Hi Everyone!
Thanks again for helping to support the publication of Hungry Rats! I want to write you again since it is at this moment the single make-or-break element of this venture; if I reach my Kickstarter goal, a published novel will emerge in some form or other. If I do not reach that goal, I will not have time this year to regroup and try again, and the project will be indefinitely tabled. This is literally a make-or-break moment.
We are already 39% of the way there! With 18 backers I have raised over $1200 of my $3200 goal. But that means there’s a long way to goal and in just a few short months…
A new wrinkle to emerge is this: I’ve been conducting most of my fundraising appeals through personalized messages via Facebook. I have been writing to a subset of my Facebook Friends who I think would be most interested, and every message has been personalized. Despite this, the (tiny dot cc) url has been blocked as spam, and there is no appeal for this on Facebook. This means that several dozen people I carefully approached are not going to have a chance to respond; they have “negative exposure” to the project.
In short, I *cannot* do this alone. By the time I have contacted every person and have applied every resource, I will not have reached my goal. Keep in mind, also, that $3200 is the bargain basement for publication. It is lowest number at which I can guarantee a result of any quality. A much more ideal number would be in the range of $4300-$5000.
Please spread the word on this project. Please spread it far and wide. There is a legitimate thirst for stories that challenge, stories that build suspense, and stories that turn us toward the dark side of human nature. Thomas Harris and Patricia Cornwell have built their careers on such stories. So have Alain Robbe-Grillet and even Djuna Barnes. This novel is from a proud and diversified family. It tells its story from Michigan, through the lumberjacks. I sincerely believe that there is a wonderful opportunity here. Please help me to share my story with the world.
Your Friend,
Connor Coyne