Do a Kickstarter At Any Point…
How Many Books Do I Need?…
… Before I can think about doing a Kickstarter?
I have gotten that question a bunch lately. For a while, I thought you needed a maybe ten or so books, but then a friend reminded me of a writer I saw do a Kickstarter with their first collection. First book ever, actually.
And another writer wrote me and said they had done a Kickstarter with their very first book, a stand-alone novella.
Both did great, built some readers, did more campaigns as they finished new books, and kept building readers and fans so that by the time they both reached that magical discoverability level of 20 books, they were doing great.
I sort of went, “Duh! Why not?”
Both writers had web sites to start, just basic ones, and mailing lists with just a few people signed up. One said mostly family. Both writers got readers to sign up for their mailing lists from their kickstarters.
Both writers asked $200 and both got over $500 on their first one.
One of the writers, with a third collection after just a year, had the campaign go past $1,000. That is not coffee money. It is great promotion.
I have tended to tell writers to not worry so much about promotion with first books and just keep writing and getting more books out. Good advice.
But now, since Kickstrater has become a place where readers can find books and new authors, if you do the campaigns right, even a first novel or collection can help you start to grow your readers and fan base.
See, even I can change opinions on things.
One thing about writing and publishing… Nothing ever remains the same. Those who thrive are those with the courage to go forward and keep learning.
6 Comments
Michael W Lucas
But what about the Kickstarter Police, who will show up and drag you to Kickstarter Jail if you fail??? Not to mention the eternal shame if nobody sees your campaign???
Oh. Wait. That’s not a thing. If you fail, the only shame is in your head.
And the Kickstarter Police are easily bribed by putting the book out anyway and writing the next book.
dwsmith
LOL… And even crazier is that if you do it right, you won’t fail.
But you are so right. So much fear… For no reason. Typical writers.
Vincent Zandri
I avoided KS for a while. I finally created one and you were kind enough to look at it Dean. It was a disaster so I put it aside without pressing the go button. Then a couple years later something clicked in my brain and I sort of got it, if you know what I mean. Ive now run three successful campaigns in a row and will be pulling the trigger on two more this month.
dwsmith
Stunning great promotion in this new world, and if done right, you make money on them as well.
James Palmer
That’s the key. There is no magic number, no minimum to beat. My first Kickstarter was for the third anthology in a series. That one failed to fund, but not my much, and if I had asked for slightly less it would have easily funded. My second campaign was for an omnibus edition of those three anthologies, including new covers for each individual title in the trilogy. That one funded, and I’ve been doing them ever since.
dwsmith
Yeah, the ask is critical. If it funds quickly, it gets Kickstarter and all their resourses helping you get a lot more.