WE DID IT! - NOW STRETCH GOAL #1 $14,000: Donate 400 books and Spanish Translation
Fortunately, we still have many days left. This means one thing: the more we raise, THE MORE PEOPLE WALK TOGETHER!
That's why we're launching Stretch Goal #1. Once we reach this goal, we’ll launch Stretch Goal #2 and on we’ll go… You decide just how much boom we can create together!
With $14,000 we’ll be able to:
- Donate 400 books to prisons
- Translate the book into Spanish
Why Spanish? Well for starters, we’re Mexican. Also, by translating the text into the second most spoken language in the world, we’ll make sure the book reaches and walks with a greater audience.
Translating is a precious skill – even more so for a stream-of-consciousness book. It requires empathy, passion, and imaginative intellect. We are very lucky, excited, and honored to introduce you to the brilliant Alejandro Ehrenberg, the official Letters to Momo English-to-Spanish translator who embodies these talents and many more, and is the perfect fit for the book. We’re ready to go. Let’s go from “Letters to Momo” to “Cartas a Momo”!
It is my pleasure to introduce you to Alejandro Ehrenberg: Alejandro Ehrenberg is a translator, writer, editor, and omnivorous reader born and raised in Mexico City. He earnestly believes that the task of all who attempt to create literature, whether as writers or translators, is to articulate the profound language that exists in resistance to all forms of cruelty and constitutes, in H. E. Nossack’s words, a supranational and supraideological community of human beings. Having recently completed translation projects commissioned by the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica, he is currently working on the last stages of a Spanish version of spiritual master Bede Griffith’s autobiography, and is in the process of being certified as an international translator by the Chartered Institute of Linguists. In 2012 he co-founded and edited the online arts and letters magazine Atelier Balbec, which gathered a group of talented young artists and writers in an effort to bring beauty and joy to daily life. In Letters to Momo he sees an embodiment of what originally made him fall in love with literature, namely, the battle of true emotion and mind against that chasm which has too often separated humanity. By translating these letters into the language of Cervantes, he is wholeheartedly walking together.
WRITTEN FOR ONE - PUBLISHED BY MANY - INSPIRING FOR ALL
The manuscript is finished.
The story is remarkable.
The message is life changing.
Now we need your precious support to publish the book so it continues to inspire many more lives!
HOW WAS THE BOOK BORN?
In September of 2010, I received an email informing me that my cousin Momo, as I called him, had been imprisoned. His situation was deeply challenging to say the least: 23-years old and about to graduate from university abroad, his world was suddenly confined to one of the largest high-security prisons in Liverpool. His parents and sisters were all home in Mexico, an Atlantic Ocean away.
A truly compassionate, loving, and caring person only a year my junior, Momo has always been my closest friend in the family. Although we lived in different countries most of our lives, no physical distance ever kept us from communicating. Crushed by his imprisonment and the realization that he had been facing this situation alone for months, I made an unconditional commitment to live the experience as close to him as I possibly could.
My mind was made: I resolved to write him one letter each day for as long as he was in jail.
Many letters and a few months later, Momo was released from prison and flew back to Mexico City. Once home, he finally told me face-to-face how important the letters had been. He told me the letters became his lifeline, that they gave him love and strength to overcome his physical and psychological prisons, to find meaning in his experience, and to ultimately achieve personal growth and liberation.
Letters to Momo is the collection of all the daily letters I wrote to my cousin Momo – exactly as he received them.
WHY DID I WRITE LETTERS TO MOMO?
Because nobody should walk alone
My daily letters were my way of walking with Momo and infusing him with strength, resilience, and above all, love. The letters were written to help him not only survive the incarceration, but to transcend it by consciously seeking the value of the experience as a platform for liberation and growth.
Never brooding or negative, I wrote each letter with a positive and inspiring tone as an empowering reminder that he was not a victim of circumstance and that if he chose to, he could author the change he desired in his life. In short, the letters were intended to rouse the personal power to overcome we each are innately born with.
WHAT IS THE BOOK ABOUT?
We think the best way to describe Letters to Momo is to show you how we envision the book’s back cover to read:
TODAY, LET THESE LETTERS WALK WITH YOU
We invite you to read an illustrative sample of 3 letters from the book, including the very first letter I wrote to Momo:
If you’d like to read more, just let me know, I’ll be happy to share!
WHY DO WE WANT TO PUBLISH THE BOOK?
