Using Kickstarter to get funds

rach_elle · Apr 10, 2013

Hey everyone! I'm in the process right now of launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds I'll need for a professional editor, graphic designer, marketing, etc. to self-publish my first novel. Has anyone else done this? Any tips or advice for me?

So far, my biggest worry is how I will get the copy of the E-Book to the backers. I haven't even made it yet, but logistically, I can't wrap my head around how I get it to them for download. Do I buy copies from Amazon/Smashwords/etc and send it that way, or is there a coupon code I can give them to purchase it? Anyone know how this works?

Old Hack · Apr 10, 2013

rach_elle said:
Hey everyone! I'm in the process right now of launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds I'll need for a professional editor, graphic designer, marketing, etc. to self-publish my first novel. Has anyone else done this? Any tips or advice for me?

I'm very cautious about writers using Kickstarter to fund their publishing process. It's often used as a way to get paid twice: once through Kickstarter, and a second time through sales of the book.

If you can set up your Kickstarter project to give your potential investors some real added value, however, it becomes a little more palatable.

Make sure you put together a proper business plan before you go ahead, so you know how much everything is going to cost you, and what the results are likely to be.

So far, my biggest worry is how I will get the copy of the E-Book to the backers. I haven't even made it yet, but logistically, I can't wrap my head around how I get it to them for download. Do I buy copies from Amazon/Smashwords/etc and send it that way, or is there a coupon code I can give them to purchase it? Anyone know how this works?

I've been sent free e-books via Amazon: I can't remember exactly, but am pretty sure that publishers can do this for their own books without too much trouble.

Torgo · Apr 10, 2013

rach_elle said:
Hey everyone! I'm in the process right now of launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds I'll need for a professional editor, graphic designer, marketing, etc. to self-publish my first novel. Has anyone else done this? Any tips or advice for me?

So far, my biggest worry is how I will get the copy of the E-Book to the backers. I haven't even made it yet, but logistically, I can't wrap my head around how I get it to them for download. Do I buy copies from Amazon/Smashwords/etc and send it that way, or is there a coupon code I can give them to purchase it? Anyone know how this works?

Cool. I like Kickstarter and I back a few (including one book project so far.)

Generic Kickstarter tips: be responsive and post frequent updates to your backers. Give people enough content to make a decision on whether they want to back or not. (You're going to have to provide some kind of sample.) Don't say things in the 'risk' section like 'There aren't any risks'.

As far as fulfilling pledges goes, you could try this: send out a survey using the Kickstarter Survey tool and ask for your backers' email addresses. Then just email them the EPUB file you've created. For people who want it on Kindle, you could even email the MOBI version of the file to their Personal Documents address (you will need them to provide that address and to allow receipt of documents from yours.)

Any other ideas, folks?

Torgo · Apr 10, 2013

Old Hack said:
I'm very cautious about writers using Kickstarter to fund their publishing process. It's often used as a way to get paid twice: once through Kickstarter, and a second time through sales of the book.

The thing to avoid is "this money will pay my living expenses while I write the book". Kickstarter will actually stop you from doing that. I don't quite get the 'paid-twice' objection - if the initial pledges are essentially pre-orders entitling you to a copy of the book, and any sales after the publication of the book are just regular sales, that seems fine to me...?

Old Hack · Apr 10, 2013

Torgo said:
The thing to avoid is "this money will pay my living expenses while I write the book". Kickstarter will actually stop you from doing that. I don't quite get the 'paid-twice' objection - if the initial pledges are essentially pre-orders entitling you to a copy of the book, and any sales after the publication of the book are just regular sales, that seems fine to me...?

I've seen Kickstarter projects which didn't offer backers copies of the book, which is why I said what I did about offering real value in return for backers' investments.

I've also seen some fab Kickstarter projects where the backers were offered all sorts of fun things in addition to those comments: the chance to have characters named after them, for example, or a book dedication, and other things which do offer real value.

