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My campaign is a pretty sad failure, and I know most of the reasons why.First, as you Adam have mentioned, no lead time. I put the book on Inkshares nearly complete, and when the Nerdist contest rolled around, I changed to pre-orders hoping to convince people from Facebook and stuff to at least share it. Hah! Two of my brothers shared it, a former roommate with more friends on there than I could ever believe, and no one else cared. At this point I expect no help and no clicks.
The point of Inkshares is to wait, and hope that the 1% of people who see what you're doing turn into 2%, then more. I was just excited because I was almost done and kicked into high hear only to stumble my way to being concussed.
Second, BECAUSE I didn't wait, my branding and detailing weren't perfect. My blurb (again, something Adam mentioned in his blog post) was bad. My summary on the main page was fast and loose, and gave no reason to be interested. Those problems are getting better bit by bit. I'm still working on art, narration, and polishing my page to be a fast, appealing, at least somewhat professional-looking thing. I'm still hoping my constant improvements get some interest.
That's mainly it, and all my other problems stem directly from those. I hope that only having to sell 250 copies now and giving them at half price gets me there in the months I have left (including an extension).
Oh, forgot one thing. It's tied to the second reason, but big enough it can be a third.I didn't really know what the editing process had to be, or how badly reviews were needed. I came into this with pure, driving passion and not much else only to realize I should have saved a ton of money for an editor, cover artist, reviews (good or bad, both would be useful for feedback).
Again, I've learned from this and prepped an early copy I'm giving away to try and get feedback, but it's late in the game. If I try this again I'll have a much better idea as to how much to do before I flip and pre-order toggle.
Michael wrote: "Oh, forgot one thing. It's tied to the second reason, but big enough it can be a third.I didn't really know what the editing process had to be, or how badly reviews were needed. I came into this ..."
Same here. I jumped in knowing full well that I should have been spending years building a platform and such, but with 0% of that ever done or even attempted. Mainly I just needed an excuse to push myself into finally starting to try to build a following.
My campaign has gone far better than I ever imagined and I'm not giving up, but I still doubt I will hit even the light option by the end date(ends 1/1/2016, currently 206 followers and only 51 books preoreded with me hitting a brick wall as soon as the price increase went into effect).
I read your blog post yesterday Adam, and it echoed so much of my own campaign's problems that I had to share it with others. Really, anyone wanting to know why my campaign isn't working as well as it needs to should just read your post.
Thanks guys... I'm glad it's been a useful bit of info. Don't despair; Inkshares isn't just about getting published, it's about community. I haven't found any group of people online that have had my back or who were as genuinely interest in helping each other succeed as the one that exists here.
Adam wrote: "Thanks guys... I'm glad it's been a useful bit of info. Don't despair; Inkshares isn't just about getting published, it's about community. I haven't found any group of people online that have had m..."Agreed, that's why regardless of the result I'm glad I started my campaign. I went from having no community to having a good start for one almost instantly, or at least far more quickly than if I had tried to reach out to people through other means.
Adding my two cents here. This is probably almost a replica of what has already been said, but some problems I think are the reason I haven't been getting pre-orders.
A lot of my contacts are leery of ordering online, and I get promises of orders...then nil. The raised price may be a deterrent to a few, but I don't think that's too much of a thing. A lot of times the market is just so flooded with indie authors trying to get heard, that people ignore us and it takes fighting tooth, nail, and claw to get any attention.
I'm a nice person. I don't like the sensation of "begging" for attention, as I much rather prefer to let my work sell itself. Granted, that takes some effort on my part to make sure my work is the best it can possibly be, as well as making sure the world knows its available...but then again I hit the ceiling of invisibility.
Maybe I should have waited to start pre-orders until I'd gained a lot of followers. Maybe I should have gone with my original plan to use CreateSpace. Maybe I should have just posted these for free on my Wattpad.
The host of doubtful questions is rather intense, especially since I've flat-lined for the last several days at 57 pre-orders. And I'm okay with not reaching my goal this round, but then what about the next?
I see that the main question all of us are trying to understand here is, when is long enough, long enough? When will we know we have a big enough "fanbase" to push us where we want to be?
Two cents over.
Tabi - I also ran into a LOT of people who wanted to get the book (or just help me out) but didn't want to order online. Many promised that they would pre-order it, but they either couldn't be bothered to take the time to do it, never got around to it or they were leery of using a credit / debit card online.
