Funding My Book Through KickStarter; Any Tips?

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AuthorRobSigmon
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Funding My Book Through KickStarter; Any Tips?

Post by AuthorRobSigmon » April 1st, 2015, 4:34 pm

Hello from Colorado!

My name is Rob and I have been working on writing my book, Fenar, for several years. I am finally ready to get it published and have started a Kickstarter campaign to fund the publishing and marketing costs. If anyone here has gone through the process and has any advice for me, I'd love to here it. I have created a website with a video and links to the Kickstarter page and social media. The website is fenarbook.com if you would like to see what I've done so far.

Thanks! I look forward to getting to know everyone!

Rob Sigmon

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polymath
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Re: Funding My Book Through KickStarter; Any Tips?

Post by polymath » April 2nd, 2015, 2:16 pm

My stock answer: Marketing's four corners are, packaging, advertising, promotion, and publicity.

Kickstarter and any cloud funding service manages the latter three and are usually or exclusively the primary emphasis for marketing campaigns, institutional and self-publication. Packaging usually only involves physical package design: cover art, content layout, and typeface, etc. The first, foremost, and last consideration is package an appealing product. That one is often short-shrifted.

The sample I sampled opens with a dreary prologue and other prefatory content. Once I got though that, the main action continued in the same vein. Frankly, I don't believe the product is ready for debut.

At this time, the main strength which recommends the project to me is the effort and time expenditure exhibited. All writing is worth the effort. At this time, though, more development I feel is warranted.
Spread the love of written word.

shelbysimpson
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Re: Funding My Book Through KickStarter; Any Tips?

Post by shelbysimpson » December 8th, 2015, 12:15 pm

Heya Kickstarter consider-er,

I've never actually used KickStarter for anything...yet, but I've thought about it a lot. I've considered using it for writing and for a lot of different endeavors outside of writing, because I know it can work. KickStarter can be absolutely magical and life-changing.

As far as your book goes—I think KickStarter sounds like a great option, and I also think you can get your book out to the world yourself, but it will take some saving...some BIG TIME Benjamin saving. If you want to self-publish, you will need a:
--Good graphic designer for the cover
--Good editor

Both of those things cost good money, and I recommend saving about $4000.00. I know. That's a lot of money, but it's worth it if you want to produce a quality product. And, keep in mind you have to spend money to make money.

Graphic Designers are critical to your book's success because people ABSOLUTELY JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.
I recommend shopping locally, because you'll want to work closely on the project. Changes will need to be discussed, and the final outcome of the art depends on strong communication between you and the designer.
Also—and this is SUPER DUPER, BURN IT IN YOUR BRAIN, IMPORTANT—make sure the graphic designer has created book covers before. Book covers are a different animal, and your designer needs to understand that your book art needs to not only translate well on the shelf, but also on a thumbnail for digital sales.

Editing is key.
There are many types of editors and ranges of fees for their specialities, but two great places to find reputable editors are:
http://www.the-efa.org, which includes listings of freelancers by their areas of specialization
and
http://www.editorsforum.org, which is The Bay Area Editors’ Forum (includes a listing of freelancers)

Also, any local university will have up-and-coming editors who will work for a significant discount (keep this in mind for the book cover artwork too), and also there will be plenty of local freelancers who may have better rates than the websites listed above. I just know those two resources to be very reliable for excellent service.

As far as marketing, there are free channels you can use, mainly social, but they can work. I suggest doing some research to find out other free channels. It takes a lot of work, but again—totally worth it if writing is what you want to do full-time.

So crank it out. You got this. Light it up. Let the world see your art. We're waiting...

Shelby Simpson
author of Good Globe—Time for a Change of Hemisphere

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