In spite of the fact that my organization refused to contact me after a while, I'd say that my CWC campaign was pretty successful. I managed to make some new documents (I still got experience in making documents I'd never done, such as a fact sheet). I think the campaign was successful because it taught me how to think like a professional writer; putting the etiquette into the Salt Palace request letter, making my flyer heads stand out more, etc. I think that the effort I put into this project belittles the fact that my organization effectively flaked. I have resumed contact with them and plan to present my suite of documents to them.
The biggest challenge I faced was the communication drop, which happened around November, when Amber Watkins, the PR director and my consultant for documents, suddenly stopped talking. I called, I emailed, I paid visits, all to no avail. But I didn't give up; instead, I decided to create documents based on the needs the organization expressed, and based on what I'd seen as their greatest challenges. So, my answer was to create these documents, and I believe that I was successful, because, even in lieu of supervision or consultation, I was able to create documents reflecting their needs. They said they'd needed a general info flyer, so I made that. They said they needed a letter for Dr. Gates, so I wrote that. They said they needed a fact sheet, so I made it, with the bullet points they'd been talking about. I don't mean to imply that my documents are perfect, nor that they're necessarily mirror images of what NAMI wanted, but I believe I was successful in overcoming this challenge because I made something that follows their requests and is still usable.
It was easy to adapt documents to an audience I'd once been a part of. Having taken advantage of NAMI several times in the past, I thought back to what had caught my attention about the organization's media; certainly the free therapy sessions and related services had stuck out, so I focused on those, especially Dr. Gates giving free counseling (what an opportunity!). Offering free services or something of general aid is what draws a consumer or client more than almost anything, and it's what drew me. So, in essence, I adapted these documents to what I and others in my condition had found appealing in prior NAMI media; free help.
If I could do it over again, I'd pay a lot more attention to the dialogue. I'm not sure why NAMI decided to drop out of contact with me, but I think, had I called or messaged them every other day rather than a few times a week, things might have been different. I'm not sure. Regardless, I'm not sure keeping in contact more would've made a difference, but I intend to find out why the sudden drop happened.
I think that I would give myself an A. Granted, this was not the most visually-impressive group of documents, nor the most comprehensive, but I think that I did well for myself with what I was given. I'm proud that I worked out a way to continue the project in the face of an overwhelming obstacle. As much as writing, this project helped me think critically and work my way out of a serious jam. I think coming out of that, and making these documents as accurate as possible, merits recognition.
