This is what my office looks like these days!
over 6 years ago – Wed, May 09, 2018 at 07:32:24 PM

Bubble mailers & boxes everywhere!

When the campaign on Kickstarter ended, we moved over to a company called Backerkit, a similar type of platform which essentially swoops in and takes over the fulfillment aspect of creating a product. It's a lot more versatile than Kickstarter, and I've enjoyed learning how to sort through the data and . . . send out backer surveys, the first of which went out today.

If you didn't get your backer survey today, don't worry; it will come soon (especially if you are an Early Bird backer). If you've never received a backer survey, let me explain: When you back a project on Kickstarter, you give only your name, email address, and credit card info. Your card gets charged when the campaign is over, but the product may not get sent for months; in fact, in most cases, it doesn't even exist yet. But eventually, the creator of the project will have something they need to send you . . . but where? The backer survey says, "You've already paid for this, and now I'm ready to send it to you. What's your address?" Furthermore, Backerkit lets the creator of a project ask if you would like to "add-on" anything to your order? Wish you'd ordered three sets of Metaphor Dice instead of one? No problem! Want to buy a set for a stranger? You can do that, too!

Which brings me to the penultimate thing I want to say: I am thrilled—especially during this Teacher Appreciation Week—that so many people have opted to Make-a-Teacher's Day and gift a set to an American teacher who has expressed interest in the project. Well over 100 teachers will be getting a free set of Metaphor Dice this fall because people love teachers and want to show it.

Lastly, a special thank you to my friend Colin Bridgewater at The American School of London who bought 20 sets and arranged for most of them to be shipped to the Language Arts teachers at his old school in New Hampshire. He's not the ONLY person to have been so magnanimous, but he's the first to send me an email like this which he received today:

Metaphorically yours, 

I'm adding some "sport related" words to the dice. What do you think?
over 6 years ago – Thu, May 03, 2018 at 07:30:54 PM

The livestream update we broadcast on Monday in celebration of the last night of the campaign involved a special appearance by 7th grader Imran Joseph (you'll recognize him from some of my videos). One of the folks watching the stream asked Imran if there were any words he wish were included.

Being a typical seventh grader, Imran said he'd be a little more comfortable crafting metaphors if there were a few words that were "sports related,"which makes perfect sense to me (as a FORMER typical seventh grader)! He wasn't asking for an excuse to write only ABOUT sports, rather that there be a few words that would steer the metaphor into the wheelhouse of sports.

So I am happy to report the following words that will be included in the sets to be delivered in November: VICTORY, CURVEBALL, SLAM DUNK, and BULLSEYE. There are also some changes to the adjectives, but they aren't really sports related because all of my choices were a little too American. For example, I really wanted to include JUNIOR VARSITY (how wonderful it would be to roll "Death is a junior varsity blessing!") and SPLIT-FINGERED ("Love is a split-fingered curse!"), but those words aren't common outside the USA.

Here is a draft of the changes I intend to make to the adjectives:

Do you like my replacement words? I'd like to include the adjective LAST-MINUTE as a last-minute addition, and I'm thinking it should replace DESPERATE. What do you think? If there's a word you'd like to see included, leave a comment on this update and I'll consider it. Keep in mind that 10 letters is the maximum length of any one line.

The first surveys (for the Early Bird backers) will go out next week, and everything is still on schedule. Carry on with Thursday!

Metaphorically yours, 

Thank you for helping to bring my idea to life!
over 6 years ago – Tue, May 01, 2018 at 04:36:13 PM

Two years ago, as a way of procrastinating writing an actual poem, I started daydreaming about ways to make writing poems a little less daunting. Not just for me, but for anyone confronted with a blank page demanding something creative. That challenge (plus a couple interactions with students) led me to develop the idea for Metaphor Dice, which last night successfully finished its funding campaign! I couldn't be happier with where we are with this project on this glorious May Day in Brooklyn! So first and foremost, thank you to all who backed the project!

Now then. Here are all the next steps I can think of at the moment that need to be taken in the next days, weeks, and months:

• Your credit card will be charged for the amount of your pledge (already happened)!
• Any failed payments—and there's always a few for any number of reasons—have seven days to be corrected. After that, uncorrected pledges get dropped (as if they never backed the project!). 
• Many of you—especially the "Early Bird" backers—will be receiving a survey from Backerkit in about 10 days. I wish it weren't called a "survey" because that makes it sound like an optional customer service questionnaire. That's not what it is; it's the ONLY WAY we find out where you want your dice shipped! 
• Each survey will also provide you with the opportunity to "add-on" any extra sets you might want. Including . . .
• One of the most popular pledge levels in the first few days of the campaign was called Make-a-Teacher's Day. We had to discontinue it on Kickstarter for technical reasons, but the survey from Backerkit will give you another chance to GIFT sets of Metaphor Dice (as many as you like for only $15/set) to random teachers in the USA! You will be able to stay anonymous OR send them an encouraging note.
• Those who didn't pledge at an Early Bird level will receive their surveys a little later, perhaps in late summer/early autumn. By then I will have learned from all the mistakes I have yet make, and the process will be simpler and more intuitive. And the directions for your sets will be in full color! 
• Lastly, there will be a few words on the dice themselves that will be swapped out for other words. For example, the word APOLOGETIC seems to be a little too long. Same with DESTROYER (even though it's one letter shorter). And gone will be the possibility of ending up with the following roll:

I thought it would be cute to make it possible to recreate what I might have been thinking 20 years ago when I wrote my poem "How Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog," but I now think that was a misguided idea. I mean, what do you do with the roll I AM LIKE OWNING A MIDWIFE? Also, do I really need to offer FALLING IN LOVE when  I already offer LOVE and THE HEART? DOG might stay! Stay, DOG, stay. 

That's it for now. I apologize in advance if I update you too much or too little in the next few months. I've lost track of what NORMAL feels like!

Metaphorically yours, 

LIVE event tonight to celebrate the LAST DAY of the campaign!
over 6 years ago – Mon, Apr 30, 2018 at 07:52:27 PM

Tonight I'll be live on Kickstarter starting at 9 pm (Eastern) to celebrate the last night of the funding campaign! Barring any last-minute cancellations, we will be successful and Metaphor Dice will proceed to the next level! I've invited several special guests to join me to roll some metaphors and talk about their experiences using the dice so far. Some of them will have received a set today or on Saturday!

You can watch the stream starting at 9 pm (ET) by clicking here.

Thank you all for participating in this experiment in making poetry a little less daunting and a lot more fun. I am exhausted & happy, which is one of my favorite feelings!

Metaphorically yours, 

 PS—I think this is what it will look like tonight to be streaming with some other folks, but I don't know for sure!

The Dice Arrived Today (And Taylor Adds a Stretch Goal)!
over 6 years ago – Thu, Apr 26, 2018 at 07:48:25 PM

Please help us get to 350 backers by Monday night. If we are successful, I will send everyone a signed poem broadside! Watch the video below to see what the NEW DICE look like! I am still floating! The last update will be a LIVE stream on Monday night at 9 pm! See you then!

Metaphorically yours,