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