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We have come so far!

11/28/2014

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Hi Everyone,  Just taking a min to reflect on our journey for this book.  The other day I finally spent 3hrs on the project accounting -> we have just now broken even.  Getting a self-published book to market is so expensive and we couldn't have done it without the support of everyone from our Kickstarter campaign, contributor donations and also a few private donations.  This is actually quite an achievement! 

The bulk of our sales to date have been fulfilling kickstarter rewards.  I have shipped out around 80 Paperbacks and 40 Hardcovers and also have 16 Paperbacks in local bookstores in North Vancouver.  This weekend we are heading out to set up a table to sell books, t-shirts and totes in West Vancouver - come see us, we will be in Ambleside!

I have re-ordered the Paperbacks and I am also setting up a give-away for 2 hardcovers on Goodreads starting today.  I will continue to push marketing efforts for the next few weeks and next year we are going to start engaging with book clubs and libraries around Vancouver. 

If you have a few mins - please search for The20Project on Goodreads and write a review if you have read the book and otherwise please add it to your "to reads" and rate us.

Have a great weekend! 
Hilary

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How you can help! (in less than 5 mins)

11/24/2014

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Happy Monday!  I have 2 requests for you today! 

#1 - Nominate The20Project for Canada Reads
(Nominations close on Sunday 30th November 2014)
The theme this year is "a book to break barriers" and I think that we definitely qualify!!
How do you do it?   Email, Facebook, Twitter...

Email To -> cbcbooks@cbc.ca
Subject Line: Canada Reads Nomination
Body: Talk about why you think The20Project is a book to break barriers

Twitter Example ->
I would like to nominate @20projectbook
by @HilaryCurry for #canadareads  #the20project

Facebook -> https://www.facebook.com/cbcbooks
Go to the page and post / link about The20Project
(https://www.facebook.com/the20project)
#2 - Review The20Project on Goodreads
(Please do this ASAP)

Please click on the link below, rate the book and then write a small REVIEW of the book!  The more reviews and ratings we get for The20Project the better! 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23489312-the20project

If you haven't got your copy of The20Project yet - you can get a copy through Goodreads or for a paperback or hardcover edition or OTHER type of eReader please visit our store. 

Thank you for supporting The20Project!

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Taking stock...

11/16/2014

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Now that all of the Kickstarter rewards have been shipped, it's time to stop, take a breath, and figure out what's happening next.  This week we have the next batch of softcovers and a few more t-shirts arriving so we will be stocked up; I also have 9 packages of books to get out to various people around Vancouver.  Besides getting my accounting done, I have one thing on my mind.....

SELL BOOKS & SWAG!!!

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There is going to be a little more to the plan than just putting stuff up online!  We are going to hit up some local book shops, more online advertising, send out articles to news outlets and hopefully attract more attention to The20Project!!  Stay tuned for updates.

:)
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Hardcovers are here and they are beautiful!!

11/14/2014

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We are so excited today, the HARDCOVERS arrived!  We opened up the boxes and they are absolutely beautiful - so happy that all of the effort on this was really worth it.

So......  of course I enlisted Margaret and we finished packing up all of the kickstarter rewards for mailing out.  Tomorrow morning, we will be shipping everything!  There are some surprises in the mail for some of our supporters and we hope that you enjoy your rewards. 

We couldn't have done this without our Kickstarter backers - THANK YOU!!!!!!!
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The20Project Launch Event - 5Nov14

11/9/2014

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It has been 4 days since our launch event and I am only now caught up enough to have a few mins to sit down and compose my thoughts around the evening! 
  • We self catered the event for over 40 people,
  • We sold out of all of the softcover books,
  • and an amazing time was had by all! 
    (everyone kept saying it, so it must be true!)
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Full launch event photo set can be found HERE
I honestly can't believe that it has been 11 months since sending the very first email about The20Project.   According to our editor, Theresa, most books take at least a full year or two to get published and this short turn around time is essentially unheard of.  Those of you who know me though, probably aren't surprised in the least!  Once I set my mind to something - I see it all the way through (another thing that isn't very common).   

