In the past two years, I’ve launched five campaigns at Kickstarter. They’ve all been for special editions of my books – that was a deliberate choice so I could get a better feel for using the platform. I’ve learned a lot along the way, but most importantly, I’ve learned that I really like Kickstarter. Let’s talk about why.
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform intended to bring creative projects to life. When you back a project there, it’s not a donation – you’re becoming part of the process of creating something new. Generally, backers get something special for their support. It can be early copies of a new edition of a book. It can be special swag that isn’t available anywhere else. It can be the chance to influence the outcome – some writers, for example, include rewards for naming characters in their stories. The point is that it’s collaborative – in the case of books, it’s authors working with their readers to create something new. I really like that concept and I like how it shakes out.
The first campaign I created at Kickstarter was for hardcover omnibus editions of the Dragonfire Novels, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the publication of book one, Kiss of Fire. That was two years ago.
I certainly had expectations at that first launch, but there have been surprises. One has been the wonderful connection and communication with readers. Every time I run a campaign, I have great conversations with readers, some of whom have been reading my books for thirty years. I enjoy those chats so much.
What drew me to Kickstarter was the mechanism itself. Creating new editions, commissioning new art, hiring designers and formatters requires cash. Generally, these contractors are paid as soon as the work is done – most don’t offer credit terms, which is fair. At Kickstarter, I’m paid a higher percentage of gross sales and I get paid sooner, which helps a lot.
For example, when I sell an ebook at the retail portals, my share of the sale price is between 35 and 65%. When I sell a print book at the retail portals, my share of the sale is closer to 10%. Those amounts are paid to me 45 – 60 days after the end of the accounting period. So, the revenue from January sales will be paid to me in March. (The exception is portals that pay quarterly, in which case, January sales would be paid 45 – 60 days after the end of the quarter, i.e. May or June.)
When I run a campaign at Kickstarter, the earnings are paid to me within three weeks of the end of the campaign – and I get more like 90% of the gross revenue. Of course, I have to pay for the books that have been ordered during the campaign, pack them up and ship them out if they’re signed copies, but still, I end up with some cash. My campaigns thus far have been on the smaller side, but that bit of cash helps pay those designers and other creatives. I like that, too.
Follow me at Kickstarter here,
and be notified of every campaign I launch.
Thus far, I’ve created new editions of backlist titles and made them available early in Kickstarter campaigns. Some of these editions have gone into retail distribution and become available at the portals. Some remain available only during Kickstarter campaigns or directly from me at signings and events. (If I still had my online store, they could be exclusive to the store, too.) Either way, there’s a special edition that wouldn’t have existed without the Kickstarter campaign and the people who backed it.
That goes for the other campaign goodies, too. One of the perks of backing a Kickstarter is getting additional rewards, and I enjoy creating those rewards. I usually have a bookmark featuring the new editions. There can be character art, a map, family trees, or colouring pages. I’ve made fabric book jackets to match the books and dragon-y tote bags, too, as well as bookcharms and more. This time there’s a downloadable tarot card deck to print and colour. Some of those items are available only during the campaign, but some are added to my stash of swag to distribute. Sometimes I have leftovers of the campaign swag and sell it in future campaigns.
Creating special editions through Kickstarter also prompts me to try new features. The Dragon Diaries Special Edition Omnibus is my first book with colour interior pages, printed endpapers, and foil on both the case laminate and the dust jacket. It’s a beautiful book and one that wouldn’t exist without the Kickstarter campaign. Even the retail edition has a much prettier package than it might have otherwise, since it’s a version of the foiled cover. It was also the first campaign for which I commissioned character art.
Similarly, the Blood Brothers Special Edition trade paperbacks have duplexed covers – that means there’s an image printed on the inside of the book cover – featuring the new illustrations from those special editions. It’s fun to try various features and additional rewards to see which ones are favoured by backers. For this campaign, I commissioned new illustrations of each couple and featured them in a number of ways for backers.
