2011

[kajones_writing]

I started crowdfunding in July, after many set-backs. If it wasn't for my netbook harddrive failing I would have started before that. To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect. Crowdfunding wasn't something I knew much about, so the last six months have involved a lot of experimentation with different ideas, and it's been great fun. I haven't made a lot of money, but then I always knew that it would take time for people to get to know my writing, and me. My hope is that 2012 will be a year when I begin to earn.

Now that I've been doing this for six months I have a better idea of what I want to do and where I want to go with this. Posting my writing has been better than I ever thought it would be and people actually seem to like what I write. I don't think I ever expected that. Massive thanks go to ysabetwordsmith, who has been there since the beginning. I never thought that I would have someone like her involved in this and it's been wonderful. She's inspired me to write more, because she wants to read more; she's posted about me repeatedly in the hope that others will begin to read my work; and I hope that she continues that throughout 2012. I also have to thank forgottenspirits. She has been a friend, an editor, and also inspires me to write more. Some of her favourite collections are not the same as ysabetwordsmith's, which is something that I love, because it means I have a reason to keep working on everything.

Writing has always been important to me and I want to be able to keep doing this. I want more people to get involved with what I'm doing, because that's why I chose to crowdfund rather than take any other route. Everything I have set up this year has been an attempt to get people involved in what I write, to make them love the characters I write about, and fall into my worlds in the same way that I do. The more readers I have, and the more they get involved, the more I want to write, want to publish what I have written, and I don't think I ever would have had that if I had gone the traditional route.

There will probably be more experimentation during 2012, because I want to find the things that get people involved. I am hoping that more of my readers will prompt me, because I love writing to prompts. Random numbers also work. 2011 has been good. I hope 2012 will be better.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I started crowdfunding in July, after many set-backs. If it wasn't for my netbook harddrive failing I would have started before that. To be honest I wasn't sure what to expect. Crowdfunding wasn't something I knew much about, so the last six months have involved a lot of experimentation with different ideas, and it's been great fun. <<

Wow, six months! How time flies. You've produced an amazing amount of material in that time. I hope that your donations do increase, though as you said, it typically takes time for a project to build momentum.

>> Posting my writing has been better than I ever thought it would be and people actually seem to like what I write. I don't think I ever expected that. <<

*bow, flourish* Thank you. I love the high level of interaction in this project. It reminds me what my own supporters are getting out of my Poetry Fishbowl project, which has some ongoing series where people have helped with research and development.

>> Some of her favourite collections are not the same <<

Which ones are her favourites? That is good to hear.

I've noticed that it tends to happen in other big projects with a lot of subseries -- same in my serial poetry and aldersprig's fiction. It's nice when people pick out different things to support. Plus it spreads out the budget -- your series aren't competing directly with each other for just one or two people's spending money. I have some donors who have picked out a couple of favorite series that they sponsor regularly, and when I look at the series, there are different names for each along with some overlap. I think it contributes to the series developing unique flavors, too.

>>I want more people to get involved with what I'm doing, because that's why I chose to crowdfund rather than take any other route.<<

Crowdfunding is really about finding the right audience for your work. It's a chance to break outside the mainstream, if what you want to write and/or read is different than what is currently fashionable. Then if you can reach the people whose needs aren't being met by the mainstream, there is way less competition that you have to beat and you are likely to get more of their money. I keep telling people this every time I see someone complaining about how the Big House books/movies/etc. all suck.

>>The more readers I have, and the more they get involved, the more I want to write, want to publish what I have written, and I don't think I ever would have had that if I had gone the traditional route.<<

In this regard, I think that crowdfunding falls between fanfic (which runs entirely on audience enthusiasm) and conventional publishing (which runs almost entirely on money, an impersonal indication of audience interest). We get some money -- perhaps quite a lot, for superpopular projects like some webcomics -- and some audience interaction. So if one fuel source runs low, we might be able to keep going if the other feeds us also.