The week leading up to the event was a whirlwind of activity, running around, ordering supplies, getting stuff printed, and making a myriad of tiny decisions that lead up to the final event!  I know that I was running on very little sleep trying to balance all of this and work at the same time.... although the lack of sleep was worth it with the reviews on the Choux Beef Buns  ;)
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Presentations

To kick off the evening, I thanked our sponsors who were kind enough to donate draw prizes and the money to make the event the success that it was! 
  1. Kingwood Capital - $1,000 cash donation
  2. BeedieGroup - $1,000 cash donation
  3. Vij’s - $100 gift card to Vij’s on West 4th
  4. LUSH – 2 gift baskets totaling $100
  5. Alison Columbus, Brand Ambassador for Nerium International - $200 gift basket of age-defying skin care products from Nerium 
  6. ZAG Global – the brand that manufacturers the Zend product line - $50

Our guest speaker for the evening was Margaret Benson, a CF survivor and double lung transplant.  As always she did an amazing job speaking about her life and the challenges she overcame.  To say the least it was a tough act to follow.  So, when I had my time to speak, I actually called in a favor....  I connected with Tino Makuvire, who is a Makomborero student, currently studying on scholarship at McGill University.  His video allowed me to highlight the importance of this project and giving back (his video is also on the Giving Back page if you want to see it). 

In the end I shared my own lessons learned from the project:
  • A little bit of pressure is a good thing!
  • Commitment is hard.
  • Ask for help when you need it.
  • Your journey is your own…. Listen to others’ wisdom but make your own decision!

I truly hope that this project is able to positively impact just one person, to make better decisions and to understand that they are not alone in the world.  Not every story in the book is for everyone - but hopefully something in there resonates with you! 
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Next steps.....

The clean up from the launch is complete, books have been re-ordered and are on their way to my house to be packed and distributed out before the end of the month (to both our kickstarter family and new orders!).   Hopefully the word gets out about The20Project and I have two more months before switching gears from project founder back to student. 

Big Thank You's to:
My contributors from around the world, our graphic designer (Bridget), editor (Theresa), logo & t-shirt designer (Ryan), Pull Focus Film School (and our video participants), Kickstarter supporters, and our organization committee for the launch event (Margaret, Michelle & Sandie with special mention for Jill & Kara!) I could not have done this without you. 

Just one more thing, I do have a small favor to ask of you.... please spread the word about The20Project.  Please share our website, share our blog and if you have read the book - either send us a review or tell us how it has changed your life!  We are also happy to host guest bloggers! 

Much love out to you all,
Hilary

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We are (almost) famous! 

11/3/2014

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This weekend we had 2 articles published about The20Project.  The first was in the Douglas College paper called "The Other Press" and the second was in the North Shore News!  Both articles are reproduced below with links to the online stories!

The Other Press: ARTICLE LINK

How to navigate the quarter life crisis:
New book offers advice, stories for young adults

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By Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor, Posted on October 27, 2014

Turning 20 can be a tough time for young people as they struggle with the quarter life crisis, in which they question their life choices in their 20s, similar to the way adults re-evaluate their lives during a midlife crisis in their 40s.

North Vancouver author Hilary Curry hopes to make the transition from teens to 20s a little smoother with her new book, The20Project, to be released November 1. In the book, she and 19 friends share advice and personal stories intended to help young people at that stage in their lives.

“It seems that a lot of young adults are going through this quarter life crisis right now,” Curry said to the Other Press. “I think giving people some framework that they’re not alone, which they can see from others’ struggles, will hopefully help them through that process.”

The idea for the book came about in January when Curry was speaking with young people about the difficulties they’d gone through during their quarter life crises. She said some young people told her she seemed to really have her life together, which she admits isn’t entirely true but has motivated her to share her story.

“One of the things that is really apparent when you tell these stories is that other people learn from what you talk about. I decided to put something together that maybe even kids could learn something from and hopefully apply to their own lives.”

The book’s authors range from their late 20s to late 50s, which allows for a variety of advice and stories from different age groups that resonate with young people.

“All of the authors have had very different experiences trying to figure out what they want to be when they grow up,” Curry said. “I think people even in their 30s and 40s are still struggling a little bit with ‘Maybe I should change careers’ or ‘Maybe I should do something else.’”

On The20Project website, English and drama teacher Nancy-Jean Lahn shares part of her story about self-confidence: “Your belief in you takes precedence above all else, and while that might seem simplistic, it is the very essence of personal success. Belief in yourself and your abilities.”

Curry launched The20Project Kickstarter campaign in September with a goal of $5,000 to cover publishing costs, ending with more than $5,500.

“This has been a nail-biting experience, but we have surpassed our goals,” she wrote on The20Project Kickstarter page.

Since the book is about imparting wisdom to a younger generation, Curry and the other contributors decided to make it not-for-profit with proceeds going to support an African charity, Makomborero, where one of the book’s contributors, Nicola Holden, sits on the board of directors. The charity supports high potential students in Zimbabwe, selecting eight students a year to see them through their A-Levels (secondary school education).

The20Project’s official book launch will take place on November 5 at the Ferry Building Gallery in West Vancouver. The event will feature wine tasting, gift baskets, books for sale, and special guest speaker Margaret Benson, a double-lung transplant recipient who will be sharing her story.