There can also be new content created for the Kickstarter campaign, which is subsequently available at retailers. For the Bride Quest 25th Anniversary Special Editions, I added two new stories to the Bride Quest series. Christmas at Tullymullagh is a short story set after The Heiress, and catches up with the characters featured in the first three books. Easter at Airdfinnan is a novella set after The Temptress and catches up with the entire family, as well as being a second chance romance itself. Both are available as ebooks – backers received them early, and later they became available at retailers – and they’re included in the print special editions. Christmas at Tullymullagh is in the special edition of The Heiress, while Easter at Airdfinnan is in the special edition of The Temptress. These stories wouldn’t have existed without the Kickstarter campaign.
Using Kickstarter is encouraging me to create more content in my existing worlds. In my very first campaign, which was for hardcover omnibus editions of the Dragonfire Novels, I added a new full-length dragon shifter romance. Backers received Kiss of Enchantment early, then it became available at retailers. I would not have written this book, which is outside of the box, without the early support of those KS backers. Kiss of Enchantment is book #1 of The Darkfire Chronicles – Kiss of Twilight, which is book #2 of that series, will be available first at Kickstarter. You can follow that campaign here to be notified at launch.
This will be a different kind of campaign for me at Kickstarter – using the portal to launch a new book or series, one that isn’t available anywhere as yet. I’m excited about this as this strategy will diminish some of the risk of launching a new book or series – the Kickstarter campaign will (ideally) cover some or all of the publishing costs associated with getting that story into the world, and will also (ideally) ensure that it has some fans and reviews before publication. That will make the launch a little less cold and potentially give it more visibility and momentum.
Many of these kinds of campaigns could be done elsewhere, particularly through an active author store or website. Another benefit of doing it at Kickstarter is the visibility offered by the platform itself and the potential of discovery by other backers – or readers new to the author’s work. I think this function is strongest for authors who write fantasy, sci-fi or RPG fiction, but I still find backers new-to-me with each campaign. Kickstarter also does an excellent job of reaching out to backers of previous campaigns and ensuring they know about the current one, which also helps to build momentum, especially on the launch day of the campaign.
That said, it’s not a passive activity to run a campaign. Some authors think it should be set-and-forget, but I haven’t found that to be the case. I’m less stressed about the progress of the campaign than I was initially, but I also have a plan for each one, now. I try to do something each day of each campaign, whether it’s a blog post like this one, a newsletter, or sharing some detail in social media. It is a party that needs a guest list, and the constant infusion of energy to keep the party going.
Special editions take time to create and I like to have a copy of the book in hand to show it to backers when I launch a campaign. Although I had hoped to run the campaign for Kiss of Twilight in first quarter of this year, I haven’t yet written the book and I haven’t had the package designed. (Popular designers are busy!) I moved that one to later in the year, and instead decided to have a campaign for the new editions of my time travel and magical romances.
These are the retail editions – with the exception of the tip-sheet that will be added into the copies ordered through the campaign. I’ll be mailing signed bookplates to each backer to insert in the drop-shipped books. The retail editions are also available for pre-order at the portals for October delivery. This is the first time I’ve participated in an open call at Kickstarter, and this campaign is part of their Make-100 promotion for January. It’s also the second of my campaigns to be awarded the Project We Love banner, which can’t hurt. 🙂
What else is special for backers? There was a tier with a vellum insert of the original cover art for Love Potion #9, at the same price as the tier with just the books. Backers also get a downloadable tarot card deck to print and colour. Backers in week one got a free ebook from me in gratitude for their early support. This week, I hope to add a bookmark featuring the new covers – a printed bookmark with foil accents will be mailed out with the signed bookplates to backers of print editions. There’s also the opportunity to pick up previous Kickstarter editions in the Add-ons, if you missed out on earlier campaigns. What else will be added for backers? There’s over two weeks to go, so we’ll see!
Watch my video of the new editions here:
Check out the Kickstarter campaign for the new editions of my time travel and magical romances right here.
Deborah Cooke: Author 