alexandraerin

Just woke up. Status post in a bit. I'm getting the first signs of pushback from organizers of the RAB* Awards. I'm getting the impression that my habit of enthusiastically leaving suggestions on every post I comment on and/or implying the organizers ought to have done a little more organizing has ruffled some feathers. When I offered a correction on the victory post for s00j and voiced my hope that musicians would merit their own category next year, I received a snarky "This is the post for congratulating the winners" response.

You know what? I congratulated the winner on her Facebook. It hadn't occurred to me (nor has it occurred to anyone else since the post went up yesterday afternoon) to congratulate the winner on the post in crowdfunding because... well... it's not like the community's a major internet destination, you know? I'd have no hope nor expectation of a specific person seeing anything that I left as a comment there.

And if they're out to quash anything that's even remotely like cross-talk, no wonder. I mean, I'd noticed that every time somebody voiced an opinion or suggestion on how things were being run, they got a reply telling them there'd be a discussion post after the awards were done for the year... it's only now that it's getting explicit that I'm seeing the implicit "...so keep that talk quiet until then." I'm beginning to wonder if these people have ever seen the internet before.

Well, "meh" to that. They chose to set up their awards in a Livejournal community. Not even as a Livejournal community but as a series of loosely-linked posts in an existing Livejournal community. As I discussed in one of my poss on finding and building your audience, the LJ format sets a tone... if they didn't get a lot of cross-talk on their posts before now, that's just a testament to how few people know or care about these awards.

Yes, I've been snarky about the organization. But when something is so poorly organized that it stands out to me as poorly organized, that's... well, that's some rather poor organization. Yes, I've been flippant about my chances of winning, but seriously, I could run the score up into the thousands if I offered an incentive. Yes, the tag I use for my RAB posts here is kind of denigrating... but it's also kind of amusing, and it reflects my hope for the future.

Here is a fact: winning this award cannot possibly do as much for me as I have done for the award already just by realizing I was nominated. If I kept my mouth shut except to tell people I was nominated, if I hadn't bothered to make the ballot post and copy and paste the relevant sections into the comments of the individual voting posts, if I had done nothing except to say "I'm up for an RAB. Go vote.", I still would have raised its profile by a substantial amount.

And when I say these things? I'm not bragging. I'm lamenting. I want this to be something bigger than me. I want there to be an award for crowdfunding that means something, that isn't just one insular little community's thing.

I think that award will exist sometime in the not-too-distant future, but I'm starting to think it might not be the Rose And Bay Award. I'm not giving up on them... I'll participate in the Officially Sanctioned Comments Go Here post, I'll actively participate in promoting them for the next year, I'll try to raise awareness of them prior to the nominating period so that we can have some more representative ballots next year, but I've got my eyes open now to the possibility that this caterpillar won't ever turn into a butterfly.

In that eventuality?

Well, to quote Gandhi: Be the change you want to see in the world.

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*Dude still owes me a horcrux.

The Rose and Bay Award focuses on a growing business model known as "crowdfunding" or "cyberfunded creativity," which directly connects creative people and patrons of the arts online. This award recognizes exemplary projects and enthusiastic patrons. It spans six categories: Art, Fiction, Poetry, Webcomic, Other Project, and Patron. (Other Project includes any cyberfunded creativity that isn't art, fiction, poetry, or webcomic -- or that spans more than one category.)

Art Category Nominees:

• Between Heaven & Hell by Angela Hunt (aka Quennessa) Alternate Link
  
• Moonvoice's Art by Moonvoice (aka Ravenari) Alternate Link 1 Alternate Link 2
  
• Paintbox, the Art of Silvertales by Kitsune of Silvertales
  
• Sketch Fest by Ellen Million (aka Ellenmillion)
  
• Stardancer Art Archive by M.C.A. Hogarth (aka Haikujaguar) Alternate Link 1 Alternate Link 2
  
• Tod's Icon Days by Tod Wills (aka Djinni)
  

Vote For The Art Category Here

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Patron Category

• Marina Bonomi aka marina_bonomi for support of "Poetry Fishbowl Project" by Elizabeth Barrett
  
• Lorena Dinger aka laffingkat for support of "Poetry Fishbowl Project" by Elizabeth Barrett and "Feast and Nibbles of Poetry" by Anna Waite
  
• Nicole Robertson aka minor_architect for support of "Poetry Fishbowl Project" by Elizabeth Barrett
  
• m0usegrrl (LJ) for support of "Spots the Space Marine" by M.C.A. Hogarth
  
• tango (LJ) for support of "Spots the Space Marine" by M.C.A. Hogarth
  
• Charissa Cotrill AKA charnanigans (Twitter) for support of Gabriel Gadfly's Poetry
  