Torgo · Apr 10, 2013

Old Hack said:
I've seen Kickstarter projects which didn't offer backers copies of the book, which is why I said what I did about offering real value in return for backers' investments.

Ah, right. Yes that sucks.

I've also seen some fab Kickstarter projects where the backers were offered all sorts of fun things in addition to those comments: the chance to have characters named after them, for example, or a book dedication, and other things which do offer real value.

Those are also very cool.

stranger · Apr 10, 2013

rach_elle said:
So far, my biggest worry is how I will get the copy of the E-Book to the backers. I haven't even made it yet, but logistically, I can't wrap my head around how I get it to them for download. Do I buy copies from Amazon/Smashwords/etc and send it that way, or is there a coupon code I can give them to purchase it? Anyone know how this works?

One way is you can just email them a copy in their preferred format. Another is that Smashwords supports coupons. So make it available on Smashwords and give the coupon to your backers. (Or if you use Draft2Digital instead of Smashwords, I think you can do the same.)

LBlankenship · Apr 10, 2013

rach_elle said:
Hey everyone! I'm in the process right now of launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds I'll need for a professional editor, graphic designer, marketing, etc. to self-publish my first novel. Has anyone else done this? Any tips or advice for me?

So far, my biggest worry is how I will get the copy of the E-Book to the backers. I haven't even made it yet, but logistically, I can't wrap my head around how I get it to them for download. Do I buy copies from Amazon/Smashwords/etc and send it that way, or is there a coupon code I can give them to purchase it? Anyone know how this works?

You can just email the ebook files to your backers -- there are various ways to "side-load" onto reading devices (google them...)

I'm not sure where that "paid twice" idea came from. What you're essentially doing in Kickstarter is taking paid pre-orders for your product. That being said, the problem with Kickstarter is the same old newbie's dilemma: it works best if you have a reputation and an audience to sell to, but you can't build an audience until you can afford to publish.

Do post good samples of your product, to hook your readers. Do present yourself professionally, be responsive to questions and feedback.

Have a Plan B ready if the project isn't funded.

Best of luck to you.

Torgo · Apr 10, 2013

LBlankenship said:
I'm not sure where that "paid twice" idea came from. What you're essentially doing in Kickstarter is taking paid pre-orders for your product.

See OH's response to me - she's talking about situations where nothing is offered in return for a pledge.

shelleyo · Apr 10, 2013

Torgo said:
See OH's response to me - she's talking about situations where nothing is offered in return for a pledge.

Yeah, I don't know why anyone would contribute to that, but that's me.

I do know that the most successful people on Kickstarter have a fan base, a nifty project that goes viral, and/or they've donated to plenty of other people's Kickstarter projects.

Good luck.

rach_elle · Apr 10, 2013

Thank you all for your responses - this is really helpful.

I am definitely offering rewards. In fact - this is what I've come up with so far:

Reward #1
Pledge $1 or more:
Thank you for taking the time to contribute - you have earned my eternal gratitude.

Reward #2
Pledge $5 or more:
In addition to my eternal gratitude, you're also getting a copy of the E-Book!

Reward #3
Pledge $15 or more:
In addition to my eternal gratitude and copy of the E-Book, you are also getting the Paperback, shipped right to your door!

Reward #4
Pledge $25 or more:
You guessed it, you're getting my eternal gratitude, copy of the E-Book, and a copy of the Paperback straight to your doorstep, but you're super special, and your paperback is going to be signed by me, with whatever* inscription you want (some restrictions apply - I will not sign away all future profits or my unborn children).

Reward #5
Pledge $50 or more:
You're getting all of the above: my eternal gratitude, a copy of the E-Book, a signed copy of the Paperback, AND I'm going to mention you in the acknowledgements as the wonderful person you are.

