I want to offer my new paid subscribers an incentive to join up. I’d like to print up hardcover copies of one of my stories. I’m thinking THE BASHFUL COURTESAN is a good pace to start. It’s a novella, and I think I can publish it somewhere between 120-150 pages. In order to do that though, I need to raise money. I’ll have to raise the funds myself, because I only have 100 followers, and 3 PAID subscribers. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who is going to say, “Hey, here’s $7500 American? Yeah, I got this for you, Bud…”
A KICKSTARTER campaign is the way to go, or so I’m thinking. I’d need a print run of at least 150 hardcover books. That brings each book in at about $30. That’s a lot to ask for such a small book. Of course, the more books I print, the less the price. But what am I supposed to do with the books I have, then? If I give out 50 books, but have a print run of 500 books, where am I supposed to put the other 450 books before they eventually get sold?
Now, the people who donate to my Kickstarter campaign would automatically qualify for a copy of said book; those who buy a subscription at $5/month would also qualify for a copy of the book. But what if someone wants to donate more than that? What else can I offer them? Maybe I could commission some Artwork? Say a painting, or an original print, of THE BASHFUL COURTESAN? That doesn’t seem unreasonable. Or, how about making an audiobook, narrated by myself? That doesn’t seem unreasonable, either. Of course, I could always offer them a dinner—either home cooked, or at a restaurant of their choosing? The wife’s a damned fine cook and can pretty well make anything. So that’s always an option. It seems fair to say that I need a gimmick to bring readers in. A slipcover for the book? Maybe made out of leather, or even wood? Those are possibilities, if I can find a craftsman who could make, say, ten of those. Or do I have to do it myself? I might be able to do something artsy-fartsy.
So this is the sort of post where you, as the reader, should leave a comment and let me know what the best course of action is? Like I said, I like the idea of printing up a book for every paid subscriber and mailing it off to them as a thank you for becoming a paid subscriber. But what if the reader doesn’t want The Bashful Courtesan? What about a poll?
I suppose I could make a collection of stories, but that would bring up the price to almost $75/book. I don’t see anyone wanting to buy that, even if it’s a Collector’s Item, and probably worth $1000s when I die.
Now, we’ve all heard of those Kickstarter campaigns that raise 1000s of dollars for a project. That would be nice, but let’s not assume something like that is going to happen here. I’m going to ask for $7500, and probably not reach my goal. There’s a potential market of about 13 million who like to donate to Kickstarter, but usually, the number for book projects is far lower. Maybe 1000 people? If those 1000 people each donate $7.50 I’ll reach my goal. This is where you come in. Once I kickstart my Kickstarter, I’m going to ask you to share it with your friends.
But…if you think trying to raise money for my project on Kickstarter is a bad idea, let me know. What do you think? Would you like to have a collector’s copy of a novel from an unknown writer? Are you willing to take a chance on that writer? Are you willing to pay $5/month so that other books can be printed up? A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO TIME TRAVEL; JACK OF DIAMONDS?
I need feedback. Fill out the poll and let me know where I stand.
If no one fills out the poll, or leaves a comment, I’ll just have to assume no one’s interested, and not bother, because believe me, looking into this and what is involved, well, it’s a lot of work.
Hi Ben, I don't know enough about kickstarter to have an opinion, and I hear you about wanting to have the option of print books (especially some nice hardcovers) to give out or sell. Have you considered publishing with a print on demand service like IngramSpark? This means you don't have to commit to a print run of x copies to publish your book. (This is what I'm thinking about for my book.)
Here's a good post about POD options: https://blog.reedsy.com/print-on-demand-books/?utm_source=mailparrot&utm_campaign=how_to_self_publish_a_photography_book&utm_medium=how_to_self_publish_a_photography_book_8
This is an interesting idea, Ben, but printing advance copies of a book is risky, even without a successful kickstarter campaign. Perhaps allowing paid subscribers to download an ebook of their choice for free from the list you provided?