Can Kickstarter Publishing Work For Self-Published Authors?

crowdfunding and kickstarter publishing

Crowdfunding and Kickstarter publishing are not top of mind for most self-publishing authors.

Almost all concentrate on Amazon KDP, Lulu, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital distribution to generate ebook and book sales.

However, some authors are finding success through Kickstarter crowdfunding for publishing books.

Here are a few statistics.

What does Kickstarter publishing do?

Kickstarter announced that over the last seven years, $100,000,000 had been raised for Kickstarter book projects. Some of the statistics are quite staggering.

Kickstarter Publishing Statistics (28 April 2009 — 10 August 2016)

Amount pledged: $100,000,000
Projects launched: 33,009
Projects successfully funded: 9,660
Creators who have launched more than one successfully funded Publishing project: 608
Successfully funded creators who have backed at least one other project: 6,414
Number of backers: 1,226,438
Number of countries/territories those backers have come from: 211
Number of times they have pledged to a project: 1,673,631
Number of publishing projects supported by the backer who has pledged to more publishing projects than anyone else: 364

Not all projects on Kickstarter reach their funding goal.

But a little under 30% of launched projects have raised enough money for the project creators to fund their publishing projects.

That is not a bad ratio of success.

 

Success by genre

However, the breakdown of launched projects by category shows that publishing is a wide field.

A breakdown of projects by sub-category:

Academic: 660 projects launched
Anthologies: 231 projects launched
Art Books: 2,103 projects launched
Calendars: 198 projects launched
Children’s Books: 5,349 projects launched
Fiction: 8,009 projects launched
Literary Journals: 195 projects launched
Nonfiction: 7,170 projects launched
Periodicals: 1,129 projects launched
Poetry: 1,189 projects launched
Publishing: 5,020 projects launched
Radio & Podcasts: 778 projects launched
Translations: 116 projects launched
Young Adult: 607 projects launched
Zines: 255 projects launched

What is missing from all this good news data is, of course, the ratio of success between launched and fully Kickstarter funded projects by each individual category.

Obviously, a successful Kickstarter publishing campaign does not guarantee a bestselling book.

Unfortunately, Kickstarter didn’t provide this statistic.

 

Can you succeed with crowdfunding?

From the data, it would seem that a little less than one project in three gains full funding.

But I would hesitate in concluding that this ratio holds true for fiction projects that launch a Kickstarter campaign.

The success stories quoted below by Kickstarter tend to highlight children’s books, anthologies, translations, and illustrated works.

Independent publishers are looking to Kickstarter to gauge interest, experiment, connect directly with readers, and create beautiful books with high production values. Examples include Restless Books’ expertly illustrated edition of Don Quixote, Copper Canyon Press’s edition of recently discovered, previously unpublished poems by internationally beloved poet, Pablo Neruda, and the gorgeous hardcover editions of John Crowley’s new translation of The Chemical Wedding, published by Kelly Link’s and Gavin Grant’s Small Beer Press.

Traditional publishing wisdom says anthologies don’t sell, but on Kickstarter, the anthology sub-category has the highest success rate in the Publishing category (65%), raising more than $1.2 million. Two great examples are Fresh Romance— a romance comics anthology, and Gigantic Worlds — an anthology of sci-fi flash fiction.

Children’s Books have been a particularly bright spot. Titles like The Octicorn, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, Augie and the Green Knight, The Princess Who Saved Herself, and The Wonderful World of Creatures and Code have become part of bedtime routines at homes around the world.

Should you investigate crowdfunding for publishing?

Of course, all options are worth considering for any creative project.

I would recommend that you read the Kickstarter Basics as a starting point.

Then do more research on the viability of crowdfunding for your publishing goals, as well as investigate the many other crowdfunding platforms on the Internet.

 

Related Reading: Learn How To Test Market Your Book Using Self-Publishing

2 thoughts on “Can Kickstarter Publishing Work For Self-Published Authors?”

  1. I help indie authors utilize crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo to launch their books and the most underestimated aspect is the amount of work involved to be successful.

    These crowdfunding platforms are becoming more popular making it difficult for authors to stand out.

    However, despite the platforms’ growing popularity, readers still don’t visit crowdfunding platforms looking for books and they are unfamiliar with backing projects and frequently leave without clicking on anything.

    It’s a very tough approach but can be done successfully with a lot of research, preparation, and effort.

  2. It sounds like yet another get rich quick scheme to me. Not for the benefit of the hard working, often desperate writer. Rather for the many leeches lying in wait, promising the world, yet deliver damn all…

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