Becka's Notes

Just a heads up to say that the presale for the Dragon Wars Arc One is live. Thanks to aldersprig for being the first to back it. And also to Zoe Whitten and TheLadyisUgly for being only seconds beind Lyn. :-D Signal boosts greatly appreciated and yes that is me in the video on the page.

I tried to insert the widget but Dreamwidth is having none of it. So here's a link to the campaign page.

Follows on from this and this.

I need to do a worldbuillding or ficlet post to break these up. ;-D

Before I start I want t give a shout out for another weblit crowdfunding project. MCA Hogarth has a Kickstarter Campaign in progress for Spots the Space Marine.

I've been reading this post about perks on the IndieGoGo blog and it got me thinking about my perks again. The two insight posts it links to are also very useful.

So here's the list I have so far:

$1 - My eternal gratitude, regular updates on the project and a personal thank you email.
$5 - As above plus a code to get the ebook half price when it is released.
$10 - As above plus a copy of the ebook (your choice of format) a week before release. Your name in the manuscript credits.
$25 - As above plus a copy of the raw manuscript by email as soon as all edits are finalised.
$35 - As above plus a handwritten thank you card with a piece of character art on the front (this one depends on the price of commissioning such a piece)
$50 - As above plus a signed copy of the paperback posted two weeks before the official book launch date.
$100 - As above plus the right to name a minor character in the book. (Author's choice; character may not reflect namesake personally if you choose a name I'm already using for a major character I'll tell you and ask you to pick another).

Do you think that's enough? Do I need any perks above $100.

Introduction

IndieGoGo, for those of you who don't know, is a crowdfunding platform similar to Kickstarter but with two massive advantages from my point of view.

1. Unlike Kickstarter it's not all or nothing - so even if you don't fund fully you get whatever you raise minus fees.
2. It's open to UK peeps whereas Kickstarter is US only. I am, of course, a UK peep so this is kind of an important consideration.

So, I'm thinking of starting an IndieGoGo campaign in April (the new tax year for the sake of my sanity). However I suspect success requires planning, so here's the first of what is likely to become a series of planning posts. Signal boosts and comments are welcome (and indeed requested) as raising awareness before the campaign is also important.


Background

The project I am planning to do a campaign for is "Haventon Born" which is the first book of my Paranormal Fantasy weblit series "The Haventon Chronicles" which is posted on my website every Tuesday (I'm currently in the middle of chapter 8). The version on the site is not a first draft by any stretch (4th or 5th I think) and it's already gather quite a few readers who I see in my stats every week. I would eventually like to release it as an ebook and possibly even a print book. To make the release attractive to those who've already read it for free on my website it will also contain an exclusive short story - Moonlight and Memories - which is set in the same continuity. Before that I'd like to get both a professional story edit followed by a professional copy edit. A book release would also need cover art and layout work. These things cost money which I do not have. having watched the recent success of Meilin Miranda's Kickstarter Campaign it seems like a reasonable thing to try. It costs nothing, so I have little to lose. However I cartainly have less readers than she does so I'm not sure what my chances of success are (better than if I don't try I guess).


Potential Perks

So if I'm to do this I need to come up with some cool perks for various levels. I don't want to steal Meilin's wholesale. It would be rude and I doubt anyone would pay £1000 for a Skype chat with me anyway. However I do like the manuscript idea  - hopefully she won't mind if I borrow that. So here's what I'm thinking so far:

$1     My perpetual gratitude and regular updates.
$5     A code to get the ebook half price when it is released.
$10   An ebook copy in the format of your choice available one week before the official launch. (You still get the code for the half price one as well).
$25   As above plus a signed copy of the paperback version posted two weeks before the official book launch (I've set this at $25 in consideration of international shipping costs). Mention in the credits.
$40   As above plus the raw manuscript as soon as the editing is finalized.

This is as far as I've got so far and I really need some higher level ones. Once again suggestions are welcome.

Other Considerations

Publicity - I need a plan of attack to bring people to the campaign - any campaign will languish if no one is aware of it. I also need a campaign video - something I have no idea how to go about.

Target - I'm thinking $1500 much like Meilin's Kickstarter target. It seems like a good start towards costs.


What I Need To Know

If you are reading this could you take a moment to comment and answer the following questions.

1. Will you contribute to the campaign once I start it? (If yes, no need to say how much this is just about yays and nays)
2. Even if the answer to 1 is nay will you signal boost the campaign? (If so I would like to know where if you don't mind saying).

Wrapping Up

As I said above please signal boost this post if you're willing. More eyeballs will help build awareness before the campaign and that's very important. More eyeballs should also mean more feedback and that will help me create a better campaign and thus increase my chances of success.