In this video, I talk about why I'm launching Blood Vintage on Kickstarter, why the platform provides fantastic opportunities for backers, and helps authors make beautiful books. You can watch below or here on YouTube.
Hello everyone. I'm author J.F. Penn, and today I'm talking about —
What is Kickstarter and why am I launching my latest novel Blood Vintage on the platform?
If you've never heard of Kickstarter or never used it before, it's a crowdfunding platform where you can support creators to bring their projects to life.
It's a different way of shopping for interesting and unusual books and other products like a pre-order for special editions like this one.
You can support creators you already love, or find books from new creators you might never have heard of before.
Kickstarter has become an important part of the business of being an author these days. It enables creators to make beautiful books and limited editions, and also to make more money more quickly and retain a higher percentage of royalties rather than wait months or even years to get paid. This means we can keep writing the books you enjoy!
There are all kinds of different projects on the platform, from art and design to films and games and music, and of course there are authors creating beautiful books. You can find us in the publishing category at Kickstarter.com.
Campaigns usually run for a few weeks, and my campaign for Blood Vintage runs from 1st to 15th of October, 2024.
You can check out what's available and back at the level you want. You enter your credit card number at this stage, but you won't be charged until the end of the campaign and only if the creator makes their targets.
You can also get very special editions like the silver foil and sprayed edges of my latest hardback, Blood Vintage.
You can also get bonus content, merchandise, great value bundles, digital specials, print, exclusives, courses, early access, and so much more sometimes months before books are available on the platforms like Amazon.
You also get to connect with the author through updates and messages.
Once the campaign is over and fully funded, the creator will fulfill your order. This might be a special print edition like this or an ebook, audiobook, a bundle, a course, whatever rewards you pledged for.
The money is used to pay the printer for the books. Obviously with special editions that have foil and sprayed edges and a ribbon, you need to pay the printer more than you would do for something digital like an ebook.
But you might also pay the other creatives involved, like editors, cover designers, book designers, illustrators, audiobook narrators, and other creative people.
Why am I using Kickstarter for my latest novel Blood Vintage instead of just launching in the usual way on the usual platforms?
Well, in the same way that delicious wine is packaged inside a beautiful bottle with a lovely label, sometimes even in a box, I wanted to do my story justice by making a special first edition hardback that is only available for a short time.
This edition has silver foil on the dust jacket and also the interior hardback cover. It has custom wine inspired end papers, as well as the sprayed edges and a ribbon. I'll also be signing a limited number.
There are no other formats of the book available at the moment as Blood Vintage is out on submission, so this special hardback edition is the only version available as a limited release.
You can also get bundle deals of my other stories if you'd like to read more thrillers, horror crime or dark fantasy.
If you're a writer, you can join me for a live webinar on Discovery Writing as I don't plot my novels in advance, and I'll tell you all about how I do that. And there are also a limited number of consulting slots available.
You can find out more at JFPenn.com/bloodvintage, and the Kickstarter runs from 1st to 15th of October, 2024.
Even if Blood Vintage is not for you, go check out the other wonderful Publishing campaigns on kickstarter.com because you can get some brilliant books and other products and support creators directly.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Thanks for listening, and I hope to see you inside my campaign at JFPenn.com/bloodvintage.