Crowdfunding Your Book: Why Kickstarter Might Be the Perfect Launchpad, with guest JP Rindfleisch IX

Crowdfunding Your Book: Why Kickstarter Might Be the Perfect Launchpad, with guest JP Rindfleisch IX

Valerie Ihsan

Main Topic:  Crowdfunding Your Book: Why Kickstarter Might Be the Perfect Launchpad, with guest J.P. Rindfleisch IX

PATREON:

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Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Also, the Planner Plays and Monthly Reflections are always free for all members on my Patreon page. But I don't list them as Public", so click correct tier for updated links, dates, and cancellations.

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Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

  • (Valerie): creating content for marketing, preparing to warm up my ice cold email list by writing three personal stories in letter format to explain my absence and reengage with them, planning a three-part podcast series called The Book You Were Born to Write, so look for that coming up next week.

  • Trying to show up on IG every day. (Biz coach recs)

  • • Aligned Author: A bespoke book coaching journey for soul-led experts, creatives, and writers ready to channel their life's work into a living, breathing legacy.)  I created Aligned Author to provide a sacred space for authors to truly understand what has been holding them back, to learn how to merge the soul with the ego, to live and create in that duality, and to discover their own superpowers.

  • JP: 3 months FT author, TikTok shop main stream of income; The Alchemist Baker of Rosen--

  • Tidbit #1: • Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Main Topic):  Talking with guest JP Rindfleisch IX

ABOUT

Hi, I’m JP Rindfleisch IX—author of cozy, queer fantasy and strange fiction where whimsy meets the weird.

My stories often explore grief, transformation, and queer joy, wrapped in a little magic, a dash of mischief, and a whole lot of heart. I’m the author of Mandrake Manor and Mosswood Apothecary. I also co-write NRDS: National Recently Deceased Services, a paranormal comedy series, and the Leah Ackerman Dark Paranormal Academy Series.

I call Rockford, Illinois home, where I founded Rockford Area Writers, a growing community of 80+ local authors and creatives who support each other’s craft. When I’m not writing, you can usually find me wandering forest trails, stirring vegan kitchen witchery (potatoes-as-nacho-cheese is a specialty), or hosting writing sprints and cozy chaos over on Twitch as CheshirePope.

I live with a very opinionated husky and an even more talkative African grey parrot. Both have strong opinions about storytelling.

Thanks for stopping by. Make yourself at home—browse the shop, grab a tale (or two), and if you sit still long enough, I just might tell you a story.

Notes:

Let's talk about Kickstarters. Last month you had 338 backers pledge $18,040 for your first kickstarter.

All stretch goals met, funded in seven minutes ($1000)

Why crowdfunding? good feedback and engagement with Tapas (and Kindle Vella). Kickstarter backer himself.

Researched kickstarter by interviewing authors that had done it. Watch the kickstarters and how they interacted.

Sacha Black helped him with good advice. (Find her as author Ruby Roe.)

Campaign planning: tiers need to be financially responsible; stretch goals; What makes it special HERE on KS.

Steps to a Kickstarter (KS):

1. Set up "Notify me on Launch" to collect followers (sudo-preorder) (4 months to a year) Maybe the amount of followers is who pledged? You don't have to have all the pieces ready before hitting "pre" launch.

1.5  (order basic sample copy for physical imagery) before hitting Launch. (Optional)

2. Look for successful models on KS to copy as template. Use Canva for images needed. Six hours to upload copy and photos for all the add ons (backlist). (~20 hours total?)

3. To keep campaign active and live, update often (every two days). On Twitch every day to incentivize and hype. Live streaming on Twitch and IG to pitch fast. Find ways to grab people. Think through livestream campaigns in future so not repeating self. (Can have live stretch-goals and they don't have to be monetary.)

Hype is about showing up. TikToks everyday, and refining what say and ingraining what I want to say.

Productivity streams on Twitch helped practice those talking times in front of camera. Learned how to fill the dead air/space.

4. Backing drives ups the popularity of the campaign. (More backers = shows up in recommendations (for 1st time campaigners), and can get into categories (through review process). Projects we love list is great. Hype or backing helps it gets seen, and then KS sends emails to their list, too.

2nd campaigners get KS to email previous backers that you have a new campaign coming out.

5. Launch time: watching the numbers, handling messages and comments that come in, admin, verbiage changed for unlocks and photo switches, write updates.

Can use page after launch is over as a newsletter sort-of. Add links to updates to invite them to your newsletters. Opt-in to newsletter in final survey.

6. Tiers planning:

Think through what they will be, and how your backers will interact with that.

(Tiers from JP's campaign: Digital, PB special edition, HC special edition, HC with prints and stickers, resellers or clubs 5 copies, HC+painting and print. ) You want super-high tier because most people buy in the middle.

How long to run the campaign? 30 days max. (17-20 days average) Saggy middle/plateaus are common.

Miscellaneous:

Add-ons are different than stretch goals: All your backlist books should be add-ons.

Stretch goals can also fund (unlocked) add-ons.

Wanted to add artwork. Kickstarter helps prove people want your idea. Collector's editions.

Funding goal: what it would cost to print and ship the book. (Could include editing and cover design) Need to cost out the print run for a number to use.

Discoverability: Hard on KS. Twitch fans productivity stream become street team to build following on Kickstarter. Use Kickstarter for Authors FB group. (Like newsletter swaps/literary citizenship.)

Shop: https://shop.jprindfleischix.com

And don't forget:

Go to valerieihsan.com to schedule a free consultation to see if Aligned Author is right for you.

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