Buy Joe a Cup o' Joe!
Donation protected
Hi.
My name is Joe Leonard.
I'm a DIY writer and musician in Madison WI. I'm also a self described non-conformist, misfit, atheist, free agent, punk rocker, and a super nice guy.
At the end of 2015, I "fired" my boss so I could spend 2016 working full time on 2 book projects (a sci fi novel and a creative nonfiction). I am super excited to be pursuing my life's dream of writing and working for myself full time after 18 years of "field research" in Corporate America.*
Being self employed as a writer of books requires immense focus and motivation to achieve goals, for which coffee helps.
With my penchant for the the unconventional, I put up this "fun"-draiser as a challenge to see if I could achieve the modest goal of having my supportive friends, family, and fans buy me ONE (1) daily coffee every day in 2016.
Of course, everyone who buys me a coffee gets a free digital copy of the books (e-books) when they are done, because that's just fair play. I have been a writer for over 20 year, so the books won't suck, I can assure you.
These writing projects are my primary focus THIS YEAR and are already fully funded. So coffee donations are not mission critical at all (just helpful and much appreciated).** It's just a fun little game to see what happens.
So why should you buy me a coffee?
It's like this...
I do most of my writing at local coffee shoppes. Coffee keeps me alert and focused to get work done while also supporting the local "caffeination stations" that host my self employed @$$ every day (and I do work 7 days a week, because I love it). It's what they call a "win-win" in the vernacular. Every coffee someone buys me helps pay "the rent" on these fine establishments for supporting my art and keeps up-and-coming artists (aka barristas) employed so they can someday give good art to the world too.
Art begets art.***
But ultimately, this coffee challenge is just to see if I can achieve the simple goal of one coffee per day every day in 2016, underwritten by my supporters. Hitting the goal also means I will have a small audience of people to send my books to at the end of the year. Why write them if no one will read them?
One of my books is a creative non-fiction, tentatively titled "A Punk Rocker's Guide to Corporate America." It's as irreverent as it sounds, based on first hand experiences from my many years of research "in the field." It explains how to suckle the substantial teet of THE MAN without selling your soul or giving up your dreams and freedom and artistic expression. Look at me...I have achieved the elusive "artist/entrepreneur" status at last! Jeans every day, not just on Friday... So the proof is in the pudding. I mean, honestly, that is worthy of a congratulatory coffee right there, no?
The other of my books is a sci fi novel titled "Alien Conquest" about a rock band from a parallel universe whose music turns people into mindless zombie automatons they can control for ill intentions. It's really just a big metaphor for the corporate music business.
I'll probably write a third book as a hedge on the other two, basically a autobiographical memoir on when I made the insane decision to "fire" my employer and become a self employed author for a year. I can't really go wrong on that one...success or failure, I WIN!
As you can tell, I am a very positive, happy, and energetic person. I should really probably be drinking LESS coffee, to be perfectly honest with you. More than about one cup of coffee a day and I would be totally annoying to everyone around me. So the 2016 annual coffee goal I set here is basically 365 x the cost of one decent cup o' joe (~$5 suggested contribution, includes tip for the barrista...but I am happy to drink cheap swill if it is all you can afford).
Help me hit my goal!
1. You'll be contributing to good and wholesome art that makes the world a better place.
2. You'll be contributing to the continued employment of barristas in and around Madison WI and anywhere I travel in 2016.****
3. You'll get some good reading material around the end of 2016 that you can enjoy into 2017. You can even copy it and give it to your friends for free, I don't care.
Everyone wins.
Coffee aside, if you have read this far, bless your heart. I welcome constructive feedback if you have it (moreso if it comes with a cup of coffee!). Also, go read, bookmark, and subscribe to my punk rock lifestylings blog, JOE'S COFFEE FIX (it's totally free and halfway decent).
*Truth be told, I took a self employment sabbatical for a year and a half back in 2009-2010 too, to work on music. That was kind of a trial run and I learned a lot from the errors made then, most notably that you should always surround yourself with good and positive people, because negative people will suck the life force right on out of you. I have a hugely supportive network now and it makes pursuing my art a total joy.
**If it's a choice between buying me a coffee or paying the medical bills of the kid with cancer, GIVE IT TO THE KID WITH CANCER!
***Actually, I have no proof to back this up. I am not even sure what it means. It just sounded good when I wrote it.
****I support local mom and pop coffee shoppes, not Starbucks and the like. In full disclosure though, I own Starbucks stock and it has paid decent dividends repeatedly, I can't lie to you... So someone is drinking that swill.