A lot of these people just wanted to hand me some cash. All told this was a sizable group.
At first I said that giving me cash wouldn't work, but after realizing how many pre-orders I was missing out on as the deadline approached, I did the following:
I wrote out a list of everyone who fell into this category and wrote down their email and residential address.
Then I handed this list to two close friends who agreed to help me get these orders booked.
My friends approached these people, collected the cash and then went online and placed the orders on their own credit cards.
They set up separate Inkshares accounts with the email and addresses of the people who paid cash.
This made the difference that allowed my campaign to reach it's funding goal.
That's a brilliant idea, actually! I might try that pretty soon. Thanks, Mykl =)
You're welcome Tabi - good luck!@Adam - nice job with the post mortem blog - and good luck with your Booktrope release!
Mod
Many promised that they would pre-order it, but they either couldn't be bo..."
I second Mykl's approach. Often avid book readers and technology clash. During my funding campaign, I had two friends work with me to collect readers and help them sign up for the platform. If you have the capacity to hold a book ordering party or something like that where helpers are available to walk them through the process that can be very helpful. I would still try to collect payment from the unique readers though, if you create the accounts with a primary funder's credit card that card will be assigned to all of those user accounts. If those users pre-order another book the primary funders card will be charged.
That's a very good point Joe.Most online retailers ask for permission to store credit card numbers after a purchase and I don't recall if Inkshares did that. If not, I strongly recommend it.
Especially with all of the hacking scandals - I never agree to allow storage of my credit card for future transactions.
Mod
That's just a guess and you could ask Inkshares if you want more details about security.
Still, the issue remains of when you return to make a future purchase they prompt you to use the stored credit card. It would be good to be able to opt out of allowing anyone from storing that info for future purchases.Or more precisely, the first time you make a purchase, you should be asked to opt in and be able to decline.
This is a very common option when shopping online.
Mod
If you have any concerns or want to request the feature it's probably best to email hello@inkshares.com
I'm just following and commenting on the discussion. They can analyze their needs and do what they wish. In the end, I trust their judgement.But of course there is a reason to allow an opt-out. (Technically, it's an opt-in at the time of the original purchase)
It's why most online vendors offer it. The main reason is that a significant number of people (potentially a majority of them) who shop online want that option.
I'm actually surprised that it isn't legally mandated, It's more important than email list opt-outs and those ARE legally mandated.
It is a second layer of protection. Without it, nefarious entities only need your account login to make purchases on your account. They can even change the "ship to" address to a P.O. box under a phony name.
Most vendors offer the opt-in feature as a convenience for customers who don't wish to have to re-enter the info every time they visit a website and buy something. The common default is to Not store the card and to do it Only if the customer opts-in.
btw - I'm only referring to storage for "future purchases".
Vendors of course have to keep the info on file somewhere as a record of the transaction and to process refunds, cancellations, etc.
That was a great article you put up!!! I think my biggest problem and still ongoing problem is that I'm so squeamish when it comes to asking for money. I have a large social media platform and a wide range of friends from being an English major in college that have published books and asked for money. Their campaign was so much better and they had huge turnouts. I just don't know how to or have time to do any of that. Not to mention when I find time I find more excuses for why I can't than motivation for why I should. When it fully came down to it I got up the guts to ask too late in my campaign. So even though I have a bit of time left and still have coworkers and other family members to tap into it's almost too little too late. I'm hoping to at least be able to hit the 250 though. ;)
I'm right with you on the asking for money bit, Jessie. For me, I prefer to let my writing speak for itself, but I've learned with this that the best approach for my personality, is to just keep talking about it, letting people know it's available, and then seeing what happens. I still have a few avenues to use before I feel I've done all I can, but the biggest success in this promotion business is finding and connecting with the right people (generally fellow authors), and if you've already got a large social media, then that's awesome. Use it, just chat about your project, keep reminding (at least once a day) that people can support your project to put it in print, and you've got a really good start =)
I don't know if anyone else has had this issue, but I've had people come back to me who claim they wanted to support my book but they couldn't find it at [random bookstore here] or on Amazon. I thought I had explained to the people that funding the book pays for editing, publishing and marketing but it doesn't appear to be getting through. .. Maybe I just know a lot of very stupid people.
