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Update #16: Visits, Postcards, an E-Book, and More!
Happy National Poetry month! It's been a long time since I updated you on what's been going on, so....
Visits! This is a great time of year for me to Skype or visit classes in person, so if we've ever talked about setting up a visit... or if there's someone you want to hook me up with... now's the time. I've got some scheduled already through April, but there's still plenty of free time to add more. I'm at gottabook@hotmail.com ... and I stand ready to poeticize for kids of all ages (up to 112).
For those of you who were getting postcards as part of a reward here, the first batch are in the mail with more to follow. No one's allowed to complain about my handwriting. I mean, I can read it. Isn't that enough?
And, separately from Kickstarter... I have my first E-book of poetry available! It's called The Late Bird, and you can find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SBJNR0
HOWEVER, if you received my collection What I Do When I Should Be Sleeping here at Kickstarter, you prolly shouldn't buy it (though, of course, you can!). It's 50 of the poems from Sleeping along with four new ones. AND... I have a Kindle format version (and Epub for those who preferred) of the full collection almost ready for those who requested it. It won't look quite as nice since it won't have Bonnie Adamson's fab cover, but it'll have all 110 poems, a clickable table of contents, and hopefully no typos. What's not to love? If you didn't receive that collection, you'll be getting one with totally different poems, probably in July. You, of course, should go buy multiple copies of The Late Bird. :-)
I am looking to answer the age old question of whether children's poetry ebooks will sell without a print counterpart. Shakespeare never could answer that conundrum, but he didn't have as many friends spreading the word via Twitter, Facebook, and the like and had to rely on six degrees of Francis Bacon connections instead.
On other fronts, I think I have written all 100 poems for this project, but have not posted them all and use April to feature others at my blog via 30 Poets/30 Days. So, you'll see the rest soon. Individual poem requests are still in process.
I remain incredibly grateful for your support. I truly get all warm and fuzzy when I come out here to type in updates. In fact, I'm talking about the ebook here before my blog or anywhere else because I want to celebrate the news with y'all. So... yay!!!! May confetti rain down! And may there be doughnuts and cake for all!
As always, feel free to write with questions, comments, or anything else...
Greg
gottabook@hotmail.com
Update #15: Yay! And more "yay!"
By now, all of you who pledged $25 or more should have received an email from me (with my email address gottabook@hotmail.com) with the poetry collection What I Do When I Could Be Sleeping attached as a PDF file. I know some of you requested ePub and other, and I'm still a-working on them. But after the horrible technical difficulties I had here (and really, it's called "newbie error" but I'd rather blame technology), I wanted to make sure everyone got at least this PDF.
If you didn't get the email from me, that means you've either provided me with a wrong email address, it's at a different email address than the one you get these updates at, my mail's in spam, or "other." Please let me know if there's an issue!
I must admit, I had a blast putting together this 110 poem collection. I do hope you enjoy it.
Meanwhile, I'm still scribbling away on new poetry... getting postcards set... setting up school visits... and doing school visits (Skype rocks! So do 2nd graders, I must note). If I still owe you a visit, feel free to get in touch before I get in touch with you. And as always, THANK YOU!!!!
Greg
gottabook@hotmail.com
Update #14: Visits! Poems! PDFs!
Wow! It's fall. How did that happen? I hope you all had nice summers. Mine was chock full of much, but not, I'm afraid, a ton of poetry. Luckily, the seasons change, and I've been writing, posting, and putting together the first of the promised poetry PDFs - The Blog Collection.
The Blog Collection goes out to all you $25 and up backers, and it includes 100 poems originally posted on GottaBook plus 10 that have never been published anywhere before. And I gotta tell you... I had a blast putting it together and reconnecting with 110 of my favorite poems (They're like my children, and I can't pick one over the other!). I really think you'll enjoy it.
The PDF should be ready by next week, so look for it in your inbox. Any other electronic versions will take a little longer, but they, like the postcards, are all a'coming.
School visits are back in fashion, too, so if you've got me for one, feel free to get in touch at gottabook@hotmail.com to nail down details. But don't worry if you don't email me - I'll be in touch with everyone. In the near future, depending on schedules, I have a Skype visit and an in-person visit coming up - more kids getting excited about poetry = more joy in the world, at least the way I see it.
It's great to be working on the "chosen topic" poems and all the other goodies here. It's motivating, satisfying, and reminds me, once again, how grateful I am for all your support.