My name is Joe Leonard.
I'm a DIY writer and musician in Madison WI. I'm also a self described non-conformist, misfit, atheist, free agent, punk rocker, and a super nice guy.
At the end of 2015, I "fired" my boss so I could spend 2016 working full time on 2 book projects (a sci fi novel and a creative nonfiction). I am super excited to be pursuing my life's dream of writing and working for myself full time after 18 years of "field research" in Corporate America.*
Being self employed as a writer of books requires immense focus and motivation to achieve goals, for which coffee helps.
With my penchant for the the unconventional, I put up this "fun"-draiser as a challenge to see if I could achieve the modest goal of having my supportive friends, family, and fans buy me ONE (1) daily coffee every day in 2016.
Of course, everyone who buys me a coffee gets a free digital copy of the books (e-books) when they are done, because that's just fair play. I have been a writer for over 20 year, so the books won't suck, I can assure you.
These writing projects are my primary focus THIS YEAR and are already fully funded. So coffee donations are not mission critical at all (just helpful and much appreciated).** It's just a fun little game to see what happens.
So why should you buy me a coffee?
It's like this...
I do most of my writing at local coffee shoppes. Coffee keeps me alert and focused to get work done while also supporting the local "caffeination stations" that host my self employed @$$ every day (and I do work 7 days a week, because I love it). It's what they call a "win-win" in the vernacular. Every coffee someone buys me helps pay "the rent" on these fine establishments for supporting my art and keeps up-and-coming artists (aka barristas) employed so they can someday give good art to the world too.
Art begets art.***
But ultimately, this coffee challenge is just to see if I can achieve the simple goal of one coffee per day every day in 2016, underwritten by my supporters. Hitting the goal also means I will have a small audience of people to send my books to at the end of the year. Why write them if no one will read them?
One of my books is a creative non-fiction, tentatively titled "A Punk Rocker's Guide to Corporate America." It's as irreverent as it sounds, based on first hand experiences from my many years of research "in the field." It explains how to suckle the substantial teet of THE MAN without selling your soul or giving up your dreams and freedom and artistic expression. Look at me...I have achieved the elusive "artist/entrepreneur" status at last! Jeans every day, not just on Friday... So the proof is in the pudding. I mean, honestly, that is worthy of a congratulatory coffee right there, no?
The other of my books is a sci fi novel titled "Alien Conquest" about a rock band from a parallel universe whose music turns people into mindless zombie automatons they can control for ill intentions. It's really just a big metaphor for the corporate music business.
I'll probably write a third book as a hedge on the other two, basically a autobiographical memoir on when I made the insane decision to "fire" my employer and become a self employed author for a year. I can't really go wrong on that one...success or failure, I WIN!
As you can tell, I am a very positive, happy, and energetic person. I should really probably be drinking LESS coffee, to be perfectly honest with you. More than about one cup of coffee a day and I would be totally annoying to everyone around me. So the 2016 annual coffee goal I set here is basically 365 x the cost of one decent cup o' joe (~$5 suggested contribution, includes tip for the barrista...but I am happy to drink cheap swill if it is all you can afford).
Help me hit my goal!
1. You'll be contributing to good and wholesome art that makes the world a better place.
2. You'll be contributing to the continued employment of barristas in and around Madison WI and anywhere I travel in 2016.****
3. You'll get some good reading material around the end of 2016 that you can enjoy into 2017. You can even copy it and give it to your friends for free, I don't care.
Everyone wins.
Coffee aside, if you have read this far, bless your heart. I welcome constructive feedback if you have it (moreso if it comes with a cup of coffee!). Also, go read, bookmark, and subscribe to my punk rock lifestylings blog, JOE'S COFFEE FIX (it's totally free and halfway decent).
*Truth be told, I took a self employment sabbatical for a year and a half back in 2009-2010 too, to work on music. That was kind of a trial run and I learned a lot from the errors made then, most notably that you should always surround yourself with good and positive people, because negative people will suck the life force right on out of you. I have a hugely supportive network now and it makes pursuing my art a total joy.
**If it's a choice between buying me a coffee or paying the medical bills of the kid with cancer, GIVE IT TO THE KID WITH CANCER!
***Actually, I have no proof to back this up. I am not even sure what it means. It just sounded good when I wrote it.
****I support local mom and pop coffee shoppes, not Starbucks and the like. In full disclosure though, I own Starbucks stock and it has paid decent dividends repeatedly, I can't lie to you... So someone is drinking that swill.
Organizer
Joe Leonard
Organizer
Madison, WI
