Sunday, July 20, 2014

Is crowdfunding a viable answer


I thought I'd dip my toe in the crowdfunding water and see if we could find some buoyancy for our flailing publishing venture. By flailing, I really mean fledgling, but didn't seem to have the right water borne metaphor on hand.

Flailing because I am enthusiastic about Koo Kaa & Burra: The Rescue, by Judith Price, and the very encouraging feedback we've had from classroom teachers and school librarians and would like to put some punch behind the book's marketing and opportunity. Flailing because in many ways this is new space for me, and the publishing waterways are very deep, and far, far across the main from here: the spit of land officially considered the most isolated capital city on earth. Western Australia might be well known for its mining, but truth be known, it's a cultural desert in respect of sound infrastructure for success in artistic pursuit. It's small, lonely and a long way from big markets.

So I scouted about for what seemed like a good platform and decided on pubslush because it touts itself as being there for all things literary. Of course it doesn't deal in Australian dollars, but why should that matter? Australians seem pretty happy to shell out US dollars or GB pounds for books on amazon and booklocker, why would the lack of an Aussie dollar be a put-off? Moreover, there's a lot more Americans and Brits than Australians, and surely they'd love to support a project about Australian birds and animals.

I drafted up a pitch. I thought it covered the subject pretty well: we want to raise money to fund mass production and distribution and marketing for a noteworthy publication. Something kids everywhere would love. After all, it's adventure and Australian and very beautifully imagined. I'm told kids like the story, and teachers like some of the themes they find in the work. That's pretty encouraging.

Next, I sent out an email to everyone I've ever had email contact with in my life. It was a bit of a weeding exercise, but well worth it to find out whose email address is no longer valid and to give those people who never want to hear from me again in their lives an opt out option. Someone told me at a conference on the day after I sent the email that she thought I'd presented a good argument.

A few did opt out, but a lot opened their email and a decent proportion clicked through to the various destinations I offered, quite a few to the campaign page. But guess what? Not one person has offered as little as five dollars in support. Not even an 'I like' comment left on the page.

Does it surprise me? No. Disappointed? Yes, a little. Even a single $5.00 pledge in the first few days would have mattered.

I think asking Australians to crowdfund something from someone with whom they have no fan relationship, who lives in Western Australia, is a very, very big ask. Art is not really created in Western Australia. Asking a person who lives elsewhere in Australian to fund an artistic pursuit in Western Australia is like asking them to step off a cliff. Moreover, asking non Australians to support something out of Western Australia is an even bigger ask, I think.

Perhaps it's as Spike Milligan once said, 'You have to be where the cheques are written.' Well, quite clearly I'm not.

Anyway, if you'd like to check out our crowdfunding campaign, if only to laugh at my folly, you'll find it here >> http://pubslush.com/books/id/3275

Sunday, June 22, 2014

The ‘First-Person’ narrator tells how it is

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In this essay, Art Lazaar discusses what it means to be a character written in the first person, as he is in my current work in progress, The Balsamic Jihad.
Art examines what he believes may be some of the motivations behind my decision and how it affects him in the story, and how it positions his character vis-a-vis the other central characters and the reader. His discussion on perspective and balance opens up an interesting discussion in respect of the ethical position of both the author and the reader when deciding exactly how and through whose eyes at which time a story should be told.
Open for comments and discussion.

Sunday, June 01, 2014

I am so proud of my wife and partner

Judith Price has just launched a new children's book that celebrates the Australian bush and animals like no other.


Koo Kaa & Burra, the Rescue, features a family of kookaburras who live in the magical tingle forest, in the deep south of Western Australia. The Rescue is the first story brought to the pages of a brand new Crotchet Quaver publication involving these young kookaburras and their many child-like antics. They are gregarious and social, and thrive on the abundance of nature and friends, and are frequently caught up in adventures that require a moment of derring do.
The Rescue, takes place at the time of the great annual mushroom hunt in the tingle forest, on the banks of the great river. It’s a major event in the year’s social calendar and it brings many families of forest dwellers together in a grand celebration. A prize is awarded to the one who collects the most mushrooms, and the event is celebrated with a grand feast.
To read more, please visit http://www.crotchetquaver.com/2014/06/01/judith-price-brings-the-australian-bush-to-your-child/

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Crossroads, a music video

This is a music video of Judith Price's 2011 exhibition, Faces at the Crossroads held at Ugly Duckling Wines in Perth's Swan Valley. More information about Judith Price's art can be found at her website >> Judith Price Artist.

The fabulous vocals on this piece were supplied by Steve Hanson and you should check out more of his music which can be found on cd baby, itunes, amazon, soundcloud and very likely other places. He's a terrific writer and musician.

Everything else was me ... lyrics, music, performances, programming, recording, mistakes ... although it is credited to Art Lazaar. Enjoy.

Monday, March 10, 2014

From the Art Lazaar Papers

For those who like a little lighter reading, THE NONSENSE OF AB-SENSE is a critical review of a book that doesn’t exist by JACK STRAW, an author who has never been seen.
It observes the Australian Legend from a ficto-critical perspective and the mythic proportions it has taken on in order to help carve out a niche for Australia’s place in the world, examining the wakes of a number of literary, sporting, business and political heroes as the water folds back over their paths. Art Lazaar makes an incidental, but important, appearance in the commentary, harking back to days when his poetic performances went completely unnoticed until they didn’t.

Sunday, March 09, 2014

Gina Rinehart and the reality of entitlement

I want to say this to Gina Rinehart and others who continue to ply this 'tirade of entitlement'. First up, Ms Rinehart, my grandfather knew your father, quite well I believe, and although he did not particularly like the man, I'm told he held him in some regard as someone who had a vision and the balls to solicit substantial government assistance to realise it. I know this because the relationship between the two men was of entrepreneur and government minister responsible. They talked often.

Saturday, March 08, 2014

Gina Rinehart and Australia's debt - or is it?

I am so glad, Ms Rinehart, that you raised the 'debt' issue. Debt is a dirty word isn't it? Australians deplore debt because debt implies that we are shackled to the lenders, debt makes us slaves to the bankers, debt imprisons us in a life of drudgery, debt is expensive. And the last thing a government should be is in debt. After all, look at the financial meltdown in Europe all because of debt. At least that's what you would like us to think.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Am I barking up the Wrong Tree?

This year marks my tenth year as a teacher of a specific brand of creative writing, the Born Storytellers. The Born Storytellers is primarily directed at school students, beginning with upper primary students, but fairly quickly engaging middle years high school and even adult programs.