Kickstarter Advice?
I’m working on setting up the Kickstarter for Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen. I’ve got most of the campaign set up with a summary, rewards, etc. But I know a lot of you have more experience with these things, and I wanted to ask whether you had any particular advice or suggestions before I get started.
I’ve set a tentative goal of $3500. I’m thinking of a stretch goal of interior black-and-white illustrations.
I’m planning to use Friday’s reading as the video. Here are the rewards I’ve set up. (I briefly played with the idea of doing a $10,000 “In my dreams” reward.)
- $1 or more: Good Karma and Happy Goblins. You’ll be rewarded with my gratitude and the knowledge that you’ve made the goblins of the world very happy.
- $10 or more: Goblin Queen Ebook. You’ll receive a DRM-free bundle of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen in .epub, .mobi, and PDF formats.
- $25 or more: Autographed Book. You’ll receive an autographed paperback of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen, along with the ebook bundle.
- $40 or more: Two is Better than One! You’ll receive TWO autographed copies of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen — one for you and one for a friend. You’ll also get the ebook bundle.
- $75 or more: Pay it Forward. You’ll receive an autographed copy of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen and the ebook bundle. In addition, I’ll donate three copies of the book to classrooms, charities, libraries, and other good homes.
- $100 or more: Critique. You’ll receive the ebook bundle of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen. In addition, I’ll critique one short story (or the first part of a novel) up to 7500 words. Limited (5 left of 5)
- $250 or more:Jim C. Hines Starter Pack.You’ll receive the autographed paperback of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen, along with the ebook bundle. You’ll also get autographed copies of the first books in each of Jim’s four SF/F series, as well as the standalone tie-in novel Fable: Blood of Heroes. Limited (10 left of 10)
- $1,000 or more: Jim C. Hines — The Complete Works.You’ll receive the autographed copy of Tamora Carter: Goblin Queen, as well as the ebook bundle. You’ll also get autographed copies of every SF/F book Jim has published, including the Goblin trilogy, Princess series, Magic ex Libris series, Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse, Fable: Blood of Heroes, Rise of the Spider Goddess, and Goblin Tales. He’ll also throw in his collection The Goblin Master’s Grimoire, and the anthology he edited, Heroes in Training. Limited (5 left of 5)
What do y’all think?
Glen
April 8, 2020 @ 5:15 pm
An extremely minor point, further diminished by the fact that I merely have experience as a frequent Kickstarter *backer*, not *creator*:
I have a quibble with using the word “bundle” to describe a single book, even if offered in multiple formats 🙂
But with that thought in mind, did you consider offering rewards with ebook bundles of your other works, similar to the physical rewards in the $250/$1000 tiers?
I’m in, regardless.
Will
April 8, 2020 @ 6:02 pm
I think this is pretty good. Personally, I’d love to see more donation-based options, or donation-only options. Alternatively, and I know this is extra work so maybe not worth it, I’d love to have the option to add on donation copies through Backerkit or something. Times are tough but my employment is stable, so I’d love to contribute to copies for schools, etc.
Susan Frank
April 8, 2020 @ 8:31 pm
How about more levels with just ebooks for donor, and donations to libraries, etc? For me, I love your books, but I can’t read tree books very easily anymore, between eyes and hands.
Kowh
April 8, 2020 @ 8:54 pm
Definitely use a service like BackerKit. Offloading the support (failed payments/address changes/etc.), being able to update descriptions, send more than one survey, etc. is a godsend and also a much nicer experience for backers. Also strongly consider using a fulfillment service, international shipping is a huge pain to navigate. It’s not impossible to do all these things yourself, but it basically ends up becoming a full-time job for months.
If you’re not used to doing so many signatures at once consider signing bookplate stickers ahead of time (and then affixing them or just including them for the backer to affix) so you can pace yourself.
One idea for a stretch goal: More cover posing 😀 Signed cover pose photos could also be a reward.
James Kilbride
April 8, 2020 @ 10:35 pm
Definitely looks good to me. And I’d say see how things go and potentially offer up the 10k reward if you get enough response to justify it.
Think of other stretch goals too. Would pins or other things be of interest to folks? I could totally go for a Smudge pin for example..
Debbie
April 9, 2020 @ 4:28 pm
I can see the $10K donation if came with an in person book signing at a public venue like that person’s public library or a venue of your choice that raised money for their favorite charity.
I’m with Kowh, I think signed cover poses or a promise of new ones could ramp up your kickstarter funding.
Vera Nazarian
April 10, 2020 @ 11:17 am
Don’t forget to factor in shipping costs for all those rewards — it adds up fast, and eats into the total funds raised. And shipping books even via media mail is expensive.
Jeff
April 14, 2020 @ 12:03 pm
Remember to be up-front regarding your availability for any rewards that offer real-time communications with fans, or you may find yourself awake at 3am.
Kevin Hogan
April 14, 2020 @ 8:40 pm
As someone who gets paid monthly, I always appreciate a Kickstarter that spans two calendar months. I may not have budget available in (for example) the end of April, but I could set money aside from May’s if the Kickstarter runs a few days into May.