Reward #6
Pledge $100 or more:
Wow - you are truly amazing. You are going to get my eternal gratitude, a copy of the E-Book, a signed copy of the Paperback, a mention in the acknowledgements, AND a PDF of the manuscript before it is released.

Reward #7
Pledge $150 or more:
Did I say amazing? I meant AAA-Mazing. I mean, really, you are a saint. And you know what sainthood gets you? My eternal gratitude, a copy of the E-Book, a signed copy of the Paperback, a mention in the acknowledgements, a PDF of the manuscript before it is released, AND a PDF of the cover image before it is released.

Reward #8
Pledge $200 or more:
Pulling out the big guns, huh? Sainthood wasn't enough? Well, don't you worry, I've got something really special for you. In addition to my eternal gratitude, a copy of the E-Book, a signed copy of the Paperback, a mention in the acknowledgements, a PDF of the book before it is released, a PDF of the cover before it is released, I am going to DEDICATE my book (my first!) to you.

Reward #9
Pledge $500 or more:
Limited reward (4 of 4 remaining)
I've saved the best for last - just for you. You amazing, wonderful, beautiful, fabulous, most-awesome person in the world. You are going to get all of the above: the gratitude, the E-Book and signed Paperback, the acknowledgements, the PDFs of the book and cover, and the dedication, plus the coolest thing ever. I'm going to re-name one of the characters in the book after you, thus immortalizing you forever in print. That's how much you mean to me.

LBlankenship · Apr 10, 2013

Brutal crit, all IME...

- nobody goes for the $1 thank-you
- be sure to allow for paperback-shipping costs, including internationally. KS lets you stipulate a surcharge for international shipping.
- according to your reward levels, a mention in the acknowledgements is worth $25. Are you sure about that?
- the PDF of the manuscript and the cover -- how is that different/better than the final book?

I've seen authors offering to name characters, or places, per supporters' wishes, but I don't know how well that works out in reality. In terms of people going for it. It might be more interesting to supporters than a third copy of your story.

One thing I've offered through KS is an exclusive -- the "prologue" to my novel Disciple, which will only be available electronically and to KS supporters above a certain donation level. Would something like that work for you?

veinglory · Apr 10, 2013

I am having trouble seeing how you can print and mail a paperback for $15 and be left with any profit? What is the total amount you are trying to raise? Because you will do it mainly on levels 2 and 3, so it needs to be a realistic pricing and goal.

I would suggest looking at successfully funded campaign for similar books/authors and seeing how they did it.

christwriter · Apr 10, 2013

I think the most basic thing anybody doing a KS for a book should offer is a copy of the book once their donation has covered the most basic costs.

You could also add some swag to the lower levels. Things like phone and computer wallpapers, exclusive artwork, an illustrated e-book.

Another idea would be to offer the upper tier people something really unique that wouldn't be feasible to mass produce. One thing I definitely will do if and when I do a kickstarter is offer hand bound, illustrated copies of a book.

Also...uh...it might just be me, but I'd depersonalize those reward tiers a little bit. All the "I LOVES YOU" stuff is a little bit creepy.

rach_elle · Apr 10, 2013

LBlankenship said:
Brutal crit, all IME...

- nobody goes for the $1 thank-you
- be sure to allow for paperback-shipping costs, including internationally. KS lets you stipulate a surcharge for international shipping.
- according to your reward levels, a mention in the acknowledgements is worth $25. Are you sure about that?
- the PDF of the manuscript and the cover -- how is that different/better than the final book?

I've seen authors offering to name characters, or places, per supporters' wishes, but I don't know how well that works out in reality. In terms of people going for it. It might be more interesting to supporters than a third copy of your story.

One thing I've offered through KS is an exclusive -- the "prologue" to my novel Disciple, which will only be available electronically and to KS supporters above a certain donation level. Would something like that work for you?

I know people probably won't go for the $1, and I don't really want them to, but I wanted to offer it so no one felt like I was compelling them off the bat to start off at $5.00

As of now, I'm not offering international shipping.

