Launching Campaign: Return to Health and Creativity FROM TRUNK SELLING TO CROWDFUNDING While writing my seventh book I experienced a plot development that I never expected. It literally hit me from behind. In November 2011 I was happily traveling to sell books and entertain audiences when a truck plowed into my car. The devastating effects of a multi-car accident on Interstate 40 near Winston-Salem changed the story I was creating, not only in my life, but in my next manuscript. Instead of developing characters, capturing anecdotes, and finishing that book, I have spent the past three years recuperating from injuries and trauma. Fortunately, during this time both my health and the economy have improved. However, financially, I am still in recovery. Writing has been my savior in the past...and so it will be again. I am taking that seventh book off the shelf to breathe fresh life in the manuscript, then launch it in a more vigorous marketplace. As the owner of a writing/speaking business for many years, I know about working hard and maintaining cash flow. I am excited about an alternative way to fund a project or business: crowdfunding. Entrepreneurs and inventors are using this popular approach to raise capital for personal and/or professional projects ranging from starting restaurants to supporting recording artists. This practice of crowdfunding a project or venture involves raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet. However, experts on crowdfunding suggest that the person seeking funds inform family, friends, fans, and others about the campaign and spread the word through all types of media. This is the link to my online fund-raising campaign: gofundme/idsnbo COMMUNICATIONS CAREER Readers of The Sanford Herald have gotten to know me well during the past four decades. While attending Broadway High School I wrote a regular column and then worked as a reporter for the paper in 1970 and 1971 before going to college. In 1980 I returned here and assumed the role as lifestyles editor for seven years. During this time I wrote three weekly columns, Natural Living, Central Carolina Woman, and What’s Cookin’ and created arts and food sections. I published “Natural Living, From Stress to Rest.” Most importantly, I fell in love with Sanford and the greater Lee County community. In 1988 I left Sanford and worked for UNC Public Television in Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park. Later I started ALL Communications in Raleigh to provide writing, editing, publishing, public relations, event planning, and marketing services for clients. After speaking to audiences for many years I created TRANSFORMATIONS in 1992 as an official business offering personal growth and professional development programs. I became deeply involved in being a successful entrepreneur and making a contribution to the world. NOSTALGIA VOCATION In Spring 2000 I wrote a humorous article about my grandpa’s country store and eventually created a column “Lett’s Set a Spell” for The Sanford Herald. The column continues to appear in the Sunday edition. The column’s popularity led to the publication of “A Timeless Place, Lett’s Set a Spell at the Country Store” in 2000. This book sold so well that writing and marketing nostalgia blossomed into a career that soon chose me! Readers asked for more so I published “Timeless Moons, Seasons of the Fields and Matters of the Heart” in 2004, “Timeless Recipes and Remedies, Country Cooking, Customs, and Cures” in 2005, and “Coming Home to my Country Heart, Timeless Reflections on Work, Family, Health, and Spirit” in 2007. In 2009 I also created an audio edition of “A Timeless Place,” which features a four-CD audio set and five hours of anecdotes and reflections. For 10 years I promoted my products through a grassroots approach…traveling 100 days a year to autograph books at community festivals, craft shows, church bazaars, antique emporiums, restaurants, coffee shops, farmers’ markets, county fairs, professional meetings, holiday shows, and sometimes conventional venues like libraries and bookstores. I sold 30,000 books out of the trunk of my car! Meanwhile I shared humorous stories and offered words of wisdom to diverse audiences. To reflect my activities as an author and speaker, I founded a new company Southern Books & Talks. For more information see atimelessplace or AlexSandraLett. FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN Today, as part of my fundraising campaign I am providing my products as premiums to donors and/or offering speaking engagements or publishing consultations to those who contribute. Currently I live near Broadway in the Buckhorn community where I was raised around storytelling and learned lessons from the farm. As a child I explored matters of the heart and lived in tune with seasons of the fields. Since the car accident I have experienced a dark night of the soul, a long, dreary winter that has been slow to die away. However, each day the light increases, and finally I am healing body, mind, and spirit. I am ready to write the final draft of that manuscript that has hung in limbo…like my life…for too many months with fresh eyes. My recent journey from tragedy to triumph will infuse my next book with a different perspective. As the pain fades and pleasure reigns I feel a renewed sense of passion and purpose to share my insights with readers in this community and beyond. I am excited about creating an exciting new chapter in my career.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 22:45:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015