Financing a Book or Virtually Any Creative Project Using Kickstarter
Acquiring funding for a creative project can be difficult, especially when that project is not yet viable - in other words, the project has not made its first red cent, and it is not clear if it ever will. I decided to use Kickstarter to fund my creative project, my first novel The Dying Times, and I thought it might be informative for others to know about my experiences, my pitfalls, and my successes with the project. The premise of Kickstarter is simple: post your project, define some rewards, and explain what your project is about. It's not difficult to post a new project, but getting funding can be one of the most difficult things you've done up to this point. I think that getting the funding was probably harder than advertising the book, which should tell you something! During this article, I will post two links to the Kickstarter projects that I have run, and I would encourage anyone who wants to follow by referencing these examples to open each one in a separate tab or window to read along. First, I need to go into a little backstory with Kickstarter so that you will understand the story up to the present point. Some time before starting my current, successful Kickstarter project, I attempted to run an unsuccessful project to fund another creative idea that I had. My first project was called "The d10 Core Roleplaying Game System". The purpose of that project was to fund the production of a new roleplaying game and fill the book with (usually expensive) artwork. The project did not succeed, but it has helped, as I will mention later in the article. This brings us to the soon-to-be-successful "The Dying TImes" project. As of this writing, the project is $22 until reaching its initial goal of $500 with 25 days left to go, so it will end up being successful and surpass the goal amount. (This is guaranteed by one of my family members pledging and guaranteeing that she will pledge whatever amount is necessary to make sure it succeeds by the 10th of December, but I doubt she will have to do so.) So, with both projects in hand, I will begin to examine the differences and similarities between the two and why one was successful and the other wasn't. This is where the information becomes valuable to you if you are considering opening a project like these or if you are seeking funding and think Kickstarter may be for you. You can open the links to the two Kickstarter projects that I am referring to by visiting the links below the similarities and differences segment. Similarities: Both projects were created for products in niche markets. (A roleplaying game and a zombie novel.) I would estimate from personal experience that the zombie novel niche is larger than the roleplaying niche, but a large number of roleplayers utilize the internet to find new material as opposed to people reading books. Both projects were run for about the same length of time (a little over 30 days). Differences: The Dying Times video attached to the project was a higher quality than the d10 Core project. I decided not to go with voice over or voice explanations in the video since I do not have high quality voice recording. I have since acquired some better quality voice recording equipment and software, but I feel that the project would not be best served with a voice over this time. The Dying Times video also had much higher quality effects, some 3D elements, and better music than the d10 Core video had. The Dying Times had a much lower goal to reach ($500). In contrast, the d10 Core project was trying to raise a significantly larger amount of money ($3,000). I have found that people pledging to a project have a much higher chance of pledging if the goal is smaller and more attainable; people like to be a part of a successful project. The Dying Times was already released, whereas d10 Core was not ready to be released in any form. Since the novel was already out, there were samples for people to read, and news and information to be found about the book, it was easier for people to research and find out what exactly they were pledging to. A professional website and samples of what you are doing can help, though this is not always possible. The Dying Times was pushed a lot harder than d10 Core to and by my friends and on social networks. The first time around with d10 Core, I was afraid to ask people to pledge to the project. You cannot be afraid to ask for money when doing this! It is easier to get people behind a new novel than a roleplaying game, especially by a new author. Roleplayers in general play games and support games that they have been playing already for years which are written by established companies and writers. People are more willing to invest in a new novelist because new reading material is needed when people have read everything they already have. These similarities can be explored by visiting the links listed in the next paragraph of the article. Feel free to open each one in its own tab to see the differences and similarities at this point. Go ahead, I will be right here when you get back. You can locate the projects for reference on the Kickstarter website. These differences illustrate several points about how to successfully run a Kickstarter project. I have also included tips below from my experience at running a Kickstarter project that are more generalized than the comparisons above: Be different: People who frequent the Kickstarter website like to hear about unique projects. Even if your project has been done before, you should focus on why it is different and what would be good about supporting the project. I used a tagline at the top of my description that asked the question: "Do you like zombies?" It is direct and to the point. People who like zombies or who are wondering what zombies might be will continue to read. People who hate the idea or concept of zombies will probably go ahead and leave immediately, but that's okay, too. It is much better for your project to get the subject out in the open immediately than to irritate people by forcing them to read through the description to find out what the project is all about. Explain yourself: Once you have captured the viewer's attention, you should elaborate on what the project is, what funds would be used for, and any additional goals of the project past the goal marker that you have set up. For instance, I set a $500 goal on my