Updated Proposal

Here is the updated and revised proposal for Project CCC.

1. Project Title: Project CCC
We also have finalized the name of our collaborative novel: Chaotic Connections--Because none of us is as smart as all of us.
2. Description: We are attempting to create a novel from the ideas of many, following the ideas of crowdsourcing from our digital age. As a group, we will write detailed outlines of each chapter, and then we will crowdsource segments, or scenes, from each chapter to other creative writers.  In order to maintain the cohesiveness of the novel, the writers will send their scenes to the chapter developers for review, and the chapter developers will send the chapters to Ashley Barnes for final voice and grammar edits. Our timeline is as follows:

• Oct 20-Administrators must have basic section outlines finished, get the google doc link out to general public writers.
  Nov 1-Have the 1st draft done (that means all sections posted on the google doc).  Begin revision #1
  Nov 8-Have 2nd draft done.  Begin revision #2 (as necessary)
  Nov 15-Have 3rd draft done.  The novel will then be closed to the general public.  Administrators look over and revise according to assigned sections.
  Nov 21-Ashley begins continuity edits.
  Nov 26-Begin grammar edits.
  Nov 30-Novel must be done (editing complete).
  Dec 5-Novel must be done and published (Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble).  Present to class.

3. Project Members: Heather Andersen, Jason Hamilton, Hillary Ulmer, Christina Holt, Rebecca Ricks, and Ashley Barnes
Jake Cannon has offered to help with editing
4. Social Proof:

• Evidence of informal social proof: We've set up a facebook page, which is open to everyone. We have proof that the idea is appealing to many: Jason Hamilton, Heather Anderson, andAlexandra Crafton have all posted on Google+ about collaborative writing with a great deal of feedback. 
• Evidence of outside social proof: We have contacted professors and writers from the area (one creative writing group and a few BYU professors more particularly). Chris Crowe, a professor at BYU, has expressed interest in our project and is willing to offer further feedback. Kai Fierle-Hedrick is a woman on Google+ who works at Free Arts NYC as an educator. She works to promote collaborative creative practices to help at risk youth, and we plan to refer to her when we have more of our book. Emily Dyer, a creative writing teacher at BYU, is also excited about this project and will watch us on the way.  Heather Anderson and Hillary Ulmer will be contacting Emily Dyer to see if we can reach out to her class as a basis for the writers of the scenes.  The rest of the group will also announce the project in our English classes and various clubs (such as YPublish and Quark) to find more interested writers.  Jason Hamilton has also spoken to Shawn Speakman, an author and writer for Suvudu.com, who is interested in the project.  Jason also has connections at the Provo Library, and he will be using the connection to reach out to other authors for their input.
• Annotated list of potential sources of further social proof: Webook.com is one source where authors can share what they are writing and receive feedback; Our Facebook page, again, will also function as a way for other writers to give input.  We will also use the Facebook page to promote the book. We will be working with Amazon.com, and possibly other online bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, when the book is close to completion in order to have it published. 

5. Literature Review:

• Links to blog posts exploring the topic from group members: Rebecca Ricks, Hillary Ulmer, Jason Hamilton, Ashley Barnes, and Heather Anderson have all posted regarding the topic. 
• At least three books that establish the relevance and importance of the topic:  Marriage of Minds: Collaborative Fiction Writing; "Collaborative storytelling experiences in social media: Influence of peer-assistance mechanisms," an article by Liu, Chen-Chung et al (Discusses how much easier collaborative creative fiction is if you use hypermedia instead of a linear form); more to come...

6. Literary Component: 

• Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey (Heather Anderson): This book would provided the catalyst for our video game plot, but more importantly, it relates to identities and how media changes perceptions 
• The Future of Us (Hillary): This was written as a collaborative work by two authors, and while ours will be done in a different format, we are drawing on this tradition of collaborative creative writing. 

7. Formats and Audiences: Throughout the writing process we will be using a google doc for our writers to use.  All of the scenes will be written on the same google doc, so that all the writers can read previous scenes.  This will further help the revision process and the continuity problem.  We plan to publish our completed project on Amazon.com, making it available to anyone who is interested. We may charge up to $0.99 to purchase it, but large pieces will be available for free via our facebook page and this blog. 
8. Success Criteria: Our main goal is to successfully complete and publish a book which we have all contributed to; however, we hope to have at least one sale on Amazon from someone who has no relation to the members of our group.
9. Product: The story will be available for a public audience at all stages of production.  All of the character bios will be posted as separate pages on the project blog.  We have posted our final here, and we will also be posting more detailed chapter outlines on the blog.  The final product will be published on at least one electronic book seller's website, using self-publishing methods such as Kindle Direct Publishing with Amazon.com.