My friend Christina and I were recently talking about how Kickstarters seem to be spreading like wildfire. A Kickstarter is a program where artists and entrepreneurs will raise money for the project in advance of completion.
When I learned about Kickstarter, a lightbulb went off in my head. I had been stressing over how to get an editor and self-publish. No author whose wanted to write their whole lives (like me) wants to put out the story they love out in a crappy form. I love my Mina. I love her so much, and I want you to love her too.
Why self-publishing?
Mostly I am throwing my luck to the wind and the hand of God due to the changes in the publishing world. Self-publishing is a way debut authors—like me—break into the exclusive publishing world.
What am I hoping to gain by running a Kickstarter?
Mostly an editor. Self-publishing shouldn’t mean punishing the world with a poorly written novel. These Lying Eyes deserves to be edited as well as if it were published by one of those giant publishing companies.
Donating to a Kickstarter is both pre-ordering a copy of the book AND making my book possible. When a backer reads my book, they will think “my $7.00, $27.00, or whatever made it possible for my friend Amanda to publish her book, yay me.”
But the Kickstarter is a little bit more. You pre-order, but you can also up-donate for other swaggeries. (Yes I just made up that word. This very second.) So, would you mind taking a moment to read over the following items and let me know which items would be more likely to get you to donate a little more?
an e-book copy
a trade paperback
a signed trade paperback
original recipes printed on cards or in a booklet that are mentioned in the book
a signed 8×10 of the cover (signed by me and by the graphic artist)
a t-shirt (either a t-shirt with the title or a shirt Mina wears in the book which do you prefer?)
a sweatshirt? Hoodie I’m talking…
5×7 art prints of the sprites from the book, maybe another character? (The sprites are small winged characters who I also hope you will love.)
a hand-made doll of one of the sprites
being able to name a minor character in a future book or novella
being able to name a major character in a future book or novella
having a special thank you note on the dedication page
Is there something that you can think of that you think would be amazing? Bookmarks? Postcards? More recipes? I don’t know. I’ve looked at so many Kickstarters for ideas my eyes are blurry…
~Amanda
Amanda A. Allen 
I’m in the same boat. I’m putting together a Kickstarter project and… man… all the things to consider, what rewards to offer… the things that I overlooked at first are to make sure that you orchestrate things so that regardless of the combination of pledge amounts, if you make the amount you’re seeking, you can cover all the rewards, including shipping, some coverage for lost goods or mistakes, and that you have enough to cover the income tax you’ll have to pay on the proceeds.
Getting a copy of the book would be a must (e-copy is fine). Personal things are especially nice, like signed books or prints, For T-shirts, I’d rather have the shirt a character wears, which makes me more “in” the story line, than the title which seems like just more merchandizing.
Naming a character would be fun. Is Mary Sue taken? (just kidding!)
Taxes! Thanks for that info…gosh.
I vote for a free copy and something personalized so that when you get famous I can get rich selling it:-). But seriously, I’ll buy whatever you put out there–I’m a fan already! I also agree that having a character named for me would be super cool…
I like the Idea of a copy or a signed copy of the book. I would like a Tshirt or a hoodie with your book title on it. Pictures of the sprites would be great, so I can see how you really see them. My name on a dedication page would be awesome. Good luck
I love to cook, so I’d go for the recipes. And because of the ages of my girls, I’m sure they’d love the doll of a sprite. Can’t wait for your book to come out.
And I’m applauding your desire to put out a well written and edited book. I have read self edited books before, and the spelling was horrendous. Call me shallow, but when the mistakes are so many, I can’t even appreciate the merits of the story anymore.
I agree completely. I bought one recently because I wanted to love it so much. But I just couldn’t.
I remember reading a book where the author included all the persons names who helped in the process. Knowing I had a friend who had contributed, I perused the entire list. It was a bit of a rush to see his name in print in this book. I think adding a list of all the contributors that make the book possible would be awesome. I would get a huge kick seeing my name in print. I also agree with everyone else. 🙂
I’m a little late on this. My take is a bit different because I’m not much for “stuff.” The stuff that is most appealing to me would be the e-book (that’s a given though) and maybe a signed copy of the book. Hope things are going well with the book 🙂