• aerynvale (LJ) for support of "Wonder City Stories" by Jude McLaughlin
  
• badfaun (LJ) for support of "Wonder City Stories" by Jude McLaughlin
  
• Elizabeth Barrette aka ysabetwordsmith (LJ) for support of "Art for Haiti Relief" by Nashay Jones
  
• Michelle Goldberg for support of "Torn World" and "Sketch Fest" by Ellen Million
  
• Selina Fenech for support of "Sketch Fest"
  
• V aka Vercin for support of "The Philosopher in Arms" by Karen Wehrstein
  

Vote For The Patron Category Here

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Other Project Category Nominees:

• "Titania" by Lisa Stock Alternate Link
  
• "The Three Micahs" by M.C.A. Hogarth, aka haikujaguar
  
• "Business Rusch (Changing Times)" by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
  
• "Torn World" by Ellen Million, Elizabeth Barrette, Deirdre Murphy, Valerie Higgins, and others
  
• "Belladonna Smiles" by Bone Poets Orchestra (Christopher Bingham, aka suddenlynaked, and bandmates)
  
• "Mischief" by S.J. Tucker
  
• Dandelyon's Card Draws drawn by Deirdre Murphy, aka wyld_dandelyon
  
• "Duotrope's Digest" - Duotrope LLC (founded by a team of published writers and former editors)
  
• "Tierra" by Xera
  
• "The Dragon Wagon" by Christian Breeden Alternate Link 1 Alternate Link 2
  

Vote For The Other Project Category Here

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Poetry Category Nominees:

• "Fayanora's Poetry Fishbowl" by Faynora Alternate Link 1 Alternate Link 2
  
• "Poetry Fishbowl at The Wordsmith's Forge" by Elizabeth Barrette (aka ysabetwordsmith)
  
• "Feasts of Poetry and Poetry Nibbles" by Anna Waite aka stryck
  
• "Gabriel Gadfly's Poetry" by Gabriel Gadfly
  

Vote For The Poetry Category Here

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Fiction Category Nominees:

Note: The fiction nominees have been split up into two "heats" because there are more nominees than LJ survey posts will allow. You may vote for one in each arbitrary grouping. There will be a second round of voting later.

Group 1:

• Sythyry's Vacation by Bard Bloom
  
• Spots the Space Marine by M.C.A. Hogarth, aka haikujaguar
  
• Addergoole by Lyn Thorne-Alder aka aldersprig
  
• Tin Man by robling_t
  
• Wonder City Stories by Jude McLaughlin (aka Dreamwidth user wonder_city)
  
• Strong Heart by Capriox Bovidae
  
• Lovers and Beloveds by MeiLin Miranda
  
• Tales of MU by Alexandra Erin
  
• A Frosty Girl's Cure by Zoe E Whitten
  

Group 2:

• Feather-Blessed by Deirdre Murphy aka wyld_dandelyon
  
• Fireborn by Deirdre Murphy aka wyld_dandelyon
  
• The Peacock King by Irk and Char (Infernal Shenanigans)
  
• The City of Roses by Kip Manley
  
• Tapestry by Wysteria
  
• Anachronauts by Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne
  
• Eclipse Court by Shirley Meier
  
• The Philosopher In Arms by Karen Wehrstein
  
• Snakeskin by Jessica Anne FitzGerald (Blue Coyote)
  

Vote For The Fiction Category Here

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Webcomic Category Nominees:

• "Alien Dice" by Tiffany Ross (aka Syke)
  
• "Dicebox" by Jenn Manley Lee
  
• "Girl Genius" by Phil & Kaja Foglio
  
• "Gnoph" by Kelsea Jewell (aka Mina Lunga)
  
• "Gunnerkrigg Court" by Tom Siddell
  
• "Kagerou" by Luka Delaney
  
• "Khaos Komix" by Tab Kimton (aka Khaoskomix)
  
• "Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal" by E.K. Weaver (aka gallo_de_pelea)
  
• "Little Tales" by Genesis Eve Cooper (aka Gen)
  
• "Oglaf" by Trudy Cooper
  
• "OpinioNation" by William Brian MacLean (aka wbm)
  

Vote For The Webcomic Category Here

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Note: I am not affiliated with the Rose And Bay Awards. I am a nominee in the category of fiction. I'm creating this post because I wish to publicize the awards further and give people who aren't familiar with the crowdfunded works under consideration a chance to explore the nominees and vote, but I cannot find a concise "ballot" that lists the nominees and links to the works under consideration and gives the opportunity to vote in the same place. Please feel free to link to/share this post.

Where multiple links were included for a nominee, I've tried to order them in terms of immediacy, so that you can click on the first link and see examples of their work or find out what it's about without digging.