My hope is most people will pledge around $25. And if they do, then yes, it is definitely worth it to me to mention them in the acknowledgements.

The PDFs - they will get BEFORE the book is published online for purchase, and before any of the other backers. So they will see it before anyone else. Do you think it would be better if I included something extra in that version, like a deleted scene, or scene from my next book?

rach_elle · Apr 10, 2013

veinglory said:
I am having trouble seeing how you can print and mail a paperback for $15 and be left with any profit? What is the total amount you are trying to raise? Because you will do it mainly on levels 2 and 3, so it needs to be a realistic pricing and goal.

I would suggest looking at successfully funded campaign for similar books/authors and seeing how they did it.

I'm not trying to profit - all of the funds raised on Kickstarter are meant to be spent on the project. My hope is that most people will contribute $25 (that is the most frequently pledged amount on the site), which will definitely cover the paperback and the shipping, and the few people who pledge more will help cover the costs for anyone who only pledges $15. I need about $2100 total for my expenses (I don't have the exact number in front of me), and I'm trying to raise $3500, if I've done the math right, it should cover the rewards.

I did look at other projects on the site (most of my reward ideas came from a project which was successfully funded), but I wanted to see if anyone here had personally experienced it.

rach_elle · Apr 10, 2013

christwriter said:
I think the most basic thing anybody doing a KS for a book should offer is a copy of the book once their donation has covered the most basic costs.

You could also add some swag to the lower levels. Things like phone and computer wallpapers, exclusive artwork, an illustrated e-book.

Another idea would be to offer the upper tier people something really unique that wouldn't be feasible to mass produce. One thing I definitely will do if and when I do a kickstarter is offer hand bound, illustrated copies of a book.

Also...uh...it might just be me, but I'd depersonalize those reward tiers a little bit. All the "I LOVES YOU" stuff is a little bit creepy.

I don't have it in my budget to create the things you suggested - but I do appreciate the suggestions! I don't think I said "I love you" anywhere, but I get your point. That's just me and my voice. I think the people in my network will get it

Torgo · Apr 10, 2013

Ryan North's To Be or Not To Be Kickstarter has a quirky tone and works well I think. (He raised half a million bucks!)

rach_elle · Apr 10, 2013

I'll check his out - thank you, Torgo!

veinglory · Apr 10, 2013

rach_elle said:
I'm not trying to profit - all of the funds raised on Kickstarter are meant to be spent on the project. My hope is that most people will contribute $25 (that is the most frequently pledged amount on the site),

By "profit" i mean pay for the book and shipping and have any money left over. Have you sat down and literally costed this with printing of the book by length and postage by media mail? It seems like just doing that would cost more than you are asking for and you could run at cost or even loss.

"Reward #3
Pledge $15 or more:
In addition to my eternal gratitude and copy of the E-Book, you are also getting the Paperback, shipped right to your door!"

I am willing to bet this will be your biggest seller. People pay enough to get the paperback. if you want the main pledge to be $25, you need to charge $25 for this. Otherwise you seem to be saying your signature is worth $10 and expecting most pledgers will agree?

What is the total amount you need and how many pledge will it take at level 2 and a level 3? Did you compare your campaign to others by first time authors?

Mclesh · Apr 10, 2013

Here is my Kickstarter project, if you'd like to see what I've done:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1610021444/let-me-get-this-off-my-chest-book-project

It still has seven days left, but I reached my initial funding goal, the $1,200 to create the ebook, in less than 24 hours. Most of my backers were family, friends, friends of friends, and two people who happened upon my project and believed in it.

My reason for using Kickstarter, besides getting outside funding, I wanted to feel like other people believed in my book and my project. I wanted to have a community rooting me onward, and that's exactly what I've gotten out of this experience so far.

