Can Crowdfunding Help Me Traditionally Publish My Novel?

Hi, Nicole O'Dell here, and I was asked that question as I launched  my own crowdfunding campaign. As I explored some answers, I was invited by the gracious hostess here at Seekerville to share them with you.

First of all, what is crowdfunding and why would someone try such a thing?

Crowdfunding is a super-risky, but potentially awesome way to make products available to the public. It pools the resources of the people who are most interested in either owning or supporting the development of a new idea or work. In my case, it would be the user of Powerline365 (my current campaign) or those who believe in the project and want to support it, who would fund--or buy in--at various levels. It's all done on a webpage that allows the creator to take donations or pre-sell a book/product in order to fund its creation.

Um...Great. But does it work for fiction?

So, I'll be honest. I found, as I suspected, that crowdfunding is really difficult with fiction. It's hard enough to do with non-fiction, but even more so with fiction because it's more difficult to appeal to a reader's need. But, that shouldn't scare you off! Look at the odds against a pre-published writer already!

When it comes to crowdfunding fiction. I'm not saying it can't be done, but you really have to think about how to effectively frame it to show off it's unique aspects, honestly evaluate the help you'll have in getting the word out, and consider your current platform to ensure the need is there.

For example: If you wrote a novel about someone who survives abortion, is given up for adoption, and then grows up to find a cure for cancer...you've got a lot to work with. You can appeal to people who have had abortions, people who have been involved in adoption, people who's lives have been touched by cancer. All of those can be used to trigger that felt need. And then, in your video (more on that in a minute, you could talk about how fiction breaks down walls because a reader approaches it with an open mind much more so than with non-fiction. You'd be appealing to people who want to help you speak out about a topic.

 

I decided to find some examples of some recent successful crowdfunding campaigns for novels just to prove it can be done:

 

Amish Appeal: Raised $10,500 of a $10,000 goal.

Disciple II: Raised $2,126 of a $2,100 goal.

Letters from a Martryed Christian: Raised $9,700 of a $9,000 goal.

 

How does this help me become traditionally published?

Ah! Great question. :) You see, you can frame this process however you'd like. What if you could take the results of a successful campaign TO a publisher and say:

"Hey, look. I have 1000 pre-orders and already raised the money for a great content editor on the front end. Plus, I plan to use some of the project funds to do some great marketing!" If traditional publication is your goal, why not consider putting yourself in a position where you have a lot of goodies to bring to the table? This is very much like when a publisher says, "Wow. That ebook has sold really well. Let's offer the author a contract." But, this is even better because those sales that will impress the publisher actually BECOME the publisher's sales if you frame it that way.

Am I recommending this as a great means to the sought-after end? No. I am simply offering another option on your road to publication. Only you can truly know which is the best way for you to go.

Where would one go to attempt such a thing?

The two main hosts are Indiegogo and Kickstarter. Kickstarter is bigger, but indiegogo has some different options that made it a better fit for me. Mainly, Kickstarter doesn't allow self-help books for some odd reason, but they do allow fiction. So that left IG as my only option. Another difference is that Indiegogo allows you to do fixed funding--you have to earn it all to get any of it--or flexible--you keep whatever you get. Fixed-funding projects earn a lot more and cost less, but they do carry more risk.

Both Indiegogo and Kickstarter make it very easy to actually set up the campaign. But they don't write the marketing copy or create a video for you (you'll see what I mean in a minute). This was a sticking point for me. If you're like me, it's much easier to write 10k words than 100 words. You'll find, as I did, that your copy will make or break you.

What if it fails?

We're writers. Haven't we all attempted a project or sent off a proposal only to be rejected? Well, think of potential failure as being a lot like that. You have the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before so you can avoid them. But your project could very well fail. As could mine.

We can't discount the power of prayer and what God is able to do. The following is from a recent blog post in which I describe four direct and miraculous answers to prayer. Here's one of them:

My crowdfunding campaign has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. That slow start had me questioning everything during a three-hour snow-shoveling ordeal. Had I heard from God? Was I doing His work or mine? Was I being taught a lesson? I became overwhelmed. Physically with the snow. Mentally with my current workload. Emotionally with the campaign. Spiritually with doubt.

So I prayed.

In response, GOD SENT ME A TEXT! A direct, specific, and immediate answer to prayer via text message. How cool is that? No, He didn't guarantee that the project woudl succeed and I'd collect all the funds I need (because if we fall short by even 1.00, we get nothing) but He did let me know that I'm in His will. That's all I needed. I pray the same reassurance for you, whether it's in your writing or in a funding campaign like mine. If you want to see a few other stories like that one, visit this post.

Ultimately, for me, and I suspect for you, it comes down to faith. Just like with writing, if you enter into a crowdfunding campaign, you have to be okay with public vulnerability and be able to work through the feelings that come with things not going as you'd hoped or expected. There are ups and downs during a campaign, just like during the writing journey as a whole.

Could you do it?

What questions or ideas do you have about a potential project of your own? I'm happy to talk them through here in the comments section.

GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment here to be entered to win a Spark30 devotional subscription!

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Here's some info about my campaign in case you're curious.

Powerline365

Plugging Parents of Teens into the Source

Powerline365 is a high-voltage, multi-format daily devotional to help parents raise Christian teens without losing connection.

Daily insight will ground you in truth as you plug into the Source. It's time for you to power-parent from a place of confidence and surrender, believing God's Word is true, and His promises will never go unfulfilled. 

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within [your teenager], will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6, NLT)

Nicole O'Dell is the founder of Choose NOW Ministries, bringing a message of hope for today's families through daily articles, weekly radio shows, and the printed word. A mother of six herself, she has authored 23 books for parents and teens, both fiction and nonfiction, all with the goal of helping the reader make good choices NOW.