For more information about The20Project, check out the official website at the20project.com

Then the north shore news - ARTICLE LINK
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Quelling quarter life crisis
book project offers advice to the younger generation

By: Erin Mcphee / North Shore News November 2, 2014

"Everybody has a story to tell," says Hilary Curry, who in a new book project sought to channel those of a diverse group of adults, asking contributors to reflect on their personal experiences in an effort to help 20-somethings be inspired to find their way.

The20Project, being released this weekend, is a compilation of stories written by 20 people living around the world.

Curry, a 35-year-old North Vancouver resident, is the non-profit project's founder. She got going with the initiative in January after coming to realize the challenges faced by a number of her cousins in their 20s, some of whom are feeling lost and floundering somewhat as they try and figure out what steps to take in their lives. A further motivator were discussions she'd had with younger adults last year while travelling in Hawaii. Those a decade her junior were vocal about how impressed they were with how her life seemed so put together, something Curry felt compelled to explain was not always the case and share her own story.

"I think for me, I was just like everybody else," says Curry, reflecting on her own period of struggle in her 20s.

After embarking on her undergraduate degree in 1996, she made it through two years of study before dropping out.

"I just had no direction, I didn't know what I was doing, and I moved to Australia," she says.

It ultimately took her nine years to finish what she'd started, first taking outdoor recreation and then completing her bachelor of tourism management at Capilano University in 2005. Today she works as a management consultant for PeopleFirm.

She is often called upon by friends and business associates to have mentorship conversations with their young adult children.

Curry viewed The20Project as a means of reaching even more people and offering advice to those experiencing what's commonly referred to as a "quarter life crisis."

"A lot of kids have grown up with the ideology that anything is possible," she says. "And yes it is, but today we've got more choice than ever before. Back when our parents grew up there were a couple of life paths that people chose and kind of followed. Yeah, there were still some people who were lost - and there's always a bit of that in every generation - but I think now, today, with all of our technology, the speed of everything and just everything that's going on, we've come to a point where there's just too much choice and people are just like, 'I don't know what to do because I'm good at a number of things.'" Curry reached out through her networks for interested book contributors and the resulting list includes a number of North Shore residents.

Publication of the book was financed through a successful crowdfunding campaign and proceeds will support Makomborero (makomborero.info), a United Kingdom-registered charity that works to relieve poverty in Zimbabwe, Africa, through the education of children.

"I don't think something like this is for the purposes of making money," says Curry. "I think something like this is for the purposes of giving back. I've been given so much in my life by people, even random acts of kindness from other people. So I really felt like this was a project that if we're going to give back to people, let's give back all the way, not partially."

Makomborero was suggested as the book's beneficiary by London, United Kingdom-based contributor Nicola Holden who was born in Zimbabwe and sits on the organization's board.

While The20Project is geared towards 20-somethings, Curry hopes its message of inspiration will speak to all ages, and that it proves to affect change in one way or another - big or small - helping readers experience personal and professional growth and success.

"Honestly, at the end of the day I hope that something in the book allows somebody to get through - maybe they're going through a dark time, maybe they just feel like they're alone. ... I just hope the book impacts somebody's life to make better decisions or learn from our experiences. If it can do that, then it's served its purpose," she says.

A book launch is being held Nov. 5 at the Ferry Building Gallery in West Vancouver. The event will feature a presentation by guest speaker Margaret Benson, an inspirational double lung transplant survivor, and students from Makomborero. Community members interested in attending can contact Michelle Arduini, at arduini. michelle@gmail.com.

For more information on The20Project, including how to obtain a copy, visit the20project.com.

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The final countdown!

11/1/2014

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Here we are, 3 days left till our big book launch event in Vancouver, BC and as always there is tons to do!  The great news is that the Soft Covers are currently in the hands of DHL and on their way to Vancouver AND the postcards and t-shirts are already here.... the medium news is that the Hard Covers are ordered and I should be getting them by November 14th  (sadly not in time for the launch event!). 

2 big thank yous...

#1 - I want to send a HUGE shout out to our amazing Graphic Designer BRIDGET BRAUN!!!   She is the superstar of all superstars who literally bent over backwards to get the cover art on our books just right for our printers...  she is also helping out on posters and stuff for the launch event - A-MAZING!  If you need a graphic designer - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

#2 - Sandie Atkinson, Michelle Arduini and Margaret Ebrecht - You guys have gone above and beyond to make this launch event possible.  Sandie (organizing / fundraising / donations), Michelle (media / guest list / bits), and Margaret (facilities / printing / bits).  Seriously ladies - I am so grateful that you stepped up!  Just a few more days!!!!
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