Kudos to everyone who's still out there pushing their book, even if it's not looking great towards the end of your campaigns. I'm currently sitting at 145 orders, which is an amazing feat as far as I'm concerned! But that's still 105 orders away from the Quill limited publishing, and with 35 days left I'm kinda panicking.Certainly I could have jump-started this campaign a bit better. I didn't get around to making a promo video until a couple nights ago. Btw, if you haven't seen it, I encourage you to go watch me make an ass of myself on the internet. :)
I've used up all my personal contacts, and I continue posting on Twitter, Facebook, etc daily. The most support I seem to be getting at this point is from my fellow Inkshares authors. I am more than happy to cross-promote and exchange pre-orders, but it gets tricky when I run out of Inkshares credits and I'm on a budget.
So my latest strategy at this point is the following: Promote the hell out of my fellow authors, hope I get some credits on those recommended purchases, and then see who is up for trading some pre-orders! Haha
Again, I could have probably helped my case by being more involved in the author community to begin with. But with working 40+ hours at the day job and a bunch of other life commitments, it's tough to keep up.
Sorry, didn't mean for this to come out like such a sob story. 35 days left and 105 orders to go! Not all is lost! ...But it most definitely will be a photo finish.
Good luck to you all!
have things dried up for most people? I haven't sold a single book since the 29th of October, and have only gotten about 4 or 5 new followers. Dropping to a paperback and the introduction of the ebook option have done nothing.
I know I'm already in for Quill, but I had hoped that with 2-3 months left I might be able to climb to the 750, but....sad graph is sad.
Paul wrote: "have things dried up for most people? I haven't sold a single book since the 29th of October, and have only gotten about 4 or 5 new followers. Dropping to a paperback and the introduction of the ..."
I can't speak for everyone, but I know that when I happen to have some credits to spare, I mostly tend to use them on books that are still trying to reach the Quill goal, like myself. I'm sure that must be frustrating for someone shooting for the full publishing option, but I'm kinda trying to spread the love for the underdogs, you know?
Paul wrote: "have things dried up for most people? I haven't sold a single book since the 29th of October, and have only gotten about 4 or 5 new followers. Dropping to a paperback and the introduction of the ..."
Tony wrote: "I can't speak for everyone, but I know that when I happen to have some credits to spare, I mostly tend to use them on books that are still trying to reach the Quill goal, like myself."
I'm the same way as Tony, first priorty in my very budgeting ordering goes to those books I find interesting that haven't hit Quill goal yet. I know that while my preorders aren't streaming in, they haven't come to a complete halt yet so if one assumes a large number of people are sharing my mentality when it comes to choosing books to preorder that could explain the sudden dry spell in your preorders Paul.
I opted out of the price increase and I'm still not getting that many orders. Maybe like one every other week? I think I over-estimated how many of my contacts would be interested in actually supporting me. While I haven't gotten confrontational about it, I've had a few people finally snap at me for pushing my Inkshares campaign.Friday I had a lovely fight with a friend I hadn't spoken to in years because he stated he felt it wasn't worth funding because the way I type my posts convinced him I was unwilling to accept creative criticism he wanted to offer (never went into specifics about said criticism). I guess it didn't occur to him that if the book was successfully funded that I'd face a lot of creative criticism while it was being edited and during the marketing process. Either way he was adamant about not buying a copy.
Elbot - part of the attraction for your supporters on this platform is the potential for them to influence the work - so open yourself up to criticism or helpful suggestions and try to not unconsciously do anything that might be off-putting. (easier said than done, I know!)It's such a tricky road to walk to know how much "pushing" is too much. Try to constantly improve the quality of the pitch, while maybe decreasing the frequency.
It's not that I'm unopen to criticism. Being a creative in any field you won't get far if you aren't. I'm just unsure of what I was unconsciously doing to make him think I wasn't. People are a mystery to me.
On the other hand, it's kind of weird he felt entitled to give you criticism in the first place. It's your work of art and you're not obligated to let anyone else influence it. Maybe this attitude is one of the reasons my campaign was unsuccessful, but I don't think so. I work in games and one thing I've seen countless times over the years is the tendency for writers and other creative types to criticize, or straight up change, someone else's work for no better reason than that they had a different vision and felt their own superseded the other person's.
In fact, killing that urge has been an ongoing battle whenever I edit another person's work... something I have been doing daily, professionally, for six years.
