KickstarterForum.org

Hello, my name is Michael K. Tumey, I am a professional fantasy cartographer, having created dozens of map commissions for RPG publishers large and small, including all the maps for the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror by Rite Publishing, 189 map objects for the Profantasy Software Modern Map Symbol Set, the original hand-drawn map of the City of Kasai for Paizo Publishing's Jade Regent Adventure Path, and dozens more since 2007.

About 2 months ago, I began posting maps and map tutorials on the Map Making for Games G+ community. Responders to my posts there clearly state that the techniques I use could easily be adapted to many software applications, even though I created those maps and tutorials using Xara Photo & Graphic Designer - my application of choice. Many there asked if I could collect all these tutorials with more added and to create an instructional manual to help gamers create their own maps. It was they who suggested I run a Kickstarter to fund the project.

So, as of Friday, August 2nd, I started a 30 day Kickstarter funding period (going to September 1st) for the 25 Quick & Dirty Map Tutorials Guide Book Kickstarter, with the tag-line: create stunning, photo-realistic RPG and board game maps using any standard graphics software (emphasis on: Photoshop, GIMP, Illustrator, Inkscape, Xara Photo & Graphic Designer). As long as you have some familiarity with your application of choice, the techniques provided in these tutorials will allow you to create high quality game maps quickly and easily with professional results.

While the project's primary audience is gamers needing maps for their games. RPG publishers have shown interest as well, allowing them to create their own maps for their own products, or at least improve the workflow going from map concept to the freelance cartographer, in order to minimize clarifications needed to getting the map right in the first place, saving both time and money.

While the first book (goal) and second book (1st stretch goal) focus on maps using photographic textures, the third book (2nd stretch goal) focuses on my specialty which is hand-drawn maps. While there are several other books and map object sets as additional stretch goals, the first 3 books is really my goal of getting funded and published.

Even though this is my first Kickstarter run on my own, I participated last summer in a Kickstarter to fund the Gamemasters and the Players Guides to the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) which is actually my published setting as an imprint under Rite Publishing. The books from that Kickstarter is scheduled for release in Oct/Nov of this year - and we're still in development. So I've done this before, but not on my own, as this time.

As of this moment, the project is more than 50% funded, sitting at $2161 towards a $3750 goal with 56 backers. I am definitely interested in spreading the word on this, and hopefully get funded and possibly reach some of the stretch goals.

Here's the link to my current Map Tutorials Guide Kickstarter project.

Here's one of the sample maps that will be included in the guide, and the kind of map, these tutorials intend to teach you to create yourself:

Also to state my additional qualifications, starting this week, I'm going to be writing a Maps for Games column on G*M*S online magazine operated by Paco Garcia Jaen, where I'll post articles of interest, tutorials and map product reviews relating to the tabletop RPG industry. I am also one of the senior members to the Cartographers' Guild, a website dedicated to fictional maps - I've participated in dozens of map challenges (contests) there and have won 4 of them.

I mentioned in my previous post that I created the original hand-drawn map for Paizo Publishing. In addition to creating the map, I also wrote some of the City of Kasai gazetteer for the Jade Regent Adventure Path, and am credited as one of the contributing authors for that product.

I am also the concept creator, primary game developer, cartographer, page layout artist and one of the authors for the Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG) published as an imprint under Rite Publishing. I have 13 products released for that, including Haiku of Horror: Autumn Moon Bath House authored/designed by me, as the first in a series of mapped adventure site products that I will author entirely myself.

So I'm somewhat of a known quantity - at least in so much as there's evidence that I finish the work that I start, including this Kickstarter.

I just did an Email Interview with Rob at DestinationRPG.com about the Kickstarter.

Find bloggers to do interviews with you as a great marketing technique during a Kickstarter.

Awesome! Congrats on the new interview. How did you manage to swing that (or how did you find the blog)? From talking with professional PR folks, many of them say that if you don't have a large budget, it's best to start with the smaller blogs and then move on to the larger, so that when larger bloggers google your name to see what's been written about you, there is more social proof of interest in your cause/project.

sbriggman wrote:Awesome! Congrats on the new interview. How did you manage to swing that (or how did you find the blog)? From talking with professional PR folks, many of them say that if you don't have a large budget, it's best to start with the smaller blogs and then move on to the larger, so that when larger bloggers google your name to see what's been written about you, there is more social proof of interest in your cause/project.

I found the blogger with a link on one of the G+ communities, so as you say, I looked for a smaller blog, signed up as a site member and asked the blogger if he was interested. If you don't ask for something, you'll never get anything. And I'm looking for larger bloggers to further the cause!

I wrote an article way back on some resources to find bloggers in your niche. This may be of help to finding more that may be interested in your cause? http://www.crowdfundingpr.org/6-tools-y ... our-niche/

Thanks for the link, Sal!

Another way to promote your projects without becoming a full-time blogger yourself, is to become a guest writer, or a regular columnist on someone else's blog site. This is what I've done. I am the new cartography columnist for an online magazine site called G*M*S magazine - a gaming blog site with many authors operated by Paco Garcia Jaen.

My first article was just posted moments ago: The Cartographer's Table - Which Mapping Software is Best for You?

Check it out, comment, and share it.

Becoming a regular online columnist is a great way to show off your expertise and build your reputation, as well as spread the word on your proejcts.

Note: at the bottom of the page is a link to my Kickstarter, so yes, another medium to help spread the word.

Less than 6 days left for funding, and we've just achieved funding on our 2nd stretch goal: The Hand-Drawn Map Tutorials Guide Book - thank you, all you wonderful pledgers! We've got 2 more stretch goals we'd like to fund, although time is short. Thanks again!

Funded! Final stats:

$23,289.10 in 30 days of funding. 621% funded, 456 backers, referrers: via Kickstarter: 61%, via external: 39%, average pledge amount: $51.07, video views: 1174, viewed to completion: 41.14%, Facebook shares: 149

This has been a great learning experience. In my past Kickstarter project I was involved with the most pledges gained occurred on the first day. In this Kickstarter, the last 3 days (each greater than the next) were triple the first day's gains. At $10,051 the last 3 days almost doubled the previous pledges gained prior to them. While several RPG forum sites were critical in acquiring interested parties, my G+ community was the center of information exchange and pledge recruitment throughout the entire project.

Thanks to those members here who pledged!

Note: I did do one cross-promotion with a member here, though the success of that can't really be measured. I think it helped, if only slightly. My preplanning and tactical decisions during the funding period I assign the most influence in the final results.

Michael