Kickstarter

What the book is:

About a year ago, read "50 Shades of Grey". It was not a very good book, yet it was being read by hundreds of thousands, probably even millions, of people. I figured "if they can get all these people to read this, it can't be that hard to get something out there that actually has some substance" and thus began my affair with what would come to be The Great Lakes Book Project. I knew I wanted to make a book about something I really loved- not just a story, but something that people could really relate to. I was born in Michigan and I grew up in Michigan so the lakes were the ubiquitous presence in my life. I had a hunch that this was the same with a lot of other people, too. But I didn't just want to make a book of my own writings, I didn't think that did the lakes nearly enough credit, I had to involve more people so, without any real direction to my actions, I began e-mailing people, anyone I could, asking them if they would be interested in submitting their works of creative non-fiction to the project. I started off just e-mailing a few friends, but as I realized that there were so many people interested in contributing, the list of people contacted quickly grew to over 10,000, not including the various literary and writing blogs who generously donated space to help gain support. 

Eventually, I compiled a book of the 27 works of creative non-fiction that I thought best exemplified the region. It is formatted, and ready to go- we've even picked out our printer (in Michigan, of course)-  now it just needs to be created and put in as many people's hands as possible. With the money we raise here, we will not only pay for printing of the book, but, more importantly, the marketing of the book. The money will go for print ads, for spaces in art fairs, for radio spots- for helping people who love the lakes know that they aren't alone. Every single penny received from this project will be invested in creating connections between myself, the authors, and all of the people who smile when the stand on the shore.