An open letter for my audiobook kickstarter backers:
Thank you.
You were unbelievably generous, and then you were unbelievably patient.
When I set out to showcase the vision in my head of everything I thought an audiobook could be, not just a "book on tape", but a sort of movie you can listen to while driving... I never thought, in my worst anxiety-ridden imaginations, that it would take a year to finish.
Of course, I never anticipated having to slip a battle with one of the most lethal forms of cancer into my project timeline, but that wasn't the whole story.
When you start out to build something bigger than you can on your own, you have to put a team together. Then you have to learn to work together. Then, because you've never done it before, you have to make every single mistake there is to make, until you run out of mistakes and actually figure out how to do things right.
Every moment I had nothing to serve you but excuses, it cost me a little piece of my soul.
But today, I am finally at peace, because now you have, in your hands, what I labored to build, and you generously paid for.
So I don't have to make excuses any more, because good art requires no excuses, and bad art allows none.
I hope that what I, and my team, have made for you was worth our effort and your patience, for it is absolutely the best I am capable of. If it's not good enough, then neither am I.
That's up to you to decide.
There's no way for me to properly express in words how grateful I am for what you've done for me. Even if, for some of you, it was only a little bit of your time and money, those little bits add up, until eventually here I am, living my dream, creating what I always wanted to create.
I'm not a rich and famous author (yet), but thanks to you, I get to make exactly what's in my head, with no compromises, and invite other people in to enjoy it. Most billionaires don't have that.
Thank you.
I hope that we have justified your faith.
I'd like to take a few moments, also, to thank my team:
Christine and Sara, for handling an endless stream of tasks so I could just be an artist. And for never telling me my dream of being an A-lister was stupid or unattainable. The faith of loved ones is critical to an artist's success.
@CDoombeard, Dain Little, the voice of Marcus Warnoc. Your amazing talent was wasted driving a goddamned bus in North Dakota.
You deserve to be famous, and I will do everything in my power to make that happen.
@tiny0nion, Emma Rae, the voice of Miranda Foxgrove. You did the impossible just finding that voice, then nailed every acting challenge I put you to. You're too good to spend the rest of your career doing BrawlStars characters. So the next book will stretch your limits and show the world what you're really capable of.
No pressure.
@MakeAGoddamnedXAccountAlready, Ashley Crossman, the voice of Leela: Thanks, but you don't get headpats in public until you get on social media so you can hear me.
@TenorRichards, virtuoso sound engineer: You, and the entire opera world, already know you are a top talent star. So I'd just like to thank you for your incredible patience, and indefatigable enthusiasm, as I micromanaged every last detail and insisted on infusing every moment with an artistic vision that you were actually willing to get on board with and share.
Next time will be less grueling, I promise.
Backers, please give these folks a follow, so you can see all their other cool projects. You'll doing yourselves a favor.
And once again, thank you.