Seeking sponsorship to write a novel
In the latest e-mail newsletter from the International Institute of Modern Letters, there’s a message from a past student. Bianca Zander is 64,000 words into her first novel and she’s seeking sponsors to complete it.
To explain her idea, Bianca’s created a website called Sponsor My Novel, which contains information about her and her writing, a list of sponsors and an extract from the work in progress. Sponsors seem to be able to pay directly into her bank account or online via PayPal.
For NZ$2 dollars, you can sponsor a sentence. For $8, you can sponsor a paragraph. For $20, a page. Bianca, says she’s aiming to raise NZ$8,000 which will allow her to write full-time for six months.
The website is well-designed. The information is clear. I enjoyed reading the extract, and it’s very tempting to sponsor a sentence or two.
It’ll be interesting to watch how the site (and Bianca’s novel) progresses.
Your thoughts
Do you think this is an concept that could work for other writers? Or is it one of those ideas, like million dollar homepages, which is inspiring when the first person does it, and then fast becomes cliché? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
I think this is a fantastic idea although I’d hesitate ‘recreating the wheel’ as such because to copy such an original concept just seems rather bland and lacks creativity. (Although 42,000 words into my own novel I’m tempted.
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I read the extract on the site and have just emailed Bianca to sponsor a page so obviously this sort of thing can work. I think it’s important to be very confident of your success, to be hyper determined to finish (and the sponsor’s provide fantastic accountability in that sense), and show exceptional writing skill. I have to really like what the writer produces to be willing to fork out for this kind of venture.
But, as one writer, to another I think supporting each other with this sort of thing is a fantastic idea. I try to remember to click ‘pay per click’ ads when I visit other writer’s blogs etc. and to use an affiliate link if I want to buy from Amazon. Every dime helps, and in this dog-eat-dog world it is wonderful to share a sense of community with other writers.