mcahogarth

Volunteer Positions

Added 2017-04-21 17:00:01 +0000 UTC

So back to thinking out loud! I already batted some of this around with the folks in the chat, but more heads are better! My goal is twofold: first, I'd like to maintain my business; and second, I'd like to maintain my community. There's not a whole lot I can think of for #1 there, because of how packed down my business model is (maybe y'all can suggest things?), but #2 is wide open.

First, the volunteer duties I need for the business:

First Readers - If you've already done first reading for 3+ of my books, please poke me for a Discord invite. If you're interested in helping with first reading and (importantly!) have a head for the canon of whatever setting I'm calling for, throw your name in the ring!
Advance Reviewers - I'd love to have a team of people who did nothing but post advance reviews of books. I'd send you a copy and your job would be to make sure on the day I announce the book, you post your review.
Really Really UnAdvance Reviewers - A lot of my older books are sadly unloved, when it comes to reviews. Someone with a lot of time on their hands (and a general interest in everything I write) could go back and fill in those blanks.
Street Team - This is something I'm still poking at, but it might be handy to have people carry fliers/info to cons I'm not at.
Fan Art Hunter - I've been thinking of adding a fan art spotlight to my newsletter (most of you remember from LJ that I'm good with every kind of fan offering except writing and things that are pornographic or violent), so having someone who goes looking for and finds those fan works for me might be handy!

For the community stuff, the field is wider. I'd like to get our community wall more active, but after lots of testing we've discovered that patrons can't opt into notifications of community posting, so the only way you'll know there's stuff there is if you check it manually... or if I post about it. But I think if we get enough discussions going there, it will be worth checking regularly, and I don't mind aggregating the week's community activity and making a post with links... that might make great Saturday content, since weekends tend to be slow.

My vague wish for the wall is that it becomes kind of like a local newspaper or gazette: milestones, recipes, local news, classifieds, etc. So most of the volunteer opportunities are for someone to host a regular activity. Things people are interested in:

Recipes and food posts.
Book recs and discussions
Milestone calls (tell us about your graduations, certifications, new babies, weddings, etc)
Support posts ("I'm trying to eat healthier." "We'll help you keep on track! Let's do it together")
An exchange/garage sale/market (Get rid of stuff you don't want that other people might need; offer or find services for things you need done).

If there's some other thing you'd like to offer, I'm all ears. Honestly, I know it sounds a little odd, but I kind of think you all are cool people and if I can facilitate y'all talking to each other and getting to know one another (while I get to lurk and enjoy your coolness), I'd like that. :)

Anyway, this is all off the top of my head. If you have your own ideas, please share!