KickstarterForum.org

Hey no problem! I've already shared it on Twitter and followed you; I could definitely talk a bit about you in one of my Writer's Corner videos or some such thing. Still building a fanbase, but whatever helps. I really, truly do wish I could contribute directly to your Kickstarter, but my family is traveling full time and the monies...well, they are not abundant. I've also shared the link to your website and Kickstarter with the friends I have already, and I must say, I really like your reading of Pathways. Your voice is really good for narrating, and I would suggest doing maybe more podcasts to help get the word out there; you have a great "host" voice. I've been emailing around different writing podcasts, blogs and YouTubers, have you tried that yet? Also, are you self published or with a company?

Thank you so much for sharing with the people you are in touch with! It's a big deal that you helped out in that way. I would be honored to have you talk about me in one of your videos, if you really feel okay about doing that It's really not a problem at all either, that you can't contribute directly to my Kickstarter! It's even more helpful I think that you've told people about my book. I think that's going to count for a lot more

I also appreciate your compliment on my reading / podcast I'm actually thinking about doing a full reading of my book, basically turning it into an audio book, but that's going to be after the professional editing is taken care of. I must confess that I haven't had much experience with social media, YouTubers, bloggers and the like. It's a great idea though. Do you have any suggestions in terms of how to go about finding such people, or getting involved with that sort of thing? So far I am self-published, but actually, working on a query letter is the next major thing I'm working on I want to go the traditional publishing route.

Thanks a lot for all your comments and such! Really, I appreciate that you're taking the time to talk with me

It's no trouble at all Neal. Of course I'd be okay with it, I just like to get people's permission before I go blabbing my mouth, no matter how positive it may be. Well I'm glad it'll help; I'm a member of a few teen writing groups that I can definitely mention you on. Well your bio is actually pretty good (most don't even tell you about themselves) and I think it's always a great idea to let readers know what you look and sound like, because author's seem a little distant already. I think an audio book would be great, or even a spin -off podcast series! Also, I might recommend more limited time rewards; like have the book available for $20 for the first 50 people and then to everyone else it's $24-25. I realize it may be too late in the campaign to do this, but it's just a thought. You write in almost a screenwriting sort of style, so I think that could be a good idea too. I cannot, cannot, recommend enough to share as much of yourself as you're comfortable with. Doing your own podcasts, running a blog or just having a YouTube channel to put updates up on, with you talking about the project would be great. I would definitely be open to not only mentioning you in a video but even doing a video (or a couple) with you, where we interview each other of sorts, talk about ourselves, our writing, etc. It's always great to be able to compare and contrast writing styles, and people rarely get to see two actual writers just completely feeling out about their craft.

If that's not your thing, I completely understand, I think it'd be great. About the blogs and such, there are tons of writing blogs and podcasts out there; I would happily email you a few of the ones I've contacted. Mur Lafferty is a great, sassy podcast host, but she doesn't interview self published authors. Simply searching for "writing blogs" will give you a lot of options. I hope this helps and get back to me about YouTube and the list of bloggers and such.

I can see how getting people's permissions beforehand is a good rule to follow I agree that it's a good idea to try and let readers know more about you as well. I would like to think that I am pretty approachable and such

Thank you for being willing to tell people in your writing groups about me too. In retrospect, it would have been better for me to build up more of an online presence before launching the Kickstarter, but better late than never, I suppose! That's a cool suggestion about doing a spin-off podcast. I will have to think about that and see if I can come up with any viable ideas. I have a blog up on my website, but for now, it's more.. aimed directly at book related stuff. I wonder if it would be a good idea to launch a separate blog? Or just consolidate everything on my website. I mean, I guess I don't have to talk only about book stuff.

I would actually love to do an interview as well! I have never done anything like that, so it might be helpful to talk about things before hand But I would definitely be open to that! I can see how people would enjoy hearing the kind of exchange you are talking about. If you wouldn't mind also, please send me the stuff you have about blogs and podcasts. You can contact me through the "Contact me" page on my website And we can talk more about the whole interview thing too.

Thank you for being so approachable! It's really quite cool

You seem like it; I definitely think that it's a bad idea to be standoffish about things. Especially on something like Kickstarter where your personality is an entire part of the appeal.

Hey, no problem! You seem like a nice guy, and your writing is actually good; I say that because I've read lots of published writing that isn't, so you already have a one-up! Haha, I had zero online presence before I started this. And now? I have a YouTube channel, a Twitter, at least 1 Facebook page, I'm a member of a couple of writing groups, my forum posts have hundreds of views and I've sent emails to be interviewed to over a dozen people, one of which has (thankfully) responded. Also, I'm still a kid, so I say you'll probably do fine with that presence.

For the blog thing...erm, I dunno. I kinda have everything blog-related going on my site; it's nice to have everything in one spot. But, you could also want your "professional" book site, and then maybe even something simple like a blogspot or Wordpress blog or something if you want to separate the two. That's a you thing; I personally like everything in one place. Wanna see my videos? My writing? My book? Anything else related to me? One place; no jumping over the internet.

Haha, I just did my first interview, and, thankfully, it was written. Even so, it's still weird. Don't worry, I'm really expressive and somehow awkward at the same time on camera, so you'll probably look pretty calm and nice by comparison. I've sent you that contact request and would really prefer to communicate via email from henceforward. Which means you can just respond to my email, so you don't have to put yours out all across the forums. Speaking of which, this thread has nearly 1000 views! Which means you officially have an online presence. Looking forward to communicating via email and really getting both our projects soaring!

Kickstarter is definitely a place where one's personality can come through and be a great asset, for sure! I checked out a bunch of other projects before launching mine, but I think I've learned more towards the end of my campaign than I did before

I really appreciate your comments! When I started writing around six years ago (it has been a bit), the scariest thing that was preventing me from actually starting was worrying that whatever I wrote wouldn't be any good. It has always been a dream of mine to write, and it has been a long road, but I am really happy to finally be at this point, and your comments are incredibly appreciated. I'm impressed too that you're so engaged with various communities and your approach / mentality is very developed and well, awesome hehe.

You're right! I'll just keep focusing on building up my social media presence in as natural of a way as possible. It's really exciting, actually, even if it is somewhat daunting I think I like the idea of having everything consolidated to one place. I'm most likely going to do the same thing, I mean, I can just use the platform/website I already have

Congratulations on doing your first interview, too! I imagine that it would be a little awkward for me, but if things are scripted out, it'd probably be okay! And I just now noticed you mentioning that it would probably be best to communicate over emails, which I agree with for the sake of not spamming the forums, so, I know I've already written this lengthy reply out, so I'll make this my last response here!