Week 3 Recap

Hello!

This is a slightly revised recap sent to our email list.

First of all, a belated Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers.

Only one week left until the Readathon begins!  I am  getting excited. Putting up Christmas trees and decorations has only increased the itch to start reading the Sequence again. 

 

We've been garnering some attention on Twitter by some more authors which is fantastic. There has also been some readers come over from a Live Journal TDiR fan group called The Light.  Their LJ link and ours are with the links at the bottom if you want to take a gander.

We almost have 50 readers signed up! Can we get 100 by Dec 7th?  See link below.

This week by the numbers:

82 Twitter followers

27 Facebook Group Members

47 Officially signed up

9 Countries represented (that we know of!)

10 have us in Google+ Circles

Starting Sunday, December 1st, we'll be in countdown mode, so get ready!

Please keep spreading the word and let me know if you have any questions, ideas, links to pass along, or anything else. 

Take care.

 

Danny

Sign Up Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V6fLBVvTI_itZwP_Q6VebnGqjbu6MmcspF3tY4KAx-k/viewform

Blog: tdirreadathon.blogspot.ca 

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1431144040446912/

Twitter: @TDiRReadathon

Hashtag: #ReadTDiR 

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/107563123879935273659/about

Live Journal: http://tdirreadathon.livejournal.com
http://thedarkisrising.livejournal.com

The Experience & Why Sign Up?

Thank you to everyone who has followed, replied, retweeted, added, posted, +1’ed, signed up, and generally made my life very exciting the last two-and-a-half weeks.

When one starts an endeavor like this, there are three ways it can go: fantastic, fair, or pathetic.  Fortunately for me, things started with a BANG! with a retweet from Neil Gaiman to his 1.9 million (yes, million!) followers and have been rolling along at a steady trot ever since. But I have not rested on my retweet laurels, nay, I have continued to “canvas the internets” and put the word out as I want to find as many fans-in-social-media-hiding as possible. Obsessed much? No, I have just been very encouraged and spurned on by the response from you and the stories and experiences that you’ve shared. This is social media at its finest - uniting global strangers for a common purpose!

“Hang on,” you say, “I’m following the Readathon on Facebook and Twitter and Google+. Why should I put my info into your sign-up form when I don’t even know you?”

Excellent question.

You don’t have to, but it would be really, really nice if you did. Then, at the end of this readathon, I can let you all know that you read one of your favorite classics with X number of fellow TDiR fans in X number of countries across the world and we can all nod and agree that we were a part of something special.

And, because I like stats.  ;)

So, forgive me if I tweet a lot about signing up over the next little while. With all the different time zones, I’m trying to make sure everyone gets a chance to be counted.  I’m not asking much: a first name (doesn’t even have to be your real name), your general location, and how many times you’ve read the Sequence. Optional are your email address (for emailed updates), and specific country. It takes literally one minute to sign up. I will not share what info you give me with anyone, with the exception of countries. ("We have 7 people signed up from Canada").  Names and email addresses will not be shared period.

Please continue the great conversations, tweets, and general TDiR fandom.  I appreciate that you have lives and are busy people. Thanks for taking time out of your day to connect with me and others who have been impacted by TDiR. I work full-time and have 3 kids, too. This readathon is something squeezed out of my bit of spare time (when I’m not writing my NaNoWriMo novel).

For the love of the Sequence, reading, and meeting new people. (Okay, maybe I am a little obsessed.)  

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the experience and have a great day!

And please sign up!

Danny

Welcome to The Dark is Rising 40th Anniversary Readathon

To commemorate Susan Cooper’s Lifetime Achievement Award at World Fantasy Convention 2013 and the 40th anniversary of her classic fantasy book, The Dark is Rising, I am proposing a Worldwide Readathon of The Dark is Rising Sequence starting on December 7th, 2013 (in honor of the seventh son of a seventh son).  There is no timeline, finish deadline or day-by-day guide, just the awesome knowledge that you are enjoying these books, maybe for the first time, with fans around the world at the same time!  In starting on December 7th, my hope is that most people will be able to finish Over Sea, Under Stone, before Midwinter’s Eve (December 20th?), the day before Will Stanton’s birthday to add to the reading experience of The Dark is Rising.

Due to our followers across various social media, I am keeping track of who’s joining the Readathon via this quick Google form.  I’m not asking for any info you don’t want to give, just a first name and location for stats tracking.  I won’t publish any individual’s information that is collected in any way. It only takes a minute, so please fill it out!

Just as a disclaimer, I am not affiliated with Susan Cooper or any of her past or present publishers or agents. I am just a fan of her books.

Here’s where you can find us:

Sign Up Form

Facebook Group

Twitter: @TDiRReadathon

Google+ Page 

Hashtag: #ReadTDiR

Thanks and enjoy the experience!