Earlier this year, I held what I thought was going to be a little photo contest. The response surprised me; hundreds of people sent in almost a thousand photos. People dressed up, stripped naked, and climbed onto rooftops. It was an eye opener for me. I realized that there were a lot of folks out there who *really* liked the book.
Ever since, I’ve been thinking about what sort of contest I’d like to run next. Fanart contest? Video contest? Something for the writers out there? What sort of prizes would people be interested in? Posters? Signed books? Sneak peeks of books to come?
But then I had a better idea.
Eventually, I will run the contests I mentioned above. There will be good times. We will revel in our shared geekery. Blogs will be writ. Prizes will be had.
But first, I’m hoping to direct some of this energy in a slightly different direction. If I’m going to hand out prizes, I’d like it to be for a good cause. Something I believe we all have in common….
I believe that deep down, people are good. I believe that most of us would go out of our way to take care of baby ducks.
My favorite charity is called Heifer International. They are a great force for good in the world, and I’d like to help them raise some money.
There are a lot of worthwhile charities out there. Important causes. Things I feel strongly about. But Heifer is my favorite. Here’s why.
Let’s say by some miracle I raised ten thousand dollars to help fight cancer, or Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s. While it would help the cause, it would just be a tiny drop in the bucket. Enough to help fund some lab’s research for a couple weeks.
But we don’t need to research a cure for hunger or poverty. We know how that works. Heifer doesn’t just hand out bags of rice, Heifer gives a family a goat and teaches them how to take care of it. Then that family has a continual source of milk for their children. They can sell the extra milk to make money. When the goat has babies, they give those babies to other members of their community, sharing the gift.
Heifer helps people become self-reliant. As someone who has just recently become self-reliant, I know what a nice feeling that is.
My Mom loved Heifer. Every Christmas I would donate enough money for a goat, then give it to her as a present. I remember the first year I did it. She opened the envelope where I had drawn a crude picture of a goat and a happy stick-figure child.
She knew what it meant right off the bat. “Oh! I love it!” she said. And she got a little weepy, because she loved nothing better than helping people who needed it. She had a heart as big as the sky.
This is why I love Heifer. If we raise a couple thousand dollars for them, it will make peoples’ lives better. A couple thousand dollars means little kids get milk to drink. It means families get sheep, which means wool for warm blankets and clothes. It means better wells, so moms with babies can have clean water to drink.
I think this is something we can all get behind, can’t we?
So here’s my plan, the bare bones version.
1. You will help by spreading the word, and making donations.
2. I will match all of the donations, dollar for dollar.
3. We both have a big warm fuzzy feeling in our chests that lets us know we’ve helped make the world a better place.
4. Finally, as a gesture of my appreciation, I will supply gifts for the people who participated: Signed books, maps, sneak peaks of book two, stuff like that.
This blog is to explain *why* I’m doing this. The details about *how* are over here on THIS BLOG. There are links to my Heifer Team page and details about the prizes. So hop on over there and check it out.
Excitedly yours,
pat
Heifer International: Part Two – The Details
What’s that you say? You’d like to make the world a better place while simultaneously winning fabulous prizes?
Well today is your lucky day.
Heifer International is my favorite charity. It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, local industry, and clean water.
They don’t just keep kids from starving, they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat.
I think this is something we can all get behind.
If you’re wondering *why* I’m doing this, that information is OVER HERE. This blog gives details on *how* the donation drive will work.
You’ve got two options for donating. Please read things all the way through before making your choice.
I’ve created a webpage OVER HERE on Heifer’s website. For every dollar you donate there, I’ll donate a dollar too.
It works like this:
Elegant in its simplicity, no?
After a month’s time, on December 11th, we’ll have a drawing for prizes. I’ll use the information from the Heifer site to get the donation totals. For every 10 bucks you’ve kicked in, your name will get entered into the drawing once.
So if you’ve donated thirty bucks, your name would go in three times. Think of it as buying tickets, if you like.
When I started this fundraiser, I thought it was mostly going to be for my readers and people on my blog. So most of the prizes centered around my book (as you can see below.) But the fundraiser has grown since then, and we’re getting new stuff from generous donors all over the world. Stay tuned for new stuff.
Added Nov 18th – We have a bunch of signed books and ARCs OVER HERE.
Added Nov 20th – More signed books and ARCs OVER HERE.
Added Nov 24th - Signed manuscript of Enemies and Allies OVER HERE.
Added Nov 26th – More signed books and collectibles OVER HERE.
Added Dec 1st – Signed books from Bad Moon Press OVER HERE.
Added Dec 2nd – Signed books and prints from Peter S. Beagle OVER HERE.
Added Dec 3rd – $8000 of signed, limited-edition books from Subterranean Press OVER HERE.
