 5 days (our fund raising will wrap up on Wednesday), and if you want to help spread the word I'm most grateful. At this point, any additional donations will support touring that will promote the novel with a national (as opposed to a strictly midwestern) audience.
For today:
If you know any philanthropists and/or friends of the arts who might be interested in making a small contribution, would you forward them this link?:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/connorcoyne/hungry-rats-an-avant-garde-noir-novel
If you do this, please write them a personal note. Donors typically like to know why they should be interested in the project and how their donation is going to help out. I have written a lot about this on the Kickstarter site. There is a lot of information on the novel at http://hungryrats.com. If you do plan on contacting someone and would like any suggestions or help with the pitch, let me know and I'll help however I can!
Connor Coyne
Chicago, IL
Connor Coyne grew up in Flint, Michigan and has lived in Chicago and New York City. He received his Bachelors from the University of Chicago and his Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Fiction) from the New School. He has written plays, poetr... view more