My plan initially was to just offer an ebook, but I created a stretch goal of $2,000 to have a small print run to supply my backers with print copies. (I know at least two of them don't have ereaders, so I really wanted to give them something to hold in their hands.) I haven't quite reached my stretch goal, but since I'm so close, I've decided to print anyway. And I've kind of been able to shift costs around to have the funds to make this happen.

One thing about the Kickstarter process that I hadn't expected: I really feel pressure to deliver a high-quality product. In other words, I don't want to disappoint my backers. Most of them have read either my blog or books already, but still, I really want to make them proud. I plan to achieve this goal.

I hope this helps!

veinglory · Apr 10, 2013

I went at looked at pledges I have made for books FYI:

1) $15 ebook and poster [failed]
2) $35 poster [failed]
3) $1 ebook [funded]
4) $25 paperback [funded]
5) $5 ebook [failed]
6) $10 ebook [funded]
7) $10 ebook [funded]
8) $25 paperback [failed]
9) $5 ebook [failed]

Polenth · Apr 10, 2013

I've not run a Kickstarter project, but I know people who have. Most of the successes are micropresses raising funds for anthologies. They did best by having a few known named writers attached, regular updates (including a few words from the known writers is good) and some great rewards which weren't books. Crafted items go down particularly well. They had previous books to showcase their ability.

Where it involved a single author and their work, they had established fanbases and other books out. Ideally, they got a few known editors or other writers to say a few words in support. Short fiction collections and novels that continued a series seemed to do well.

The theme does matter. If it's something the big publishers often overlook, it's easier to get interest. This is why short fiction collections and anthologies get buzz. It's also why projects promoting minorities do well (I'll note I don't mean add a minority... I mean you're in a minority group, and you have a book of special interest to that group, which a big publisher is unlikely to care about.) In comparison, an average vampire romance novel would have a hard time. Not because it's bad, but because it doesn't stand out as different enough.

Starting from nothing, with only books are rewards, you're already starting from a difficult place. You're relying on the writing to carry it, but you're going to have to be better than good for that to work.

polleekin · Apr 10, 2013

LBlankenship said:
- nobody goes for the $1 thank-you

I know people who pledge $1 if they're sort of interested in a project so they get the status updates. They may or may not up the pledge later.

rach_elle said:
I'm not trying to profit - all of the funds raised on Kickstarter are meant to be spent on the project. My hope is that most people will contribute $25 (that is the most frequently pledged amount on the site), which will definitely cover the paperback and the shipping, and the few people who pledge more will help cover the costs for anyone who only pledges $15. I need about $2100 total for my expenses (I don't have the exact number in front of me), and I'm trying to raise $3500, if I've done the math right, it should cover the rewards.

I agree with veinglory. People have ended up in the red after funded Kickstarters because they didn't calculate their costs properly.

There's the 5% Kickstarter fee, the payment processing fee, the printing, the shipping (postage and envelopes), and the cost of editing/design and layout/cover art/etc. And you still want some left over for marketing. If everyone pledges $15 for the paperback, I don't see any way you'll be able to cover all of those costs, honestly.

$25 is the minimum you should charge for a physical book, IMO.

LBlankenship · Apr 10, 2013

rach_elle said:
My hope is most people will pledge around $25. And if they do, then yes, it is definitely worth it to me to mention them in the acknowledgements.

The PDFs - they will get BEFORE the book is published online for purchase, and before any of the other backers. So they will see it before anyone else. Do you think it would be better if I included something extra in that version, like a deleted scene, or scene from my next book?

You don't offer the official thank-you until the $50 mark -- why should I pay another $25 just for a thank-you?

IMO, it's worth it to officially thank everyone who contributes. It doesn't cost you anything but a few minutes to tabulate the names and copy/paste.

Extras are always good. Otherwise, why have two electronic copies of the same thing? People will get an ebook and a paperback because the PB has the added value of being real. What's the added value in the second electronic copy you're offering? Getting something "early" is good when you have a fan base... (do you have a fan base?)

Using Kickstarter to get funds

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