Starting a campaign just to fund a book
  • Noganeto1
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    Starting a campaign just to fund a book

    by Noganeto1 » Sun May 13, 2018 3:59 am

    Is it actually possible? I mean, i am a writer, wrote two novels, but i find it hard to get money to pay a publising company, and i stumbled upon this site. I ask again: Is it actually possible?


  • Vanessa
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    Re: Starting a campaign just to fund a book

    by Vanessa » Mon May 14, 2018 1:11 pm

    Hi Noganeto1, of course it's possible. Check these successful book kickstarters https://www.kickstarter.com/discover/ca ... ost_funded
    #1 Crowdfunding Campaign Optimization, Crowd Building & Promotion App https://www.krowdster.co/
  • DAscroft
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    Re: Starting a campaign just to fund a book

    by DAscroft » Mon May 14, 2018 1:38 pm

    Yes, it is possible. I know several writers who have funded their books on Kickstarter: Caroline Breackin When the Mask Falls and Jay Swanson Couriers: Off Grid are recent ones. I also know several writers who have already passed their goals and are still receiving funding until their campaigns end, including a crime comic book by Michael Gordon and an historical mystery, The Agora Mysteries by Clay Boutwell. I'm also running a campaign for my book and it's nearing 100% funding. As Salvador says, it's hard work but it is possible.

    Dianne Ascroft
    working on making my cozy mystery happen
    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/10 ... -cozy-myst
  • karatewolfpunk
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    Re: Starting a campaign just to fund a book

    by karatewolfpunk » Tue May 15, 2018 3:44 am

    It is possible, but it can be really hard. I tried (twice) and failed.

    Three things to consider:

    1) What incentives are you going to use to make people back the Kickstarter and not wait for the actual book to come out? What most people do is have "early bird pricing" in the rewards, where they list the product for cheaper than what it will retail for. This is, I think, the biggest mistake I made. If this is your first time crowdfunding, you might just want to consider ebook rewards so that you don't have to worry about managing and paying for physical products.

    2) What kind of following do you already have? You've written two novels, but are people actually buying them and paying attention to you? If you haven't already, go create an email list. (There are many how-to guides online.) The best advice I heard when it comes to gathering emails is that one interested sign-up equals $1. Of course it's not exact, but if you want to have a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of $5,000, aim for getting that many people to sign up for your emails.

    3) Kickstarter or Indiegogo (or other)? Let's say $5,000 is your goal, but by the time the Kickstarter finishes you only reached $3,459. Almost $1,500 short of your goal, but still almost 3.5k. If you think that you'd be able to still get your book published in a timely manner despite not reaching your goal, Indiegogo might be for you. People get really caught up with the Kickstarter brand name, but now, it's pretty meaningless as hundreds of Kickstarters are put out a day.

    Publishing on Kickstarter has a 31.09% success rate: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats

    Before you take any action, I would recommend you educate yourself about crowdfunding for at least six months. There's no reason to rush into this.
  • Noganeto1
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    Re: Starting a campaign just to fund a book

    by Noganeto1 » Tue May 15, 2018 3:47 am

    karatewolfpunk wrote:It is possible, but it can be really hard. I tried (twice) and failed.

    Three things to consider:

    1) What incentives are you going to use to make people back the Kickstarter and not wait for the actual book to come out? What most people do is have "early bird pricing" in the rewards, where they list the product for cheaper than what it will retail for. This is, I think, the biggest mistake I made. If this is your first time crowdfunding, you might just want to consider ebook rewards so that you don't have to worry about managing and paying for physical products.

    2) What kind of following do you already have? You've written two novels, but are people actually buying them and paying attention to you? If you haven't already, go create an email list. (There are many how-to guides online.) The best advice I heard when it comes to gathering emails is that one interested sign-up equals $1. Of course it's not exact, but if you want to have a crowdfunding campaign with the goal of $5,000, aim for getting that many people to sign up for your emails.

    3) Kickstarter or Indiegogo (or other)? Let's say $5,000 is your goal, but by the time the Kickstarter finishes you only reached $3,459. Almost $1,500 short of your goal, but still almost 3.5k. If you think that you'd be able to still get your book published in a timely manner despite not reaching your goal, Indiegogo might be for you. People get really caught up with the Kickstarter brand name, but now, it's pretty meaningless as hundreds of Kickstarters are put out a day.

    Publishing on Kickstarter has a 31.09% success rate: https://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats

    Before you take any action, I would recommend you educate yourself about crowdfunding for at least six months. There's no reason to rush into this.


    It's okay, i just realized today i cannot do it cuz i am Argentine and it's not in the allowed countries list to fund something, and i don't wanna lie to the page
  • karatewolfpunk
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    Re: Starting a campaign just to fund a book

    by karatewolfpunk » Sat May 19, 2018 7:11 am

    That's too bad. You could always see if another crowdfunding site would let you do it.

    For you or any others interested, I just interviewed an author who is trying to get her book funded on Kickstarter. I asked her what it's been like using Kickstarter, and she gives a pretty lengthy answer. It's the last question: https://www.coolcrowdfunding.com/fianna ... ickstarter

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