Added Dec 9th – More signed books, ARC’s, DVD’s, and other cool swag OVER HERE.
Drawn by my friend, Nathan Taylor. Nate is also the illustrator who drew the black and white map that ended up in the book. This is the color version, so you can see some of the detail that’s not available in the book, including some of the political borders.
Also drawn by Nathan Taylor. He was fantasising about them making a movie out of the book, and drew this as a mock-up of what the movie poster might look like. I love Kvothe’s expression. It really captures a key piece of his personality.
Nate and I are also working on a not-for-children children’s book together. So here’s your chance to get hold of some of his art before he gets super famous….
DAW put this out earlier this year as a promotional item. It’s got teaser pieces from all sorts of upcoming DAW books, from authors like Tad Williams and Mercedes Lackey.
It also has a chapter from The Wise Man’s Fear.
The 5th printing with the sexy new cover.
My first publication. The first four years of the humor column I wrote for the local paper, along with illustrations and annotations. Only 500 copies of this were printed, so they’re hard to come by these days. Perfect for reading on the toilet.
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With the old out-of-print cover. You wouldn’t believe what some people are charging for these things out there.
This is the Subterranean Press anthology that printed my short story, “The Road to Levinshir,” which is an excerpt from The Wise Man’s Fear.
It also has some great stories by folks like Tim Powers and Kage Baker. It’s a beautiful hardcover book, and the cover price was $40, and that was back before it sold out.
There aren’t many of these in existence the simple reason that I don’t live in England. Plus, you know how everything sounds way cooler when it’s pronounced in an English accent? Well this book is WRITTEN in an English accent. How cool is that?
A galley is an early version of a book that publishers occasionally print in order to promote a book. There weren’t that many of these printed, and the last one of them I saw on e-bay was going for over a hundred dollars. The few signed ones out there are going for more than that…
I’ve only seen about ten of these, so a signed one is probably a bit of a collectible item.
I need to stress that this book is not ready to read yet. Not. Ready. To Read. Yet. That means you can’t have it right now. (This picture is a cruel lie.) But here’s the deal, if you win this, I’ll make sure you get a copy as soon as it’s ready to show around, before it officially hits the shelves.
A proto-version of The Name of the Wind, printed out on my trusty HP printer, and marked up as part of my ongoing editorial process. Includes the now absent first chapter of the book, as well as a hundred other small differences. A similar item sold for 1000 bucks over in England a while back, and the one they have now is going for more than that. So odds are, if you don’t want it, you can sell it to someone else who does….
Two things:
Or, as I like to think of it, the Christmas Present Option.
Over the last couple months, people have been contacting me, asking if I’m still signing books like I mentioned in my blog from long ago.
The simple answer is, “yes.” You mail me the book, something cool, and a check to cover return shipping, and I’ll sign your book.
But right now, in honor of the Heifer fundraiser, I’m willing to streamline the process. Rather than you buying a book, finding something cool, packaging it up, and paying for shipping both ways, you can just mail me a check and I’ll send you a book signed however you like. Then I’ll ship it right back to you, carefully packaged and in time for Christmas.
Here’s a list of the books I’ve got stockpiled here in my house. (For more detailed descriptions, look above.)
For the most part, these prices are double what these things cost me, plus a little to cover shipping. I can get a 5th edition hardcover for 20 bucks, so they’re up there for 45. The anthology I can get for 35, so they’re going for 75….
The reason for this is that it’s in keeping with me matching donations. If someone buys a book from me for 20 dollars and then I donate the money. They really haven’t
donated. They just bought a book. Follow me?
If you’re going with option two, please follow these directions.
1. Write the following information on a 3 x 5 note card:
A) Which item you want.
B) EXACTLY what you’d like me to write in the book.
I have no problem personalizing books, but please be specific about what you’d like. Asking for a quote from Bast is fine. Asking me to wish someone luck in their own writing is fine. “Happy Birthday Schmendrick.” “To the best lover I’ve ever had.” It’s all good.
But if your card says, “write whatever you want.” I will write, “Whatever you want” in the book. Seriously.
C) Your return address.
D) Contact information. Either a phone number or an e-mail address where you can be reached.
2. Include a check. Make it out to me because I’ll be using a couple bucks from each one to cover postage.
3. Mail the note card and the check to:
Pat Rothfuss
P.O. Box 186
Stevens Point, WI 54481
If you live outside the US and want to buy a book, follow the instructions I’ve laid out in THIS BLOG. International shipping is expensive, and you need to fill out your check a certain way or my bank won’t cash it.
Additional questions? I might have answered them HERE or HERE or HERE. Please read through those FAQ’s before you e-mail me.
That’s all for now. If you have any other ideas for things that might make good prizes, feel free to leave them in a comment below.
And one more time, here’s the link to MY TEAM PAGE.
Hopefully yours,
pat