In Which Marian Call is Remarkably Clear-Eyed and Sensible About Kickstarter Projects
Posted on August 31, 2015 Posted by John Scalzi 12 Comments
Musician Marian Call, who is currently Kickstarting her upcoming album, has written a long piece on her blog about what it takes to Kickstart a project, and — critically — throws in numbers and figures to back up her thoughts and comments. The result is a genuinely super-useful piece that should be required reading for anyone thinking of crowdfunding a project, no matter the size. Marian is very smart and very on point. Go learn from her.
On a personal note, Marian confirms that the amount of work involved in successfully pulling of a Kickstarter-like crowdfunding project is immense, which is a primary reason I have to date avoided doing anything like it. I can barely get it together to put on pants in the morning. To deal with the sustained effort of everything a successful Kickstarter project entails? Well, damn. I’d curl up in a ball and cry. There’s a reason I’m happy to be working with a publisher.
Also, did I mention that Marian’s most recent Kickstarter is still in play with just under two days to go from the posting of this entry? She’s a pretty awesome singer and songwriter. Maybe you should get in on this action, is what I’m saying. I have.
The e-book and Big River reviews are respectively, timely and hilarious. Well done, all! And, good well done!
“There’s a reason I’m happy to be working with a publisher.”
I’m sure there are a million of them.
Thank you for reminding me that it’s not too late to back Marian’s kickstarter. I didn’t do it when I first saw it, and I almost forgot to go back to it :-)
Pants in the /morning/? Wow!
I have caffeine pills for when I can’t find the coffee maker.
The problem is that publishers are a different huddle than a kickstarter. I have a good friend who has had several short stories published but can’t find a publisher for his first novel. He is going kickstarter because, even as much work as it is, it is something he can make happen with his own labor whereas he can’t create a publisher.
That KS link has been going around but I don’t want to click on it because I still haven’t fulfilled the last reward for my own KS from nearly two years ago.
Yeah, it was a crapton of work, both before hand and after. I was lucky in that mine was extremely successful, but even if I were somehow guaranteed another 500% of goal, I would prefer to go with a publisher. I sacrificed a lot of writing time making videos and budgeting and so on. I’d like to have that time back.
I have several friends who’ve run very successful Kickstarters, in some cases more than one, and they are in every case the hardest-working artists, musicians, writers I have ever known. And I know quite a few.
My friend Cait’s kickstarter hit its target in a couple days, but is still open.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/caitbrennan/25-years-in-five-days-the-debut-album-by-cait-bren
This reminds me of the one-question IQ test on the guide to flaming website. The question is, “Are you an internet troll?” If one answers yes, the result: “You have an IQ of 150. Congratulations! That’s genius level!”
@Harry I’m sure, as a backer of your Kickstarter, whoever hasn’t gotten their reward yet will forgive you. An update for them might be due. ;)
I backed Miriam a couple weeks ago when a friend backed her and it hit my radar, She runs a fantastic Kickstarter. I’m a bit of an addict so I’ve seen a lot of projects.
Absolutely agree. I’m self-pubbing my novel (available now! Buy many!!!) and looked at crowd funding. It was way more complicated and expensive than I wanted to deal with. Instead, I have figured out how much money I can afford to lose, and that’s my budget. If I actually make money – well, that will be a delightful surprise!
Thanks for linking this, and for previously linking the Doubleclicks’ similarly extensive Kickstarter How To. I expect to do a campaign sometime, in a year or two, but I know I’ll want my email list to be in the 5,000-10,000 range. Which it isn’t yet.