We've been getting a lot of questions about Kickstarter, so we thought we would do a few days of talking about Kickstarter itself. Over the next week we will share a post each day about a different aspect of setting up a Kickstarter and running one.
Tonya Nagle, DC Gomez and myself have all run multiple successful campaigns. While it can feel intimidating and overwhelming, it is a wonderful opportunity to gather the funds to publish your book or create a special edition of it.
DAY 1: SETTING UP YOUR KICKSTARTER FOUNDATION
Let's start with your Kickstarter account setup. Go to Kickstarter.com to create your account, verify your identity (you'll need government ID), and connect your bank account through Stripe. Enable two-factor authentication while you're at it - basic security is important when handling funds.
While your campaign needs to offer something new, this doesn't mean the book itself must be unpublished. Special editions of existing books can work well on Kickstarter. Many successful campaigns have featured new editions of books already available on Amazon or an omnibus version of a completed series. Others happen before the book releases and use that as part of the marketing. The key is offering something unique - maybe a hardcover when only paperback existed before, special interior illustrations, upgraded paper quality, foiled editions, sprayed edges, unique interior formatting, or exclusive bonus content. Creating some sort of visual hook that will make backers want it... no make them need it.
You've got flexible printing options too. While some creators opt for large print runs which can give you the best per book printing cost but are expensive with their print minimums, you can absolutely use print-on-demand services like 48hourbooks or Bookvault UK for fulfillment. This approach can keep your funding goal modest and manageable, especially for your first campaign.
If you do decide to do a print run, from personal experience, it would be worth looking at a company like The Inkfluence to help you. They can help design things for you if you need, but also can work as a sort of agent between yourself and the print companies. The cost isn't that much more and it's nice to have someone else negotiate for you with multiple printers and handle the problems if something comes up. I say this as someone who had over half of my print run show up damaged from a printer who had been denying to fix damages for other authors. It was taken care of within 48 hours of me sending video and pictures of the damages.
Let's talk funding goals - you don't need to shoot for the moon. Many successful book campaigns fund at $1,000-3,000. Set a goal that makes sense for your project scope and audience size. you can always make stretch goals so your audience knows you are still shooting for a higher goal.
Stretch goals do not have to add on things that will add cost onto yourself. In fact, they can be leveraged to create a better book and help with the slumps of a Kickstarter. Adding recipes to the back of the book for food that's mentioned in it, adding fancy chapter headers made from stock images, adding a map that you make on inkarnate of your world, adding on an add on that they can purchase... you can be very creative in coming up with stretch goals.
Kickstarter's main rules for books are straightforward:
Must offer something new (even if it's just a new format)
Needs clear deliverables
You must own or have rights to all content
No charity fundraising
Focus on the project, not personal causes
We also suggest joining the Kickstarter for Authors Facebook group - it's a valuable resource for seeing how other authors are handling their campaigns and getting advice from those who've succeeded with similar projects. I do suggest taking some time to dig on there before asking questions. Using the search bar and checking out the pinned posts. There's a lot of information already there.
What is the most intimidating or confusing part of a Kickstarter for you?
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