KickstarterForum.org

sbriggman wrote:Sorry to hear you were laid off. What kind of freelancing?

Hi Sal,

I'm a commercial artist, currently freelancing conceptual design for a slot machine company, designing the looks of the cabinets, logo designs, animations, symbols, backgrounds and paint up everything pretty, taking the concepts from beginning to end. I also create maps for roleplaying, and a variety of other artistic outlets (though I'm trying to get back into a regular day job as the pay is steady - freelancing is too inconsistent money-wise). I'm on a big freelance art project right now. It's tricky trying to do both that and run my Kickstarter (which is more than a full time job) and manage my Kickstarter team, reviewing stories, brainstorming with authors, networking, etc..

sbriggman wrote:Let me know if I can help you in some way with the forum. I'm usually pretty open to promotional ideas, as long as the creator is willing to do something (give feedback, back someone, follow someone on twitter, etc.). Has to be give and take. Also, my LinkedIn address book is pretty open if you would like to be introduced to someone. (in/briggman).

I appreciate that, Sal. Not looking for charity. I like to help people and am backing projects I have an interest in or that I feel could use my help when I can.

I do appreciate the offer. Right now I'm spending most of my time hunting down good places to pay for an ad (I'm up on Kicktraq) that are reasonably priced and recommended, as well as hours trying to track down where people hang out that both love fiction and allow you to post on your Kickstarter, and of course time to network with people about their topics, mine, and just hanging out with people, building relationships. When I had a regular job, it was easier to be generous and being generous is fun! I'm still able to, but not as much as before, since my money is tight. With so many fiction books out there, getting noticed and getting people to see that I've got great writers on board and we know what we're doing... well, it's not easy to make a dent. My Kickstarter is moving forward, but very sluggishly. The places that I've been posting at (forums, facebook - including facebook groups, Google+, Twitter) haven't yielded much results beyond family and close friends (facebook being the most helpful thus far). Not even sure who I need to be introduced to, other than bloggers of fiction, which I'm still looking for! Thanks for your time, Sal. If you know of any hot places to advertise a Kickstarter other than what I've mentioned, let me know. Thanks!!

Without having a huge fan base yet, Kickstarter seems like an unreasonably hard option for so many people to be jumping on board with it. That's one of the reasons why I was talking about building community and working together in my previous post. I worked hard on this one Kickstarter full time for 6 months, both in researching and building the page and reaching out to others, but I can see now that I should have spent a year+ building a bigger fan base. I've been working on building a fan base since around 2010, but it's hard to get a website and forums noticed online, and I've learned a lot in the past 3 months alone that I couldn't apply retroactively, of course. Anyway, not trying to be discouraging. I wish everyone the best with their projects!!

Hi all,

Well, we've got 8 days left for 8 stories - our Arcane Synthesis Kickstarter has almost come to an end! I'd like to think it's just the beginning, however, as we really are just getting warmed up. We've had a lot of relatives across the whole team and some close friends, but it's time to get more fiction fans involved! Won't you consider standing with us? I'm sure we can reach our goal over the next 8 days. Please consider a buck and/or spreading the word to help this lifelong dream become a reality! (And get some wonderful rewards to boot!)

See, this is only the start. We are doing this campaign both because we have a love for blended-genre fiction, but also to spread the word about my Cosmoverse Campaign Setting, an RPG setting I've been working on, along with an RPG and writing stories for nearly 35 years now. I've never had the money to publish before. We're sitting at just over $5,000, but I know we can get the rest of the distance. And if your Kickstarter is hurting, let me know and I'll try to help. I haven't much money, but I can spread the word and/or give a little (I'm out of work, so I honestly can't give a lot yet, but I can give).

Bob Whitely
QT Games LLC
P.s. Need encouragement? Read my Update #4. Nothing is impossible! We cannot fail if we do not give up. Stand with me, friends! Thanks in advance!

Tweeted you out. I admire your passion and desire to see this project happen.

Thanks so much, Sal. I sure appreciate that my friend! What a blessing you are!

