UPDATE NO 1.
** PROJECT UPDATE No.1 ****

My fellow Cartelistas and Collaborators. As I sit here composing this update I have just noticed that one of my dogs (who is laying on the floor about 10ft from me) appears to have trapped a small snake and is playing with it in my office. I only relay this fact because I wish to forewarn you that this update may devolve into chaos shortly. (Snakes – not my favorite)

1.) It appears that we will have either 11 or 12 people involved. I would think this is an ideal number of people to work with. That allows everyone to have a say and interact freely.

2.) I went and registered the domain http://www.thecartelcollaborative.com . Unfortunately the way I did it caused problems for Joe and Stephanie in particular (Again I am sorry about that). But I think we are getting those issues resolved and, along with guidance from Angie, we should have a space very shortly. I did put up a sample page with a logo that is merely for discussion purposes. I just kind of modified the diagram from Joe’s earlier lesson where he showed a diagram of what you want intersecting with what others are looking for. Take a look in when you have a moment and see if the logo works for you. I would love to get opinions.

3.) Stephanie Gonzaga (with guidance from Angie Mroczka) has been working diligently to design a space. Angie had brought up some good points about having an area for private discussion about the project, but to also create a public area outside that would allow other people to follow along as we go. Comments welcome.

4.) Next it is very important to start to define the parameters of this project. I felt like if each of us could write a story, poem, etc. whatever people wish to showcase, and be no longer than say 15 pages. I know that many of you are very busy at the moment – so I would like to hear what type of time frame would be comfortable for everyone to make. I was thinking final versions by the end of Labor Day weekend with perhaps a launch date of somewhere around the first part of October. Too Fast? Too Slow? Would that give everyone enough time?

5.) Finally – I would appreciate ideas on what might be an appropriate title for this anthology/story selection. Joe has done a similar book of stories that I got on Amazon called Showoff – isn’t that a great title. Just feel free to throw out some suggestions and let’s get a title for this puppy. Just let the names fly.

We are spread out over many time zones and have very different schedules, but I would also love to hear suggestions on a way that we could communicate together and yet allow people the freedom to interact as their time allows. Blog posts work great, but I do not want to abuse my welcome here at the Story Cartel – which is meant to be used for other purposes.

Again – Thanks for your participation and give a shout out for ideas. I have to get the trashcan now and attempt to rescue this poor snake before Freya does it any harm or worse lets it loose in my office.

Thanks

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

MARGIE POSTED:
Hi James,

Thank you for all you have and are and will be putting into this project! Wow!

In response to the issues you raise on PROJECT UPDATE #1:

2 – I looked at the logo: Do you want it to look like Joe’s? If you ant something diff I can work one up for us (after I stop the majority of traveling I’m doing at the moment.) Or it can remain as is.

3 – I’m all for a private place we can chat, or a private forum with organized topics and threads, as well as a public one.

4 – Time frame: Launch date of 1st of October seems a bit fast.

When we factor in editing and the time it’ll take me to pull create the book (at least 2 full weeks – but would prefer 3), and many other things, including full time jobs. I don’t want this to be rushed.
I’d like to see us give it our all and give it our best, not rush it. I’d prefer January of 2015 as a launch date, and work backwards from there. I am flexible. Let’s definitely create a firm timeline.

You suggested 15 pages. For stories, let’s consider a word count, as pages will vary in an eBook.

5 – I’ll be thinking about titles.

Some thoughts I have:

EDITING and PROOFING of individual pieces
I want our level of excellence nose-bleed high.
I was think that it would be preferable if all took it upon ourselves to get our pieces proofed and read by a minimum of xx people (not sure of a number, Joe suggests 30 people). Or maybe we should all agree to read, feedback, and proof ALL the stories/pieces. I love how Joe said with 30 people giving you feedback you see the patterns, not just a few opinions. I think this is very important.

Then, I’d like to see us have TWO or maybe THREE final editors who focus on the flow of the book. We need strong pieces at the beginning and end, and we need to consider the sequence of pieces in between.

Then… Someone (or several) need to write a brief intro to the entire book.

And do we want an intro to each story/poem in the book?
If we want an intro to each piece, do we write it ourselves? Or should we use a bio as an intro?

Maybe we could each do research and weigh in about what we like. I’ve seen anthologies done in all kinds of ways. Our Editor(s) could make the final decision after hearing everyone’s opinions.

BLOGGING on the existing FORUM
I agree we need to get away from this. I can’t follow along – the thread is one huge long disorganized thread. We need something new soon! I’m going crazy trying to locate individual responses and reply properly. In fact, I am failing.

I’m fine with communicating through a forum protocol. Trying to get us to online chat will be very difficult. Though we should probably just go for it.

Thank you James! I’m headed out camping on Thursday and won’t be around until next week.

Sincerely,

Margie

EBONY POSTED :

Sounds great! I’m on board with the editing process. Thirty people plus a few final editors sounds like a good plan. Also, I agree that word count is more accurate than page numbers.

As far as communication, I’ve meaning to look more into Google groups. That maybe an easy platform for communicating via forums and video chat. Does anyone have any experience with it? I’ll look into this week.

