The CrowdNovel Project
Ever heard of crowdsourcing? The phenom where lots of people get together to pay for something to happen that would otherwise have taken one big investor? Well, I participated in a crowdsourcing initiative to put out a movie last year–the Veronica Mars movie, in fact–and it was SO worth it because I adore that show. But of course, I didn’t get to write the movie. I just got to pay for it and then watch it.
So I thought… why not “crowdsource” something you actually do get to write? Wouldn’t that be cool? So I decided to crowdsource a novel in 2015!
**This is not a Kickstarter campaign. You will never be asked for money to participate in this project. The “source” in “crowdsource” is your opinion and your creativity. This is a “crowd novel” not something funded by my readers. I am completely fine with crowdsourcing for books (and will support authors’ Kickstarter campaigns whose books I read because I think people need to make a living), but this book is not being crowd-funded. We’re calling it crowd-writing, the #CrowdNovelProject.
I have written part of a historical mystery novel with romantic elements. It takes place in 1912 in a copper mining town in the west. But I want you to help me write it.
There are going to be many ways you can help write the book. The first thing you’ll want to do is join my newsletter mailing list. You can do that from the front page of my website, or by clicking on the CrowdNovel Project graphic on the top left of this blog page (if you’re already on my blog).
Every two weeks, we’ll put out a new set of chapters from the book, along with some way for you to participate in the CrowdNovel Project. And just to get you started, here’s a snippet from the beginning of the book:
BUTTE, MONTANA – MARCH, 1912
Cadence Quinn was perfectly prepared to admit that young ladies should not wear their very best Italian silk dresses when they planned to shimmy up and down trees in the dead of night. Also, that her most expensive Italian leather gold-tipped Pietro Yatorny hand-stiched pumps were perhaps not the wisest choice for the mucky side streets and yawning back alleys of a copper mining town. Even one as modern as Butte, with its downtown electric street lamps.
Still, if said young lady expected to be properly attired when she arrived at the posh-and-completely-adult Philosophical Society meeting, she had to make some allowances. Of course, if her father had allowed her to simply take the car, the rips to the hem of her brand new dress and the scratches and stains on her out-of-the-box kitten heels would not have been necessary. Papa could be such a bore when it came to allowing her out of the house in the evening.
Come on and play along… THE CROWDNOVEL PROJECT 2015!