Yes, I have been holding a torch for this dream of mine to begin publishing my fictional universe, the "Cosmoverse", in some form or another, for nearly 35 years, and refuse to give up. I am a tireless worker and have done my homework. Honestly, if God told me today to stop and do something else, I would, but he has only opened several doors for me over the past three years. Now, not every door has remained open since that time (both my wife and I got laid off after all).

I don't claim to have all the answers, but I've never been better positioned in my life for my dream to finally come true (well, this first leg of the dream anyway). And yet, there is still a decent amount of money to be gathered (We're down to needing $2,512 to meet our first funding goal). It certainly isn't an insurmountable hurdle.

Sadly, despite all my efforts, I just don't have a big fan base yet. I will need a much bigger fan base before I try my next Kickstarter (I have projects piled up in various stages of completion, waiting for funding). But come what may, whether by miracle, the generosity of additional family support or by a lot of fiction fans discovering us in this late hour or hopping down off the fence to finally pledge, I remain hopeful and will not give up on my dream. That isn't foolishness talking. I am both a man of faith and also hard work and believe I have something special to offer with a lot of potential and aim to see it through until directed otherwise. As I've said before, I am looking forward to the days ahead, come what may!

Oh, btw, I have been invited by #rpgnet to do a Q&A tonight about my Cosmoverse, Cosmothea RPG and our Arcane Synthesis Kickstarter (8pm CST)! Here's the link. Have a great weekend all!

"have been invited by #rpgnet to do a Q&A tonight about my Cosmoverse" - That's awesome!!

I always liked this one quote "Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” - Bill Gates.

That quote sums up my experience as well. The longer you keep at a vision/goal, the closer and closer you will come to achieving it until you finally do. Just have to keep at it. Building a high quality fan-base/audience takes time.

I like that quote too! It's probably very solid advice! And yes, you are correct. It really does take some serious time. I've spent years trying to build a fan base for my game and campaign setting, which this Kickstarter is based around, and fans are hard to come by regardless of what you have to offer (heck, just being found by potential fans is very hard).

I also have a large number of friends, but you should never assume that even a small percentage of them will back you - or even that your family will back you. I think I've been very fortunate to get the backing that I have. I totally changed tactics a few months ago (I'm not up to 4 months of trying to network on a part-time basis, which is a LOT of hours and more than I want to do), but I do like people and like talking with people, it just sucks time out of being productive in other ways. And only a very tiny percentage of those you network with, will back your project.

If you guys get the chance to read my blog post on investing in dreams, please do so! While it may seem a bit self-serving as you start to read it, since I do have a dream to be backed, I think you will soon see it goes way beyond me. I wrote it for a bigger purpose and think you will be encouraged in everything you do. It's not about me. Not really.

When we look beyond ourselves, we can make a big difference. You are as blessed as you want to be!

Cheers,
Bob

Left a comment on your blog post. Congrats on being successfully funded!

Hi Sal,

Wasn't sure if that was you or not, but I'll have to look up your LinkedIn account and left you a tweet, by the way.
Thanks for the congrats. It was a hard, long campaign (felt long anyway) and even more work than I thought it would be (and I thought it would be a ton). I realize now though, that I walked into it with too small of a fan base. I knew my base was small, but not quite as small as I discovered. This forced me to invest more and more hours reaching out than I had even planned. And my relatives and both new and old friends stepped in to lend a hand as well, thankfully!

I met a lot of new, cool people and made friends out of the deal, and of course it did fund, so it went well all-in-all and I am thankful and grateful for the experience! I'll try to share some of my own tips, concerns, etc. in time as I get back on my feet.

Thanks again for all you do, Sal. I'm going to be a bit swamped playing catch-up on a few fronts, but then I suspect I'll be back to my normal crowdfunding ways of talking with folks, trying to encourage Creators and back where I can. I'm in the process now of establishing a regular schedule so that I can live a balanced life of family, work, post campaign work, friends, bills, etc. Have a great week and talk with you before long!