Thanks so much, James!

STEPHANIE POSTED:

I’ve used Google Groups for one of my undergrad classes. It’s okay. Not as robust as, say, the Story Cartel forums, but it does the job and it may have new features.

We can also try Google+ Communities. It combines the private and public nature of forums and collaboration, since we can set it as closed and yet accept interested people outside of our cartel to be members.

I can set one up for all of us if you’re interested. Or if everyone prefers Google Groups, we can go with that too. 🙂

JAMES POSTED:

Ebony brings up something that I wanted to but I didn’t know how people might feel. Both my Maker’s Group and my Homebrewers Group use Google Groups. I have not used Google+ Communities that Stephanie brought up. That might be something that would work for us and I am hoping that this would be something that would grow beyond the seed group that we have created.

Will everyone use it. The groups are easy to use and I don’t think it would hurt to set one up – might broaden our reach. I am almost tempted to just try it. However, after my screw up with the domain name, I will wait a few days and get with Stephanie ( If that’s OK) before we commit to early.

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

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*** PROJECT UPDATE No.1 ****

My fellow Cartelistas and Collaborators. As I sit here composing this update I have just noticed that one of my dogs (who is laying on the floor about 10ft from me) appears to have trapped a small snake and is playing with it in my office. I only relay this fact because I wish to forewarn you that this update may devolve into chaos shortly. (Snakes – not my favorite)

1.) It appears that we will have either 11 or 12 people involved. I would think this is an ideal number of people to work with. That allows everyone to have a say and interact freely.

2.) I went and registered the domain http://www.thecartelcollaborative.com . Unfortunately the way I did it caused problems for Joe and Stephanie in particular (Again I am sorry about that). But I think we are getting those issues resolved and, along with guidance from Angie, we should have a space very shortly. I did put up a sample page with a logo that is merely for discussion purposes. I just kind of modified the diagram from Joe’s earlier lesson where he showed a diagram of what you want intersecting with what others are looking for. Take a look in when you have a moment and see if the logo works for you. I would love to get opinions.

3.) Stephanie Gonzaga (with guidance from Angie Mroczka) has been working diligently to design a space. Angie had brought up some good points about having an area for private discussion about the project, but to also create a public area outside that would allow other people to follow along as we go. Hopefully this might lead to other projects in the future. Comments welcome.

4.) Next it is very important to start to define the parameters of this project. I felt perhaps each of us could write a story, poem, etc. whatever people wish to showcase, with it being no longer than say 15 pages. I know that many of you are very busy at the moment – so I would like to hear what type of time frame would be comfortable for everyone to set. I was thinking final versions by the end of Labor Day weekend with perhaps a launch date of somewhere around the first part of October. Too Fast? Too Slow? Would that give everyone enough time?

5.) Finally – I would appreciate ideas on what might be an appropriate title for this anthology/story selection. Joe has done a similar book of stories called Showoff – isn’t that a great title. Just feel free to throw out some suggestions. Just let the names fly.

We are spread out over many time zones and have very different schedules, but I would also love to hear suggestions on a way that we could communicate together and yet allow people the freedom to interact as their time allows at least until there is a space in which to do so. Blog posts work great, but I do not want to abuse my welcome here at the Story Cartel – which is meant to be used for other purposes.

Again – Thanks for your participation and give a shout out for ideas. I have to get the trashcan now and attempt to rescue this poor snake before Freya does it any harm or worse lets it loose in my office.

Thanks

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

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Ebony brings up something that I wanted to but I didn’t know how people might feel. Both my Maker’s Group and my Homebrewers Group use Google Groups. I have not used Google+ Communities that Stephanie brought up. That might be something that would work for us and I am hoping that this would be something that would grow beyond the seed group that we have created.

Will everyone use it. The groups are easy to use and I don’t think it would hurt to set one up – might broaden our reach. I am almost tempted to just try it. However, after my screw up with the domain name, I will wait a few days and get with Stephanie ( If that’s OK) before we commit to early.

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

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BTW – Writer’s Carnival, maybe just Carnival – That is a good title. I say we drop that one on a list of possibilities.

Carnival will probably be descriptive of the process before this is all over.

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Lori – First – Freya appreciates having fans. I have two Great Pyrenees dogs, but Freya is the queen of the castle ( not always a good thing BTW). I’m no animal expert, but that snake appeared so happy when I scooped it up and took it outside. It was definitely not a fan of Freya’s.

Margie – posted earlier and she opened my eyes to how the entire process works. I am not sure my time line provided enough time to do this right. Just the reading, editing, rewriting, reediting process, alone might require several weeks to complete. I myself have already started outlining my story simply because I didn’t want to get behind while I’m working on other requirements.

BTW – Twitter account is up. Don’t know if I have things right but check it out James Lee Schmidt@jamesleeschmidt (I think that is how it goes). See if you can find me. I’m already famous.

Thanks for your participation. I really appreciate it Lori

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S)

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Margie:

Thanks so much for being here and helping out. If not for you and the others helping like you all do, I would be kind of like a rudderless boat on the ocean. I just want everyone to know how much I appreciate their efforts here.

