Lisa A. Kramer

It Takes a Village to Create

You’ve probably heard the proverb “It takes a village . . .” in regards to raising children. I completely believe that, however I would like to extend that to a bigger picture.

It takes a village to raise voices and ideas, and make change.

It takes a village to embrace creative power.

It takes a village to raise people up, and support one another’s dreams.

So many of us have big dreams, often creative ones—we want to write books, start podcasts, make movies, start community gardens, make art, build a community focused business . . . etc. So we dive in and create. It’s exciting and we are proud of ourselves when we achieve our goals, even on a shoestring budget.

But then, reality hits.

“What do I do now?”

“It’s done, but how do I share it with the world?”

“I don’t have the money to invest in getting this out in the world.”

That’s when the marketing sharks and SEO gurus start circling. “I can help you promote your work” they say, you just need to invest in me first. Some of these are legitimate and worth the investment. Some of them approach in aggressive ways with badly worded proposals that include the implication that you are doomed to failure unless you hire them immediately.

How do I know this? Because this has been my journey ever since I decided to “self-publish” Re-Creating the World: The Power and Joy of Collaborative Creativity

Creativity is Never a Solo Act

I put “self-publish” in quotes, because the reality is that writing and publishing books is never really a solo act. Creativity is never really a solo act. I go into this in detail in the book, but basically I believe that creativity is always a conversation between the past and the present, the audience and the artist. A book is just a bunch of words on a page if nobody ever actually reads it.

This book may never see the light of day if it weren’t for the help of so many different people:

• All of my creative collaborators whose stories can be found in its pages.

• The editors and creative team at Bublish, a self-publishing platform for authors.

• The emotional and brainstorming support of friends and family.

• And, of course, the amazing financial support of people who believe in me and in this project that led to my Kickstarter campaign being fully funded with 13 days left to go.

These people are all part of my creative village and I owe them all a huge Thank You!

A New Type of Village: Now the Fun Begins

The cool thing about raising funds through Kickstarter is that, if you get funded in the middle of your campaign, your campaign does not end. Anything above and beyond is yours and can be used to enhance the product (minus their cut, of course). The bad thing is, if you don’t reach your target, you get nothing, as I learned in my first failed campaign for this book. But, live and learn, and don’t look back.

Now, because I have been funded, I get to tell you my bigger goals. I will be adding some stretch goals soon. I’m thinking of things like a Creativity Kit Box Set, but I am still noodling around with ideas. (Don’t you just love the word noodling?)

But my dreams are bigger than that.

This book is not just a book that I am writing and publishing. It is part of a bigger dream for Spark Collaborative, as we become Spark Collaborative Media.

What is that, you ask?

Well, Spark Collaborative is a free online community started by myself and Jessica Beckendorf, a talented creator and community-builder:

We are a community of people with many different interests and creative pursuits who desire to embrace our multiple potentials and redefine how we live, work, and function in a complex world.  

We  provide techniques, practices, community,  and support so that we can all unapologetically live and work in ways that ignite our creativity. 

We defy labels, and welcome the possibilities that come with utilizing all our dreams and potential.

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Spark Collaborative Media is our dream of how we can build a truly collaborative, supportive village that helps people figure out how to get their ideas off the ground and find the support they need.

Think of Spark Collabortaive Media as a cross between a mentor program and the office water cooler for creators. A media incubator. We want it to become a platform to help people launch, that will provide resources and guidance for anyone trying to bring more creativity into their life. Want to start a podcast? We’ll help you learn how, and help you develop one you’re proud of. Have a book that you want to publish? We’ll support you along the way from idea to launch. Want to find collaborators for a creative community building project, we will be part of your team, and help you find the people you need.

We are still figuring out what this looks like exactly, but our ideas are coming together. It’s an exciting collaboration!

Where does Re-Creating the World fit into this? It is the first official book being published under Spark Collaborative Media. If (when) my Kickstarter campaign goes above and beyond, I will use some of the funds for seed money to help us make this happen.

If you are interested in learning more, helping us grow and achieve, or simply becoming part of our village, there’s two simple steps to take:

1. Join us for free at Spark Collaborative

2. Consider making a donation to Help Recreate the World on Kickstarter.

We hope to see you around our virtual village.