Marathon Sign Up (Optional)

You can do the marathon perfectly well on your own, though it helps to have the support of at least one other person who’s also marathoning.

However, if you would like to (1) make a commitment that will motivate you to keep going, and (2) connect with a larger group of people who are also doing the marathon, consider creating a commitment contract at stickk.com (how stickk works). The site allows you to set and track a goal with a timeline, making it a perfect match for the marathon.

If you decide to make this commitment:

Set up an account at www.stickk.com

Create a custom goal as follows:
Create your own goal: Complete the 2014 Picture Book Marathon
Commitment type: ongoing
I commit to: Write 26 picture book drafts during the 28 days of February
This commitment starts: February 1
Length of commitment: 4 weeks
Goal category: career

To make your contract more effective, you can pledge to donate money if you DON’T meet your goal (this step is entirely optional). If you meet your goal, you pay nothing. If you don’t meet your goal, you select where your money goes from one of three options: an anti-charity (you select one you would not want to donate to); a charity (though you don’t get to select which one); or, a friend or enemy.

Important: under supporters, list PBMarathoner. I’ve been playing with the stickk search engine, and it’s less than perfect. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to link everyone who makes a commitment contract through this step.

If I am able to link everyone that way, this last step may be unnecessary. But if you want to make sure you get linked to everyone else, email me (writers at picturebookmarathon.org) with the following:
subject: stickk contract
message: your stickk username
If I can't link you directly through the stickk site, I’ll send out a list of everyone who sets up a contract and emails me by 5:00 p.m. on February 2, and you can add them as supporters.

So, if you want to sign up, do it before February1!