Now let’s get to it:

1.) The logo was designed to compliment The Story Cartel Logo, a kind of a tip of the cap to Joe for taking care of the website and everything he has done, plus I thought it just had symbolic appeal. Now – I have not heard Joe’s feelings on the matter. He may not be in favor of that logo be so close and while he has been super supportive- it may not be his intent to have his name so closely tied to it ( a coattail riding thing). I used it for a starting point. If you have time (IF YOU HAVE TIME) you might mock up some other ideas. I like it – but I am not married to it and I am open to other possibilities.

2.) I’m jumping around a bit on your list – but because it is sort of similar to the logo – I think that it is important to arrive at some sort of title for this and relatively soon. The project will only hold water so long. It would be nice for all of us to be able to see the lighthouse, even as we are pretty far from the shoreline presently. Joe’s title spoke to me – It’s catchy -it’s descriptive – and as both you and Angie have said often – I believe it is enough to hit that 8 to 10 second click mark that we are targeting.

3.) Now we get to the heart of the project. I will defer to you and others who have more publishing experience. It’s funny that you say my time frame was a bit ambitious – I told some members of my local writer’s group what we were doing with Story Cartel and a member who kind of mentors me along – his first comment was “Wow that is an ambitious time table”. I really had no idea.

As for the intro – Do you think Joe might consider writing the introduction? I mean Story Cartel is where this started. The project is a direct result of Story Cartel Course lessons. Maybe that’s pushing the limit – I don’t know – but I would at least like to give him a chance to say NO. Thoughts?

I totally agree with setting the bar very high. You have opened my eyes what is required and now I see – there is a massive process required after the initial writing process. If you think January is more suitable – than I’m behind you 100%. I know what it’s like to role out a software package before it is ready and it is almost always a big mistake. Angie talked about the importance of build up and launch plan. This needs to be done right and professionally or else its just going through the motions.

If I am hearing you correctly – Just the assembly time will take about a month to complete. How long do you think the editing will take. The reason I ask is because I am wondering what your opinion would be for a target date to have first drafts ready? Is Labor Day still a target? I would value your thoughts

About 30 readers – I may need a bit of help there. I myself probably know only about 30 writers/readers, and I only recently started working with professional editors (see earlier post for that experience). I have one question that may seem stupid, but I don’t know; how much would professional editors cost? Is this something we need to perhaps start some kind of budgeting area/fund for. I know that the editors I have worked with (not many mind you) they charged me about $3 per page. I’m not really sure how high up the “professional” ladder they are either. We can cross those bridges later, but if there is going to be some anticipated expenses (There probably will be) then this project should to have an estimated expenses list as well as a budget.

Again Margie – thanks for your input. I guess I feel like one of those people who foolishly bought a restaurant not knowing how it works exactly, and you are Gordon Ramsay who is now dropping some reality on me. That’s not a criticism BTW. I need to know exactly what the true picture is.

If you need to talk to me directly my email is jamesschmidt@bsrconsulting.net.

Thanks Margie.

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Ann – Thanks for replying. Stephanie and I are checking out a few chat plugins, but we too are not all that familiar. There is one called Chat, another called chat room, and then there two more advanced type of WordPress site setups, one called Buddypress, and another called Studio Press. Both of those seem to have additional features that can essentially turn a part of your site into a social network where we could interact, create new topics, etc. Angie has an inside track with Studio Press, and Stephanie was exploring BuddyPress sites. Actually – I kind of stubbed our collective toe when I went ahead and registered the domain without waiting for advice from the more knowledgeable members here, so the delay is completely my fault.

If you are comfortable working within a type of site similar to the Story Cartel, that we could have a private member space and include some kind of chat room feature, then I think that is what we will try to target.

Thanks for your input and your patience Ann – Keep checking in and if you need to get in touch with me my direct email is jamesschmidt@bsrconsulting.net

Sincerely,

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S)

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Thanks Lori – I greatly appreciate that compliment. What I am finding as we go into this project – The Story Cartel is just chalk full of really talented and really nice people. I am amazed how much people who want to help. I am just happy to be a small part of that.

Thanks again for the great sentiments.

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

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LoriMarie – you’re in. We are getting the site prepared as we speak. Many people are already working behind the scenes, but we are going to start discussing this project later this week.

I’m sure that everyone will be glad to have you on board and I know that you will be a great addition. You are a great writer yourself and your participation only makes it stronger.

I’ll be getting everyone an update later tonight.

Thanks again for your interest and welcome.

James Lee Schmidt

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Stephanie and Brian – You just let me know what you need and I will find a way to get it done for you. Brian and I are from very similar backgrounds. While I would not presume to call myself a web builder, I am fairly tech savvy as well. If the three of us put our minds together, and ask for help if we need to, we can build an awesome site, not just for us, but for feature Cartel folks who may finds it useful.

You let me know how I may be of service and I will be there in a flash.

Thanks both of you for lending your talents.

It is greatly appreciated.

James Lee Schmidt (J.L.S.)

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