Vida’s Moving Out and Debt Payment Fund (goodies and commissions available!)

Hello! My name is Vida Cruz, a science fiction and fantasy writer, book editor, and artist. You might know me from my work or perhaps my most recent fundraiser for my attendance at the 2019 Dublin WorldCon.

Situation Recap

2019 has not been a smooth year for many people, myself included. In the months leading up to WorldCon, I had to deal with numerous health issues (myself and family members), which ultimately led to the loss of my last job as a home-based worker. And, the day after my last fundraiser funded, my eldest dog died after a month-long illness where we had to give her new IVs, two baths, and a diaper change each day.

However, things have been looking up since my last fundraiser. I did manage to attend the con and live in Dublin comfortably, my health has been on the mend, and I have been hard at work at my new job as a book editor for a commercial publisher. (I'm still grieving over my dog, but only time can heal that wound.) As for my book, I was able to partner with UK-based bookseller, The Portal Bookshop, who not only picked up my errant books for me, but sold them all to others--thus necessitating a second and possibly third print run, as well as a pre-order list. So why raise funds, you ask?

The Present

But there have been some drawbacks. Due to some technical difficulties on my way to Dublin, I was compelled to re-book my flight, thus incurring a debt that was not included in the funds I had at the ready from various sources. My first short story collection (Beyond the Line of Trees: Stories), which I self-published in Malaysia and intended to sell at WorldCon, arrived in Dublin on the day I was to fly back to Manila--and not before I had to pay a hefty fee to have it delivered from Manila to Dublin, thanks to delivery delays on the Malaysian courier's end.

Lastly, the Manila traffic situation has become so untenable that I am forced to wake up at 3:30 every morning just to make it to work, where I stay for a 9-hour shift 5 days a week. I also happen to live 19.9km (12.37 mi) away from my workplace, and I took quite a pay cut from my last job in order to work at an industry that I have always been interested in. This situation has impacted my sleep cycle, which in turn impacts my performance at work.

As such, I'm raising money in order to pay my debts and move to an affordable apartment unit close to my office. I will be able to handle the rent in the coming months, but at present, I do not have enough for the two months' deposit.

Paying off my debts and moving to a unit near my workplace will not only free me up for personal writing, editing, and illustrating projects, but to catch up with freelance work and commissions--which, incidentally, I'm offering as rewards!

The Rewards

I'm offering an array of physical and digital goodies, as well as services, that are aligned with my skills as a writer, editor, and artist.

If you'd like to know my writing credentials, I attended the 2014 Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop in UC San Diego, won 1st Place for a short story in the 2017 Writers of the Future Contest, and received a 2018 Tiptree Fellowship Grant for creative work that helps transcend the boundaries of gender. I write mostly fantasy novelettes with a Philippine mythological flavor, but I have dabbled in science fiction as well.

As for my editing credentials, I have beta read and edited stories and manuscripts for Tade Thompson, Aliette de Bodard, and Victor Ocampo, as well as served as a Submissions Editor for Uncanny Magazine from 2014 to 2017. I am a capable copyeditor, proofreader, and developmental editor.

Finally, with regard to my illustrating credentials, I drew and colored the cover of my first short story collection (and I'm offering prints of the cover and the physical book as part of the rewards). I work in the traditional mediums of marker and watercolor.

Here's a full rewards list:

• $1-5 - THANK YOU DOODLES (choose one or all of the 5 doodles)
• $10 - ART PRINT (4x6)
• $10 - DIGITAL BOOK
• $18 - PHYSICAL BOOK*
• $25 - ART PRINT (4x6) & PHYSICAL BOOK
• $30 - FLASH FICTION
• $40 - ART PRINT (8x11)
• $65 - ALL GOODIES BUNDLE (thank you doodles, physical book, digital book, either size of art print)
• $80 - ART COMMISSION
• $90 - ILLUMINATED FLASH FICTION
• $100 - SHORT STORY CRITIQUE
• $100 - LINEART COLORIST
• $150 - SENSITIVITY READ
• $250-400 - SHORT STORY FOR YOU (between 4,000 to 10,000 words, please see tiers for more details)
• $250 - COVER ART
• $250 - FREELANCE COPYEDITING OR PROOFREADING
• $350 - FREELANCE DEVELOPMENT EDITS

*If you're not based in Southeast Asia, the book will be shipped to you from the UK via The Portal Bookshop. Shipping charges are £2.50 for the UK, £4.50 for Europe, and £5.50 for the US.

If you'd like some combination of rewards that I have not listed here, or if you are based in the Philippines or elsewhere in Southeast Asia, please email me at [email protected] so we can work out shipping prices.

That's all, and thank you so much!