With four days left in his Humans of Nelson Kickstarter campaign, local photographer Ryan Oakley is feeling tentatively hopeful that he will reach his ultimate $10,000 goal.
On August 17, Oakley posted the following message on his Facebook wall, along with a video:
Dearest 6,073 HON followers on Facebook,
I made a mistake in my Kickstarter campaign. I really thought I had enough fans of the project that I would be able to make the $10,000 Kickstarter goal quite easily.
The math seemed doable: I needed to have 400 people pre-purchase the book through Kickstarter (@$25 a book) to reach $10,000.
400 people is only 7% of the HON Facebook followers.
But here we are with only 5 days remaining and I have 65% more to reach the goal.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanoakley/humans-of-nelson-the-boo
[Enter small violin here]...
I wish I was out shooting photos and handing out stickers today to drum up support. I had taken time off work to devote myself to this book and Kickstarter campaign.
But 2 weeks ago I dropped a kitchen knife on my foot and had to have surgery on the tendon. I can't drive, and I can only hobble around my house.
I'm stuck on my couch.
So it's time to get desperate. I made this awkward video to plead for your support.
I'm happy to use my lunch breaks to take portraits and my evenings to write and share the stories you enjoy on this page. I do this for nothing. And I hope it makes your day a little bit better.
But now I am hoping you will help me out. Please click on the Kickstarter link below and consider pre-order a book.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ryanoakley/humans-of-nelson-the-book
Let's hit this $10,000 goal and get this thing on the book shelves.
Thanks for your support and for your patience while I nurse my foot back to good health.
- Ryan