Because we believe in the power of its message
We are certain the letters can inspire and empower others to confront and overcome barriers to their own liberation, regardless of situation or background. As Momo states, “it would be a blessing to share them with the world because there is no ownership to such sincere insights.”
Because the letters came straight from the heart – and so they shall remain
Never written with the intention of being published, or for anyone other than Momo, the letters were written straight from the heart in genuine stream of consciousness. Today they remain intact and in their original state, as pure as originally sent to Momo. And that’s exactly how we want to publish them.
Because our vision is to share – not to sell
We pledge the letters you read are EXACTLY the same letters that Momo once read, and in the same order he read them. Because that’s how they worked for him, and with your amazing help, that’s how they’ll work for us all.
WHO WILL WE PUBLISH WITH?
It’s all about finding the right fit
We’ve done our homework: After surveying, comparing, talking to, and analyzing heaps of publishing options, we finally found one that fits perfectly.
We walk together: With your extraordinary help, we’d like to partner with Morgan James Publishing (MJP) because their mission and the mission of our book walk together. MJP was founded by a best-selling author who was, just like us and many more, not thrilled with the traditional book publishing process and decided to build a new model.
We’ve been selected! MJP is very selective and will only publish around 125 books per year from the 5000+ manuscripts submitted. We are thrilled to announce that after a long and careful review process, Letters to Momo has been offered a publishing contract from MJP!
HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE USED?
With your amazing support, our funding goal of $10,000 will be used to:
- Edit and proofread final manuscript to submit to MJP
- Cover Amazon and Kickstarter fees
- Print 2,500 paperback/hardcover books
And by committing to purchase 2,500 books for our own distribution, we will receive MJP’s comprehensive services that include the following benefits:
- Available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com with “see inside the book” feature
- Branding, vision and marketing coaching with team of experts
- Enrollment in the MJP Speakers Group
- 40 hours of Virtual Assistant Staffing to use at our discretion
- 90 day Guerrilla Marketing Social Media Campaign to launch the book and build the platform
- Press Release written and sent out by Publishing Manager
- Full Bookstore Distribution both online and off via Ingram Publisher Services
- Assigned an International Standard Book (ISBN) Number
- Custom designed interior layout and custom designed full color front and back cover
- 25 Image insertions and text treatment
- Personalized author and book website on Morgan James Website
- Library of Congress control number
- Enrollment into The Entrepreneurial Author University
- Percentage of sales donated to Habitat for Humanity
WHAT IF WE RAISE MORE THAN EXPECTED?
The more you pledge – the more people walk together
This is just the beginning.
Our dream is bigger and bolder.
Together we can make it happen.
If we raise more money, every cent will be used to ensure this book walks together with the most number of people! Specifically, all money we generate today and in the future will be used to achieve 3 goals:
- Donate books to prisons, rehabilitation centers, homeless shelters, and other support centers all over the world.
- Translate the book to reach a greater audience.
- Launch an amazing website that will collect, print, and deliver emails directly to prisoners from their loved ones in Mexico, our home country. Although Mexico has 238, 269 prisoners, ranked 7th in the world, no service exists for individuals to email prisoners directly. The same goes for many countries all over the world. Once the website is proven efficient, we will extend the service to other countries. Our website will be modeled after www.emailaprisoner.com - the service I used to send Momo my letters. Research shows that prisoners who maintain strengthened family ties and communication are six times less likely to re-offend. With your help, we can start a bigger movement all over the world to help everyone change lives by sending their own letters of loving care and wisdom!
SHARE THE LOVE!
Here are four ways you can spread the word:
- Email your friends and share link to the project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/726719030/letters-to-momo-book-launch
- Visit our website
- “Like” us on Facebook
- Follow us on Twitter: @letterstomomo
WITH ALL OUR HEART - THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
WRITTEN FOR ONE - PUBLISHED BY MANY - INSPIRING FOR ALL
Risks and challenges
Since the manuscript is finished, we have minimal risks in the production process. We might however experience delays in the publishing process estimated to last from 3 to 6 months. Ultimately, this could result in pushing back the delivery date for some rewards. But worry not. If any of this happens, we pledge you will be the first to know and we will definitely get back on track. A challenge we anticipate is being able to market and share the book. But, we know that together, we will all share the message and generate the movement.
Together, we will walk together.
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Funding period
- (30 days)