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Let’s fund this thing!
The Kickstarter page is now live and accepting backers. I have been so encouraged by the number of people who have offered words of support and encouragement. Now the main thing I need is help in spreading the word. If you are inspired by Edith and are excited to see this book become a reality,
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Figuring out Kickstarter
Maybe you are like me and are not super familiar with Kickstarter. I had contributed to a few projects through their platform before, but figuring out how to create a campaign has been quite a learning curve. Unlike some other sites like GoFundMe, which allow you to simply make a contribution to a cause, Kickstarter
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Connecting with the Illustrator
When I started to think about doing this book, it was finding an illustrator that loomed as the biggest challenge. I wasn’t even sure where to start. So like many Grinnell alumni, I posted about it in the alumni Facebook group asking for advice. Among the responses was one who said they had a housemate
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Reading with Edith
Yesterday I had the indescribably wonderful experience of sitting next to Edith as I read her the story for the first time. As I read the words of each page, I would look across to see her eyes, carefully reading along in her copy. I was wondering if I would (worrying I might?) see signs
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Ripple effect
There is a small group of us who have been dreaming of widespread awareness of the Renfrow story for several years. Dan Kaiser started researching the Renfrow family around 2014 for his Grinnell Stories blog. It was because of him that I first made contact with Edith and was able to scan dozens of her
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Kickstarting a new venture
Asking for money is just always awkward, at least for me! But making this book a reality is going to take more money than I have to spend on it, so I find myself venturing into the world of Kickstarter, an online funding tool. The way Kickstarter works is you have to define your project
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If I were to write a mission statement…
This morning my husband, Craig, and I were talking as we enjoyed our morning drinks. This is the delightful way we start every day and is when we work through most of the issues of our life. This morning it was all about this book project and the excitement of making the news public this
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Follow the project on Facebook & Instagram
Looking at ways to optimize the project reach using social media, here are two things I’m planning to do that I invite you to consider joining. First, I’ve created a public Facebook group for the project. You can bet I’ll be sharing updates on the project on my personal page, but that will only reach
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Why I’m self-publishing
I’ve been thinking about this project for a while. There are lots of ways that one can go about doing something like this. While I absolutely believe that Edith’s story is one that should be shared far and wide, I also want to write it to and for Grinnellians – those who are/were residents of
This is the story of writing “No One is Better Than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother’s Words”. I wrote 1-2 posts each month throughout 2023 as I was working on the book. It covers everything from figuring out Kickstarter to conversations with Edith to working with the illustrator. I thought it was important to document the story of what it was like to write a book about this amazing 109 year old woman!
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The Renfrow Story 