First and foremost:
Goals and Publishing
Luminata's #Kickstarter campaign was very successful. Luminata had 100% of the $2000 goal funded with three days to spare. It was amazing and I am overwhelmed by the support from everyone.
I did add two stretch goals to the campaign. The difference with the stretch goals are that they are not all or nothing. At this point all funds that were pledged will be going to Luminata, and everyone will be receiving their tier rewards. Stretch goals are simply goals that I set for additional rewards for everyone once those goals are reached. If these additional goals aren't met, then just the original rewards will be awarded and I will get the pledged funds from supporters. Here are the stretch goals:
$3,000 pledged: Once this goal is reached this will allow for print versions of the novel to be produced immediately upon publication. Supporters that pledged $10-$99 will receive a signed first edition paperback of Luminata. Supporters that pledged $100 or more will be upgraded to a hardback.
$3,500 pledged: Once this goal is reached all supporters will be upgraded to a hardcover printed version of the novel. Everyone that pledged will receive a signed first edition hardback of Luminata. Some of you are wondering: "How'd she do it?"
Well, a lot of help from my friends, family, and author groups. I got marvelous feedback from several people about my campaign page: what was working, what wasn't, and what was missing. I loved getting the feedback as that meant I could improve the site for everyone.
I learned TONS! Prior to this last month:
Would I recommend a crowdfunding campaign for other authors?
The simple answer: Yes.
The complicated answer: still yes. You'll push yourself past what you thought you could do. And it's super rewarding both for your confidence and your creativity. (OK, it's also super draining, but there is an end in sight... Is it the 5th at 7 am yet?) It's a good idea to review all of your options when deciding on a crowdfunding campaign. Some are all or nothing, while others will let you gather whatever funds are pledged even if you miss your goal. Make sure you have a wide variety of reward tiers. My tiers ranged from $10 all the way up to $500. I laughed when I created the $500 tier, and was shocked when I got 2 pledges over $500. (Thank you Jim and Yvonne, and Mike and Ursula! My Precious Platinum sponsors.) One of the biggest factors in being successful is that you must step out of your comfort zone. I was constantly pushing the limits of where I was comfortable with. You can't just wish that people will support you. You have to speak to your friends and family and ask them for support.(Thank you everyone that did!!!!) Ask them to review your campaign page and give you feedback. What do they like, and what do they think could be better? You have to be humble and take that criticism in, and improve your campaign because of it. Remember, you are doing this for the novel. You are doing this so that these people that supported you get the book in their hot hands, read it, and of course, fall in love with it. What's the side benefit to this whole thing?
I am an Indie Author Entrepreneur and therefore I don't have a large publishing house backing me and paying for editors, cover artists, advertising, or even cost of doing business. I have chosen to work on these things myself and I realized that I needed some seed money to help with the large expenses of producing a good novel. I also feel like crowdfunding is similar to a pre-order of the novel. If all someone wants to spend is the lowest tier for that reward, great. I love it. If someone wants to be my patron and support me more, I am ecstatic.
With the social media push that I have been doing to promote the campaign, people know that I am getting ready to publish my novel. There's a buzz going on about the book. I have my free short story that is leading interested people to my newsletter list. Obscurity is lessening each day. Lastly: I feel like it was almost a mini book launch. I have learned so many subtle and invaluable things with this campaign that I will carry with me through the book launch. Here's the campaign for you to check out:
What do you think about crowdfunding a novel?
I'd love to hear what you're thoughts are on using crowdfunding for a novel. Please leave your comments below.
As always, I hope Magical Adventures Find You! Luminata has launched on Kickstarter!
Luminata is getting even closer to being published and into your hands to enjoy. The short story based in the Meclauks Kingdom (the world that Luminata takes place in) is published and available for free when you sign up for my newsletter. If you haven't already gotten your copy, click here.
For those of you that are not familiar with Kickstarter, it is a crowdfunding website designed to let individuals pledge to fund a project. There is a deadline to the project funding date, and once the date and goal is met funds are charged to sponsors and the projects get their pledged funds. However, if the goal is not met, then none of the pledges are charged and sponsors are not out of any money and the project receives no funds. It is an all of nothing funding. So, if you really want to support a project, it's best to share it with as many people as you can to help get the word out. Check out the link below for the Kickstarter campaign.
The deadline to reach Luminata's goal is July 5th, 2017 at 7:00am PST. If the goal isn't met, then no one is charged for their pledge and I do not receive any of the funds that were pledged. So, please share on social media so that I can get Luminata into the hands of editors and then into your hands!
Let me know if you have any questions, or suggestions. May Magical Adventures Find You!
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