By the way, if you haven't answered the questionnaire I'd sent out in May, getting all your information, it's not too late. Dig it up or email me so I have all your information here.
Thanks again, y'all! This project means a lot to me, and without you... there is no project.
Greg, sending poetry to your inbox soooooooon
gottabook@hotmail.com
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Sarah Stevenson on October 5, 2011
Greg, I'm very excited! Can't wait for my Poetry: Spread the Word collection. In fact, I was thinking about you just the other day because I was telling some friends about your Fib poems! Now maybe I can show them an example.... :)
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Update #13: Argh. Grrrrr.
To all of you who HAVEN'T gotten a survey from me... I have been unable to access my Kickstarer "dashboard" (the place where I create/send surveys and see responses) since sometime last week when I was part way through sending. I am sorry for the delay. If you have a visit or topic or urgent need for poetry, please email me at gottabook@hotmail.com
For those of you who did get the survey and reply... thanks! I am going to have to follow up in some cases because I forgot a key question (as in... what email address should I send things to! Oops), but I should be able to do that once I get back to my dashboard.
I am hopeful this message goes through. I have doubts... and y'all have my apologies.
Greg
Update #12: And, he's baaaack.
I went deep underground for the last week... not because of Poetry:Spread the Word exhaustion or excitement but because my mom was out visiting and time just disappeared in a haze of running, eating, laughing, socializing, and... uh... I don't remember!
In the next few days you'll all hear from me in info gathering mode. By next week, you'll start seeing fresh poetry on the blog. I've also done another visit (well, half of it - I'll be going back) with a bunch of fun 6th graders. We talked the road to publication and picture books not poetry, but it was a blast and they were a talented bunch, too. I'm visiting a kindergarten class (or two!) soon, as well. And that, again, is thanks to y'all.
So... to review: talk to you/you'll hear from me soon!
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This project successfully raised its funding goal on May 10, 2011.
Pledge $1 or more Pledge $1 or more
You get my gratitude. Or my thanks. Or both! Your support is truly appreciated.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
You'll receive a PDF or ePub file of the Poetry: Spread the Word collection (see descrption to the left). You'll also receive my gratitude as well as acknowledgment in the collection and on a special page on my blog.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
You get the Poetry: Spread the Word collection, gratitude and acknowledgment, and another file containing 100 poems from GottaBook as well as 10 never before seen poems. It's a poetrypalooza!
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
All of the above, plus I'll either print out a poem of your choice from my blog, sign it to you, and mail it on (it'll be suitable for framing, I tell ya!), OR I'll send you 6 postcards during the year, each with a different poem. It's old school... and who knows how long it'll even be possible! (Please add $5.00 for shipping outside the U.S. and Canada)
Pledge $75 or more Pledge $75 or more
All of the above plus you can pick the topic for one of my poems (though remember, please, that my audience is full of the under 12 set!). You'll get credit (or blame, perhaps) when the poem hits my blog, too.
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
All the above (your choice on the printed poem or post cards) PLUS you get to sponsor a class visit. This can mean you have a specific class in mind and we arrange the visit OR you get featured and acknowledged as the sponsor of a visit I do (in the Collection and on the blog, too).
Pledge $250 or more Pledge $250 or more
All of the above items, plus we'll do some one-on-one poetry work. I'll critique up to 10 pages of poetry... talk/Skype with you to go over my notes and discuss in more detail... then do it all again when you've revised.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
All of the above items, plus I'll write a poem just for you. The poem can be for an event (a birth, someone's birthday, a wedding, etc.) in which case we'll chat so I have the right information to make it personal and fitting. Or the poem can be written just because you want one.
Pledge $2,000 or more Pledge $2,000 or more
Tour Sponsor! You can pick a topic for me, specify a school, get the collection and framable poem and postcards, plus you'll be included in the collection's dedication (with a link to your own website, assuming it is child-okay) and be prominently featured in any material related to this project. Also, I'll send you signed copies of any books of mine published in the next five years. And when we meet, coffee's on me!
Project By
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I'm a poet, novelist, screenwriter, volunteer elementary school librarian, social media consultant, and blogger currently working on my novel, the 14 Fabulous Fibs of Gregory K., which will be published by Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic). My poems are all over the place, from the internet to textbooks to Ballonstof, the hot air ballooning magazine of the Netherlands. I bat and throw righty.
