I’m thrilled and a bit terrified to inform you that you can now Pledge on PledgeMe towards my first book - THE RESIDENTS: Made in Wellington.
First things first: Please buy a copy (or two, or five) of the book THE RESIDENTS: Made in Wellington. I can’t fund this project without your support so I need YOU to show me that you want this project to happen.
YES! How do I help?
I’ve spent over a year pouring myself into this project alongside a day job, preparing a wedding and house-sitting for 10 months. It is a celebration of inspiring residents of Wellington and a joyful peak inside their creative and eclectic quarters. To make it real, I’ve even put up posters on the Hannah’s Laneway! Go and check them out and tag me in it @lucyrevill_residents on Instagram.
This is an all or nothing goal, so if you don’t Pledge I might not make my $22,000 minimum goal I need to publish the book and the project won’t happen. The stakes couldn’t be higher! Don’t wait until tomorrow; I need you to Pledge right now and help create the ‘halo effect’ to show other people that this horse is worth backing (metaphorically speaking).
The first 24 hours are really important. Please support this project and hop over to PledgeMe.co.nz through this link here, and you’ll be taken to the page.
But what will it look like?
Check out the introduction and profile for two of the characters in the book: Marc Weir of Loretta and Hugo Grrrl. These two individuals were selected because I have judged their stories to be some of the most inspiring I’ve written up on The Residents and I wanted to dive deeper and see inside their homes, and understand what makes them tick. The content is fresh, colourful and beautiful.
Who is in it, Lucy?
I’ve been fortunate enough to build on the trust I’ve gained over 5 years of writing this blog and get some incredible people from Wellington to share their story. People featured in the book include:
Hon. Jacinda Ardern (Honorary Wellingtonian)
Sir Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop)
Dr Acushla Sciascia (Māpuna Consultants)
Missioner Murray Eldridge (Wellington City Mission)
Matt Wilson and Freya Aitkinson (Seashore Cabaret and Good Fortune Coffee)
Eboni Waitere (Huia Publishing)
Marc Weir (Loretta)
Anjali Stewart and Rachel Easting (twenty-seven names)
Amanda Millar (Director, Producer and Journalist, Amanda Millar and Company)
Hayley Sproull (Actress and TV Presenter, Great Kiwi Bakeoff, Have you been paying attention? Golden Boy)
Margaret Hema (Margaret Hema skincare)
Tilly Lloyd (Unity Books)
Anna Calver (Wellington NZ)
Jessie Wong (Yu Mei)
Sophie Kasoylides (The Greek Food Truck)
George Fowler (House of Drag Season 1, Hugo Grrrl)
Xoe Hall (Painter & Artist)
Talia Soloa (Layplan)
Stacy Walsh and Lydia Suggate (Mockingbird, Little Beer Quarter)
Chevron Hassett (Artist & Photographer)
Marie Fitzpatrick and Nic Murray (Good Bitches Baking)
Ali Dia (Alamir Bakery)
Maciej Zimny (Noble Rot Wine Bar)
Nick and Nevada Leckie (Okewa Rainwear)
Craig & India Springle (Union Tattoo)
Jacinta Gulasekharam (Positive Periods, Dignity NZ)
Christopher Tubbs (DJ at Club 121)
David Playle (Internationally Award-Winning Hairstylist)
Annabelle Wilson (Wilson Trollope)
Vijay Parbhu (Dixon Street Shoe Repair)
Professor Geoff McLay (Victoria University)
Ashley Church (Photographer Dinosaurtoast / Teacher Talk)
Hana Small (Parliamentary Services)
Jay Hoburn Song and Hayley Adams (NZ Police) and more...
How far along is the book?
The book is basically all written and photographed. I just need to edit it and get it designed and printed in time for Christmas - all of which cost money!
Why can’t I see a cover yet?
My designer Amanda and I want to take our time with the cover and make sure we come up with the best cover we’re able to so we decided to not rush it for the crowdfunding campaign.
How have you done it?
With a little help from my friends of course! It’s been a long journey to get to this point - and it’s absolutely not over yet. There has been sweat, tears (some as recently as Monday) and lots of ups and downs. You can read my experience of starting out this project with a mainstream publisher here if you want to know a bit more about what happened during 2019.
I thought I would take the opportunity to thank some key people who have helped this project become real in the last few weeks. They are fascinating individuals in their own right and as such were already in the book.
I don’t think that any creative project is easy. However, I’ve learned that it can be made a whole lot easier when you have the right skilled people there to help you. And although I didn’t get support from the people I originally expected, in the last few weeks in particular
The time spent writing can be sometimes downright boring. You need something, or someone to help you stay motivated. When I was despondent because no one appeared to help, Jemma Titherage helped me by setting me deadlines and encouraging. I’m so grateful to you Jemma for being an awesome coach!
My amazing team India Lopez and Amanda Wilkinson have whipped up something beautiful in a very short timeframe for you to show you what the book will look like. India is just a delight to work with and Amanda knows what I want without me even needing to tell her.
Pivotal Print have backed us from the first meeting and really believe in this project. I’m so grateful to Miles and JB for ‘getting it’ and giving a generous discount on our printing price to make the goal of creating this book more achievable.
Amanda Millar and Tennessee Mansford from Amanda Millar and Co have gone above and beyond to help me, suggesting other avenues to publish, and then giving me world-class coaching to pitch the crowdfunding campaign, filming my video, hooking me up with a video editor and even pitching to media on my behalf. I genuinely can never repay these women for their kindness. I’m floored.
Tilly Lloyd from Unity Books spent 3 hours at her home explaining the book trade pricing to me and making sure I know to include the finished product in a Bibliographic Site and get my IBANZ number. She has really believed in me since I popped my head in the backroom of Unity Books, and for that I am so grateful.
Margaret Hema for being the most incredible mentor and preaching to me to maintain integrity above all else. She is wise, clever and always gracious.
Matt for spending time with me getting the numbers right on this project and helping me by being a wonderful husband. I can’t do this without you darling. Thanks for helping my dreams come true.
Seashore Cabaret for being the first cab off the rank to make an order of 40 books (no less). Again, I am floored by your genuine support.
Marie Fitzpatrick for life advice on quitting.
And many more…
And finally, I’m very thankful for YOU. You’ve answered my random polls, come up to me in cafes and genuinely championed me, not only through this project but over my whole time running The Residents. You are the reason I keep showing up. So thank you VERY VERY much.
For now, I’ll just say it again….
PLEASE PRE-ORDER YOUR BOOK AND SHOW ME YOUR LOVE. IT COULDN’T MEAN MORE TO ME RIGHT NOW.
This is the cumulation of 176 interview, 700 blogs and thousands of hours over 5 years. I really believe that you’ll love the product and I’m so grateful for YOU!! Thanks for being a true resident of Wellington.