project, but I explain in the description what additional funds would be used for if the project surpasses the goal amount. Justify yourself: If you have prior experience in the subject/industry, if you have written other books on the subject, have been successful, and etc., list those details in the description of the project. For instance, "I have written four books on the subject in the past, but I feel that this project deserves funding because XXX." If you don't have any experience in the subject, you can explain more about the project and why you think it is important. Lack of experience is not a deal-killer with Kickstarter. This is coming from a first time author. Be thankful: Every time someone pledges, thank them on the Kickstarter update personally. Thank them on Twitter. Thank them on Facebook. Thank them from your own website. Anywhere you can think of, thank them. They are the ones turning your project into a success. Thank them like you would thank someone handing you the same amount of money when you have nothing to eat. Always be positive: If someone removes their pledge, don't go about bashing them. I had someone remove his pledge during the project, and I just mentioned that we had lost a backer and that was unfortunate, and that I hope that everything works out for him. I didn't know the reason at the time, but the backer later contacted me and said that he was having problems with his bank because he lived out of state, and that he would pledge later. Do you think he would have done the same if I had gone around calling him names or discrediting him? This is common sense and more of a matter of professionalism, but there are some who need to be told not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Offer rewards that have value for the pledge: People who are pledging to Kickstarter projects are doing it out of kindness and the helping instinct, but you shouldn't just expect free charity. That's not what a Kickstarter project is all about: it's about helping people while getting cool rewards for your pledge. For The Dying Times, I offered signed copies for $25, signed, shipped, and delivered. For $16, you could get a copy of the book delivered to you, which was a few cents cheaper than buying it regularly. If people see value in what you're offering and the project sounds interesting (and you sound passionate about the project), they will pledge. Don't offer too many rewards: Keep the number of rewards low. It is difficult for people to decide between too many options, and it makes them lose focus. Limit the number of rewards. Make low-cost options, and several of them: While keeping the number of rewards low, make many of the options low in cost. People know good and well that it doesn't cost $50 for you to print and ship a novel to yourself, sign it, then ship it out. Though $50 would help you a lot, there's not much value in it for your pledge. If you wouldn't find it attractive, there is a good chance that other people who don't know anything about your project would either. An overwhelming majority of successful Kickstarter projects get a good amount of backing from pledge options that cost $25 or less. Make the time to goal short: Don't have your pledge campaign go on for a long period of time. It's difficult to keep interest in the project if you try to run it for 60 days. Around 30 days is a good time period to run a project. Don't run it too short, don't run it too long. Be willing to negotiate: People may write you and ask you to negotiate on the pledge level. I was able to negotiate a pledge from one gentleman from Mexico who wanted the benefits of the $25 pledge level, but it said "US and Canada only". I told him that he wouldn't have to pay any extra from shipping and that I did that so people from too far away didn't pledge at that level (i.e. countries where it costs 3 times the book's cost to ship to.) I told him I would do it since the shipping to Mexico is not exorbitantly more expensive than shipping to the US or Canada. In another instance, one pledge wanted a copy of another book I had written, and he upped his pledge to a total of $200 because I agreed to do that. If you have no intention of fulfilling your promises, you will soon become very unpopular, and you might get sued. Update, Update, Update! Keep the people up to date with regular (daily) updates about what's going on with the project, news and happenings related to your project, and so forth. Don't go off your topic or subject matter just to make a post, but appear to be active and involved in the project. That helps other people who pop in see that the person running the project is active and involved, and not just looking for a handout. It shows that you care about your own project succeeding, and that helps build trust with your pledges. Don't be afraid to ask for money: You don't have to blatantly say, "Gimme money!", but you do have to advertise this project to other people. Doing so in a calm, professional, and positive manner is your best shot at having a successful project. Follow through with your promises: If you are willing to negotiate, or even if you have people just pledging to get the rewards you have listed, follow through with what you say you will do, and do it in a timely manner. After the project closes, you can still update everyone by email of the status of their rewards, shipping times (if applicable), and the like. Keep them updated the way you would want to be updated. It costs you nothing, but it makes you look more professional, and it certainly improves your chances of having another Kickstarter project become successful in the future if you need it! People will see your professionalism and, if you host future projects, they would be more willing to give to you in the future. People like good track records and people who are obviously passionate and friendly when it comes to their projects. I hope that all of these tips will help you in finding funding for that very special project of yours. If you have questions to pose or experiences to share, you can contact me via the information attached to this article. This article will be reposted to my website, as well, to facilitate conversation and help. Brian Kittrell is the author of The Dying Times, a novel set in the post-apocalyptic world of zombies. He will be releasing several books in a series known as The Survivor Chronicles under the Late Nite Books imprint.