It's only natural that others want to participate creatively in a piece of art or entertainment they see promise in. But fiction is also one of the only places left in the world that the artist has final say over the work - in fact, that is what makes fiction fiction in the first place. It is a mind-to-mind transmission between you and your audience.
You should treat that relationship as sacred, and so should everyone else who works with you. If they don't, I would say their intentions are not to make the work better, but to make it (partly) their own. And there's no reason you need to share that role with them. You can if you want - it's your work - but, you are not obligated.
Just my $.05.
"It's kind of weird he felt entitled to give you criticism in the first place." It's not weird, it's built into the process here! So that attitude might very well have played some role that had an effect (large or small) on your campaign.
The trick is how you handle the situation. It's a sensitive diplomacy act that requires excellent people skills. The whole Inkshares platform is based on inviting readers to help you shape the work by posting draft chapters and inviting feedback.
Add to that your need to court these same people to get funded and that's a powerful combination that makes them feel entitled.
Backers are invested emotionally AND monetarily in your project! That's a good thing.
Don't respond negatively or even passively to feedback or criticism - just thank them profusely for the help and support - whether or not you find the feedback useful.
Elbot - you mentioned having a "lovely fight" with one of your prospects. A fight is a two way proposition. Once you decide to engage, you've pretty much guaranteed that you have lost that prospect. Do whatever you need to win people over - but DON'T argue with them! (even if you disagree)
There was something in your pitch that your prospect found off-putting - it is possible (even likely) that others might have the same reaction.
Your job is to find out exactly what that was and then improve your pitch to be as Inviting and attractive as possible.
So instead of engaging in a "lovely fight", try instead to welcome the criticism and then ask pointed (bu non-confrontational) questions that expose the root of the issue. Approach it as a learning experience and make the prospect feel good that he (or she) is helping out. Turn enemies into friends.
It's interesting and very eye opening, the things you learn about the friends, family, and general acquaintances you interact with every day through Facebook. I am non confrontational, but I do have strong feelings when it comes to my personal work, yet at the same time I would love feedback, because otherwise we are living in a bubble. I need another pair of eyes, yet there are certain friends who have even offered to read my work, that I'm very hesitant to give it over to them. As much as we both love the genre, fantasy in this case, they tend more toward the lighter side, rather than the darker style my story tends to dwell in, and I am constantly bothered by their need to be overly critical and even cynical about... well everything. It's more a part of their nature to nit pick. Do I really want my work, that I feel so passionately about, torn to pieces? It means so much to me, that I'm not sure how I would take it. I'm an artist, and back in college we would look at each other's work and instead of tear it apart, even if we didn't really like it, we would instead critique the technique. This is what I would hope to receive from others... Look at what the writer/artist is doing, and focus on what could be improved. Something needs more detail here, darker shading there, maybe this focal point could be more dramatic... How do you think this color would work versus that color? The same should go for writing. This sentence could be clearer, bring more descriptives into this scene, slow the pacing here, and speed it up there... Or point out inconsistencies (back here she had the gun in her hand, did she set it down?) unfortunately not everyone views critiquing in this way, they always want to insert their personal taste and opinions into it, regardless of the motivations the author had intended. Like, this character should be a woman, or that would never happen... Those types of opinions are often relative to the reader, and that is the difficulty we must confront in explaining why we feel our way is right... Or if we should even bother explaining at all. As an artist, my husband and I run into this all the time at art fairs. His initial response is to tell them they are flat out wrong (they usually are) my way of dealing with it is to thank them for the advice and that we will take it into consideration. It's amazing how those who seek to add their opinion, wanted or unwanted, tend to take a no thank you, very personally. Many seem to think they are the expert in what we've been doing for 20 years and making it a living. The old response, nod and smile... Is usually the best. But it can definitely rattle my nerves. It's easier to do this with strangers than those you care about... It's not as personal then.
Critiques aside, it's a given that some of us have about a snowball's chance in hell of getting our work funded. That in mind, does anybody have any recommendations for other venues other than Inkshares?I've already done independent publishing through Amazon's CreateSpace service and having to do everything by yourself is just not a great way to sell books. Going through a traditional publisher is probably not an option in my case, I but I know some folks might be up for that strategy.
http://theadamvine.com/2015/11/05/why...
Cheers,
Adam Vine