Next Stop On The Niteblade Blog Train!
Hey everyone,
Welcome to the latest stop on the Niteblade Blog Train. If my map is correct, you’ve arrived from a great post over at Erif.org, and now have a slight stopover here at this cozy neck of the interweb. Don’t worry, I’ll have you out of here in time to reach Rhonda Parrish by tomorrow, guaranteed. Just be sure to hold on to your ticket stubs – we’ll be coming through the car shortly.
So, a few weeks back, Niteblade was generous enough to interview me on a number of topics. We discussed my story, The Cord, which appeared in Issue #19 (and was republished as a podcast over at pseudopod.org), and also the kickstarter campaign I was running at the time. Well – spoiler alert – as you can probably guess from the rest of this page, Camp Myth was a success, and was just recently released on Amazon and Smashwords.
Okay, okay. I’ll stop shilling now.
/endsalespitch.
Still, I’ll be eternally grateful to Niteblade for giving me a platform to promote my project. And since Kickstarter seems to be the new hotness for writers looking to fund their latest creations, I thought it might be neat to add my $0.02 to the conversation. After all, it was (and still is) one heck of a ride, and I feel like I’ve learned a ton along the way. If you’re thinking about launching a campaign for a novel of your own, here’s my quick-and-dirty-take-it-or-leave-it advice.
First off, it’s all about the visual presentation of the campaign page. This is especially important for a publishing project, but it’s also much more difficult. I mean, you’re pitching a bunch of words, right? Still, people are visual creatures, and a good image will sell your idea more than any block of text. Have a professional-looking cover front and center, or maybe some character concept art. Looking back, my first attempt at selling Camp Myth was a bust for a few reasons, with one being that I spent way too much time describing the project and not nearly enough time showing it. By the time I was able to add some art work, the damage had already been done. You need to make an awesome first impression that will last. And if you don’t know an artist, hit up devientart and find one. There are some seriously talented people on that site, and a lot of them will be more than happy to give you a great deal on a piece or two.
Second - Make. A. Video. Seriously, it doesn’t need to be amazing, it just needs to give people a feel for who you are and what you’re doing. I shot mine with the help of my wife and her cell phone camera, and cut the whole thing together with Windows Movie Maker. It’s goofy, sure, but I think it set the right tone, and it helped people connect with me a little better. In my opinion, a project without a video is dead in the water.
Next, it’s all about promotion. Don’t just sit back and wait for the money to roll in from strangers. Reading about some of the insane success stories, it’s easy to see kickstarter as a giant tank of wallets just waiting to give you cash, but nothing could be further from the truth. Friends and family are a good start, but it’s nowhere close to the endgame. Find people who like your subject matter and approach them. If you’re a member of some forums, let people know what you’re doing. If you’re pitching a graphic novel and there’s a comic book blog that you love to follow, email them and politely ask if they’d be interested in writing something about your project. Much like submitting work to agents, lots of people will turn you down, but a few will be more than happy to work with you. I met some awesome people who gave me fantastic coverage just because I asked nicely. You can’t be afraid of putting yourself out there.
As for rewards, my advice would be two things. 1) Make them interesting – For example, I offered high-tiered backers the chance to design a character that would be illustrated and placed in all copies of the book, and had merit badges printed to go along with the summer camp theme. 2) Digital rewards are key – I offered a bunch of physical rewards and, while they ultimately turned out great, they were a lot of additional work to put together, and increased shipping costs significantly. Ebook copies, wallpapers, screensavers, audio files, or any types of digital extras are a zillion times easier to create and distribute.
Finally, make sure to keep your backers involved every step of the way, especially when your campaign has finished. Don’t flood people with news every time you finish a chapter or anything, but an update every week will keep your project fresh in their minds, and let them know that you’re still dedicated to providing them with a product. I gave people sneak peeks at artwork, showed off rewards, and generally just let everyone know that wheels were still in motion.
Well, that about covers it. I know these might all seem like common sense ideas, but you’d be surprised with the difference that skipping even one of these steps would have on your campaign. Take it from someone who both tanked horribly and surpassed expectations with the same idea.
If you’d like to find out more about Camp Myth, I’d love for you to visit The Official Website, where you can check out illustrations from the book, read up on some of the camp’s merit badges, or even pick up a Kindlegraphed copy of the book (a signed and personalized ebook – how cool is that?) What’s that? Oh, right, right. Stop shilling. Gotcha.
Ah, I’m getting word that the train is ready to depart again. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time here at ChrisLewisCarter.com. If you have any questions or comments about this blog, I’d love to hear from you.
Next stop, Parrish Junction!
-Chris-
