There’s a saying, “asking isn’t getting,” but you’ll never know for sure unless you ask. So, I have an ask: will you donate a few dollars to me today to help me get my work finished and published by the end of the year?
I’ve been offered a subsidized spot in a month-long writing accountability group. I’m not publicizing what group or who is leading the group because this subsidized spot wasn’t advertised: I explained my financial situation, the group moderator did some number crunching, and I was told this morning that the group would be able to accommodate me at 18% of the regular rate. But I still don’t have $180, so I’m going to do my best to crowdfund the amount as fast as possible — the group starts meeting on Monday.
As some of you may know, I’ve been working on an extensive accessibility guide for events for almost four years. I’ve drawn from my past experience as a conference co-founder and co-organizer, as a conference and workshop attendee, and as a workshop presenter and guest lecturer. I’ve read and annotated over 100 accessibility guides from multiple countries, which has resulted in almost 1,000 pages of notes. I’ve been taking those notes and condensing, polishing, and ordering them into a comprehensive and easy to follow guide.
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I recently gave a free webinar on the presentation section of the guide. Making It More Accessible: A Very Abbreviated Guide for Presenters was well received, which was very encouraging! A recording of the webinar will eventually be posted at that URL, so stay tuned for that.
But folks, I have so much more in this guide than just best practices for presenters! It covers best practices for event organization and management, including presentations, advertising, websites, and so much more. It takes into account multiple disabilities and conflicting access needs, financial status, language, child care, education level, and other accommodations. It uses plain language and specific steps to take to make events more accessible.
I think there’s a drastic need for this type of documentation. If you agree, will you please jump over to PayPal and donate what you can so I can be a part of this writing accountability group?
Being a part of this group is exactly what I need to wrap up this project. I’m aiming to have the guide released in full (and in multiple formats!) by 2020. There are obstacles to reaching that deadline and I think being in the writing accountability group will nearly eliminate those obstacles. Primarily, my mental health was in the toilet during from August through mid-October, to the point that I spent a month as an outpatient in a partial hospitalization program (and then an intensive outpatient program) for behavioral health. I’m doing better now, but like many people I experience SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and that’s kicking in at this time of year. Having a group of other writers to keep me accountable (on track) is exactly what I need to pull through and make my 2020 deadline.
I’m sure you’re asking what makes this group so special that its general registration fee is $1,000? As I said, I can’t tell you the specifics of the group, but I can say that the group is led by a wildly successful writer and solopreneur who has been featured in publications such as Business Insider, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Observer, and Inc. Magazine. She also co-hosts a vodcast that is a cult favorite in its genre. I’ve been following her work since the beginning of this past summer and since then I have learned more about business, writing, and self-motivation than I did in the entirety of the 22 years that I’ve been publishing on the internet. She’s phenomenal at what she does and she is supportive of me and my work.
Two months ago, she invited me to do a one-on-one call with her to talk about my work with the Disability and Sexuality Access Network; she’s interested in the intersection of sex, sexuality, and disability, and is very interested in its accessibility. When I asked if it would be possible to financially accommodate me to join the writing accountability group I told her about the accessibility guide I’ve been working on and how I’m trying to get it finished. She came through for me with a massively subsidized registration fee, so now I’m asking all of you, my friends, colleagues, and social network, to please come through for me by donating what you can toward the registration fee. Doing so will help me get this guide published far faster than it likely would be without the writing accountability group.
So if you can, please, PayPal me as soon as possible. The group starts on Monday, October 28th. Won’t you help me be a part of it to get this accessibility guide out into the world where it is desperately needed? I’m counting on you all to make this happen; please don’t let me down!
