For those of you at the monthly Professional Series meeting who heard firsthand from Panda Chronicler Anne Belov and her Kickstarter experiences, here are two more locals who have forged a path along the same lines of crowd sourcing support for their writing projects.
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| Brenda Winter Hanson dives into crowd-sourced funding for her mermaid novel. |
Assistant Regional Advisor Brenda Winter Hanson has started her own site, through indiegogo, to help her get to a writing workshop that will allow her to delve into her entire manuscript. Here’s her story, which takes us through her thinking behind this decision to go public. To view her campaign site, click here. Go, Brenda!
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| Karen Kincy |
Another local author, the novelist Karen Kincy, turned to Kickstarter to help fund her newest book. In a recent interview with the Chinook Update, below, Karen shared her success story:
Q: Is this a new frontier for you? How did you decide to pursue this
avenue? Other people doing it? What made you head in that direction?
avenue? Other people doing it? What made you head in that direction?
My project for Shadows of Asphodel was my very
first Kickstarter, and I was inspired to do it after seeing all the
amazing entrepreneurial projects that have succeeded on the crowdfunding
platform–everything from handmade chocolates to board games to indie
films. It helped me immensely to plan the logistics and marketing of the
Kickstarter in advance, as well as deciding a reasonable budget to
self-publish a book. I spent at least a month brainstorming with my
friend and fellow novelist, Chelsea Campbell, since we have also been
scheming up a co-authored book to write this summer. (Moral of this
story: Talk to your writer friends! They have awesome ideas!)
first Kickstarter, and I was inspired to do it after seeing all the
amazing entrepreneurial projects that have succeeded on the crowdfunding
platform–everything from handmade chocolates to board games to indie
films. It helped me immensely to plan the logistics and marketing of the
Kickstarter in advance, as well as deciding a reasonable budget to
self-publish a book. I spent at least a month brainstorming with my
friend and fellow novelist, Chelsea Campbell, since we have also been
scheming up a co-authored book to write this summer. (Moral of this
story: Talk to your writer friends! They have awesome ideas!)
Q: What happens now that you’ve made your fundraising goal?
After I finish the manuscript to the
satisfaction of my beta readers and myself, it’s time for editing,
formatting, and pre-publication marketing. Shadows of Asphodel is
slated for a September 2013 release. I’m keeping my backers in the loop
through Kickstarter email updates. Soon I hope to share at least a
sneak peak of the cover–I have already commissioned an amazing cover
artist for Shadows of Asphodel, and can’t wait to see the final cover.
satisfaction of my beta readers and myself, it’s time for editing,
formatting, and pre-publication marketing. Shadows of Asphodel is
slated for a September 2013 release. I’m keeping my backers in the loop
through Kickstarter email updates. Soon I hope to share at least a
sneak peak of the cover–I have already commissioned an amazing cover
artist for Shadows of Asphodel, and can’t wait to see the final cover.
Q: What has been the response from: fellow writers, agent, publishing folks, etc.?
Curiosity and excitement, mostly, and a whole lot
of enthusiasm from those who backed the project and spread the word. I
couldn’t have done it without my cheerleaders!
of enthusiasm from those who backed the project and spread the word. I
couldn’t have done it without my cheerleaders!
Q: Would you do this again? Why or why not?
I
would definitely do it again. Thanks to Kickstarter, I don’t have to
worry about funding the initial costs of self-publishing a book myself.
And since most of the Shadows of Asphodel Kickstarter backers
chose pledge levels with ebook or paperback rewards, I can effectively
count those as a small batch of pre-orders, hopefully that will lead to
good first reviews from those who love the book.
would definitely do it again. Thanks to Kickstarter, I don’t have to
worry about funding the initial costs of self-publishing a book myself.
And since most of the Shadows of Asphodel Kickstarter backers
chose pledge levels with ebook or paperback rewards, I can effectively
count those as a small batch of pre-orders, hopefully that will lead to
good first reviews from those who love the book.