Clarion West

How will I know if someone has donated to support me?

We’ll send out sponsor reports several times during the Write-a-thon. We wish we had instant notification, but the software that supports such reporting is more expensive than we can currently afford.

I know I have sponsors, but I haven’t received any sponsorship reports.

The reports may be getting stuck in your spam filter, or we may not have your correct email address. Send us an email at Writeathon@clarionwest.org to make sure we have your correct email address. We’ll work with you to resolve the problem.

How will the sponsors know if the PayPal donation went through?

PayPal sends an automatic confirmation email immediately after the donation is complete. In addition, the workshop will send a thank-you letter which can be used as a tax receipt. For donors who do not provide a mailing address, the workshop sends the thank-you letter via email.

Can my sponsors send checks directly to Clarion West instead of using PayPal?

Of course! They can send checks with a note about sponsoring you to Clarion West, P.O. Box 31264, Seattle, WA 98103-1264.

If I collect checks from my sponsors, does it matter whether I send them in at the beginning or the end?

It doesn’t matter to us, but your sponsors might prefer that the checks are deposited relatively quickly so they don’t have to keep them in mind as they balance their checkbooks.

Is there an easy way to sponsor several writers?

Yes! There’s a PayPal button on the main Write-a-thon page at http://clarionwest.org/events_page/write_a_thon. Use that button for your total donation, then send an email to Writeathon@clarionwest.org to let us know how we should divide the donation, or you could send a check with a note by physical mail to Clarion West, P.O. Box 31264, Seattle, WA 98103-1264. You can do this even if the writers you sponsor are raising funds for different workshops; we’ll send donations to the appropriate place.

Do the workshops care how the donations are made?

Whatever works for you and your donors works for us. We do receive more of the donation if it’s sent as a check rather than via PayPal, but PayPal’s convenience factor is genuinely worth the small transaction fee they charge.

Can people make a pledge now for a donation later?

Your sponsors can tell you that they promise to make a donation later, and you can remind them to do so. We don’t have the accounting software or the volunteer time to keep track of pledges, so we can’t help with that.

How much is everybody else writing?

Depends. Some of them write a lot and talk about it on the forum or on Facebook or their personal blogs. Some just write a lot and don’t tell anybody. Some write down any words that they can.

Do I have to post what I write during the Write-a-thon on the Clarion West Forums page, or on some other publicly accessible site?

No, you don’t. Some people offer their sponsors the opportunity to see excerpts from their writing, either on their own websites or through email. But most people don’t publish what they’re working on before submitting it to their intended markets, and there’s no reason you should — unless you want to.

Do I have to sign up separately if I want to post on the Write-a-thon Forums at http://www.clarionwest.org/forum/28?

Yes, that’s a separate process from signing up for the Write-a-thon. It only takes a minute to create an account, using the box at the lower right-hand corner of the website. We apologize for requiring registration, but it’s the only way we’ve found to protect the forums from spam without using too much volunteer time.

Is there a Facebook page for the Write-a-thon?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clarion-West-Write-a-thon/192967570067

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clarion-West-Write-a-thon/132338560170768

http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_189473184421335&ap=1

I signed up for the Write-a-thon, but my name isn’t listed. Why not?

Please check which Write-a-thon you’re in. This is the Clarion West Write-a-thon, benefitting Clarion West in Seattle; you might have signed up for the Clarion Write-a-thon, benefitting our sister workshop in San Diego.

I just found out about this. Can I still sign up?

Thanks so much, but no. Most of the volunteers who work on the Write-a-thon are in it themselves, and we want them to keep their time available for writing during the Write-a-thon, so we turned off registration at midnight the day before the workshop started. Please feel free to set yourself some goals and write along privately at home. You can do it! And join us next year. We’ll start Write-a-thon registration about six weeks before the workshop starts next year, and shut it off again at the same time as this year.