Publishing Via Kickstarter

There is an alternative to traditional publishing and self-publishing. Using Kickstarter, I could publish my book with an entire range of packages.

Another route to publishing that I’ve considered is Kickstarter. That could mean numerous packages being created with their own price points. Each contains a copy of the book, yet I could offer signed copies (perhaps editions signed by interviewees), audio copies of the interviews, transcripts, and exclusive photos of memorabilia from the time.

My Experience Of Kickstarter

Though I’m yet to buy a book from Kickstarter, I have used it before. Typically, to see an idea reach fruition. That could be a coin wallet to save me having to continually look for one. It could be to finally see the Hoverboard from Back To The Future Part II become a reality. Essentially, these are niche passion projects that can be brought to life by the right investment from interested audiences in that niche.

Why I Could Use Kickstarter To Publish My Book

There is a lot to be said about disruptive models. Whether they be in finance or not, traditional models do not have to be the sole method. That could be the case in publishing, where Amazon has already curtailed the existence of bookshops and ushered in self-publishing as a viable avenue.

There are so many pitfalls to the traditional methods of publishing. From finding the right niche for your book to finding a literary agent willing to take it on. The costs of self-publication and the efforts for promotion versus ceding control and the rights to a publisher (something I’ve covered in Traditional Publishing v Self-Publishing).

Having spoken to family and friends, as well as those who have subscribed to this Substack, I can see that there’s a potential readership for this book. It may not be considered big enough for one of the big traditional publishers, but with a conservative printing run, it should attract some steady sales. Who knows? Maybe Arctic Monkeys split up and suddenly thousands want to discover their story.

How To Use Kickstarter To Publish A Book

So we’ve established that it would likely cost me thousands to self-publish. With Kickstarter, I could encourage pledges towards a financial goal to effectively pay those costs. These would include proofreading, editing, fact-checking, and cover design, amongst others which I will detail later on in this post. In exchange, pledges of certain amounts would be rewarded with various packages.

For instance, a mimimal pledge of £8 would get you a eBook version of the book. For £15, you can get a paperback version. For £20, a hardback version with a full-color cover. For £25, a signed hardback copy and for £30, a signed hardback copy with a custom-made cover. You get the idea. The more you pay, the more you get in terms of production choices. However, I would need to work out how limited a run of paperback copies v hardback copies I’d need first.

The Further Options

My thoughts have expanded to what I could do having looked at the manuscript. At over 150,000 words, it is a meaty tome. I’ve also had to carry huge books with me and it’s a chore. The final Game of Thrones book, A Dance with Dragons comes in at 415,000 words. That usually means around 1,000 pages which is a lot to put in your bag so you can read it with your lunch. My book would be smaller but still substantial.

How about I split it up? The book is already in five parts to chronicle the backdrop, the start of the New Yorkshire Wave, the story of the individual bands, how the scene reached the mainstream, and then how it crashed. There could be a means of splitting up the manuscript into individual parts and offering it as a short-run photocopied fanzine. That’d be fun and could drum up interest with a potential audience before a full-scale production, perhaps sell a few at festivals to see how it could land. Plus, paperback typically sells better than hardbacks.

What Would The Pledges Go Towards?

I’ve seen Kickstarters with a goal to reach, a defined amount that should see their dream become a reality. Let’s say I set my target at £17,000. That might seem like a huge amount, but I’ll break it down.

Storage and Shipping: £2,000. That should cover finding somewhere to store the books, even a garage might work. Then there’s paying for all the postage labels

Sales/Marketing: £5,000. This ain’t cheap so it would cover promotion and making sure that sales are fulfilled.

Printing: £4,500. A bit less than sales/marketing and evidently determined by word count and the amount of copies. Both can make themselves known by the time the Kickstarter has finished. A book with images will also cost more to print.

Editing/Production: £5,500. This would cover the editing, typesetting, formatting, and proofreading. Essentially, ensuring that the manuscript is market-ready.

It is worth noting that all of the costs have to be weighed up against fulfilling the orders so it would be worth finding out how much the manuscript, in its current form, would cost to produce in various physical forms. That last thing I want is to be unable to fulfill those pledges. After that, the costs would be on-demand, which would need extensive planning too.

Self-Promotion

Starting a Kickstarter is a promotional tool in itself, so is this Substack to be fair. A lot of the success of a book can be down to how well it is marketed. Should a publisher take a chance on my manuscript, I’d feel duty-bound to promote it as best I could. That could mean doing my own promotional videos, talking to the press, having live talks with the public, or even book tours. There’s some element of finding out how good I’d be at self-promotion simply by telling people I’ve just met about my book, I’ve found it relatively easy so far.

If you’re reading this, that means you have found my Substack. Perhaps you even subscribe to it, if you enjoy what you are reading and know someone who’d be interested in the book, then please share this.