melmurphy's picture
melmurphy from Spokane is reading "Julian" by Gore Vidal May 12, 2014 - 9:57pm

Does anybody know if there is a literary equivalent to Kickstarter? Or any writing success stories because of Kickstarter?

I really want to finish a novel I've been intermittently pecking away at for years but I have zero money. Instead I have to focus 90% of my time finding a day job.

Thanks.

Gordon Highland's picture
Gordon Highland from Kansas City is reading Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore May 12, 2014 - 10:40pm

I've seen several publishing projects that used a Kickstarter or IndieGogo campaign. As to their "success," I couldn't say, but many of them have met their fundraising goals. Others were way too ambitious and probably deserved their fate. These were to get books through the publishing aspects of the process. Giving the author a loan for their writing time is not something I've seen, at least not at the "unknown" level.

Me, I'm kind of over the whole crowdfunding thing at this point; too many undelivered promises with delivery dates and perks and whatnot. I would probably just treat it like a preorder, something that helps the author out in advance but isn't asking the public for any more than they'd usually spend for a completed version. Unless you can deliver some unique and coveted perks to go along with it.

Dwayne's picture
Dwayne from Cincinnati, Ohio (suburbs) is reading books that rotate to often to keep this updated May 13, 2014 - 2:49pm

I've heard that after you meet your goal it is much easier to get more money.

Bradley Sands's picture
Bradley Sands from Boston is reading Greil Marcus's The History of Rock 'N' Roll in Ten Songs May 14, 2014 - 8:50am
Hook's picture
Hook May 14, 2014 - 10:18am

For something like that to work you'd need to be an established author tapping into a fan base that wants to see it happen.  This is a common route for musicians and sometimes even movies (cf. the Veronica Mars remake).

At a smaller scale there is Patreon, but that model is a bit different.

 

Brandon's picture
Brandon from KCMO is reading Made to Break May 14, 2014 - 11:19am

Tony McMillan needs to chime in here. He put out his book through Kickstarter successfully.

melmurphy's picture
melmurphy from Spokane is reading "Julian" by Gore Vidal May 24, 2014 - 5:57pm

http://unbound.co.uk/ looked good but I don't see anything comparable for US authors.

 

And, yes, it does seem like you already have to have at least one novel published to even get considered for some sort of crowd funding for the second one.

bryanhowie's picture
bryanhowie from FW, ID is reading East of Eden. Steinbeck is FUCKING AMAZING. May 30, 2014 - 6:46am

Did you see the Reading Rainbow kickstarter.  I pledge a bit, but holy shit.  1 million in 11 hours.  Already over 2.5 million in a day and a half.  Go readers!

Michael Coorlim's picture
Michael Coorlim from Chicago is reading Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham May 30, 2014 - 12:09pm

I did a kickstarter for a print collection of novelettes back in mid-2012. Just enough to pay for cover art and some interior illustrations, and a fresh edit. It funded, and the book was published, so I guess it was successful.

I don't know that I'd do another book, but my production company is going to be crowdsourcing our upcoming web-series, and that will have a significantly higher target.