AJ Walkley's Kickstarter Campaign

A.J. Walkley on Kickstarter

VUTO: A NOVEL ABOUT AFRICA, WOMEN & THE PEACE CORPS

Over the past two weeks, I have been living and breathing almost nothing but Kickstarter. 

I launched a campaign to fund the publication of my third novel, Vuto, on April 9th after about a week and a half of research and tweaks to my project. I set a goal of $3,000 to cover publication costs and figured it would be a challenge to meet that goal - but not an impossibility. The outcome thus far has exceeded my expectations to say the least!

By my ninth day, I had met and then exceeded that goal.

The speed with which this happened shocked me - despite my daily efforts to get my Kickstarter out to friends, family and fans, the statistics I had seen in my research noted that fiction projects specifically were very difficult to fund on this platform; less than 30% meet their goals. I was sure I could make at least half of my goal with the help of family and friends, but I figured the second half from strangers and potential readers would be more difficult to attain. I was expecting to get down to the last week of the campaign and dedicating every waking hour to getting to that $3,000 mark.

It turns out, that was not the case at all.

I've compiled the following tips that worked extremely well for me on this platform and will hopefully benefit the next fiction writer who aims to use Kickstarter to crowd fund their next book:

1. Reach out to friends, family and fans personally through email and direct messaging.

This is the #1 way to fund your campaign right off the bat. I think 95% of my current backers were attracted to the project and ultimately chose to donate as a result of direct, personal messages. It's time consuming, but WELL WORTH it! Also, don't restrict the people you message. When I started out, I was a bit hesitant to reach out to high school friends and past coworkers I hadn't spoken to offline in many years - but once I got over that hesitation, those same people ended up being some of my most generous backers!

2. Reach out to blogs to feature your Kickstarter campaign - and blog yourself!

I was able to secure three posts my first week and two my second week on various book blogs; I also wrote two blogs for The Huffington Post and kept people apprised of the project's progress on my own blog. I additionally set up an IAmA thread on Reddit for people to ask me any questions at all about my book that my project was funding. I'd suggest lining up at least two guest blogs or interviews each week your Kickstarter is up to keep people interested and to draw new viewers in. If you can do this prior to the launch, even better.

3. Offer rewards for multiple donation levels, starting at $1.

When backers can donate just $1 and get a reward (even just a postcard and a shout out on the creator's blog), more people will be willing to donate. Most people have a buck to spare and when they see that you are rewarding all donation levels starting at $1, some may be more willing to donate even more than that. I found this out from searching for other Kickstarter projects that I myself wanted to back - those with rewards starting at $10 or $15 were off-putting to me, while those with a minimum donation of $1 to $3 made me want to contribute more.

4. Feature your Kickstarter campaign on all of your social media platforms.

You should be posting on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube and your personal website. My web designer friend was able to make me a button for my home page within the first couple of days of my launch, directing visitors to my Kickstarter page. I also made sure I posted all of my project messaging across all of my active social media platforms on a daily basis.

5. Search Twitter for hashtags related to the content of your book.

While there are some people who believe tweeting to strangers to promote a crowd funding campaign is not a best practice, my experience has proven otherwise. My book, Vuto, takes place in Malawi, Africa; it centers on a Malawian woman and a female Peace Corps volunteer; and I would consider it to be in the Women's Fiction category. Thus, I searched for hashtags including #Malawi, #Africa, #women, #PeaceCorps and #amreading. Not only did I use these hashtags in my tweets about my Kickstarter, but I also tweeted to individuals who were utilizing such hashtags. I definitely garnered some followers and donations using this method.

I would be remiss not to mention the incredible support Rocket Science Productions (RSP) has provided me through this process. Not only has their advice been much appreciated, but RSP also offered one free eBook of several RSP titles to backers who donated during the first week of the campaign. This proved to be a great way to get me over my $3,000 goal on the last day this additional reward was being offered.

I am still learning more as my campaign continues - it ends the morning of May 9th. I'm excited about sharing more tips and tricks with my fellow authors and hope to be a source of advice to anyone who decides to use Kickstarter in the future.

www.ajwalkley.com

 ***Although this project is fully funded, donations are still welcome. Additional funds will be used for marketing, including but not limited to book tours and other events. ***

'What's next?' Q&A with author A.J. Walkley

Welcome author A.J. Walkley as she talks about her current project and her NaNoWriMo experiences.

Hi A.J.!  Can you tell readers a little about yourself and your books?

A.J.: My name is A.J. Walkley, author of such titles as Choice and Queer Greer. Choice is about the decision a high school student must make once she discovers she is pregnant, the plot following both her path to abort the pregnancy, as well as her path to keep her baby in alternative endings. Queer Greer tells the story of a girl in high school coming to terms with her bisexuality after she falls for both a boy and a girl upon moving to a new state and school.

What are you currently working on? 

A.J.: I have two projects in the works. Vuto, which I wrote the first draft of during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) 2011, tells the story of a Malawian woman who bucks tradition and must flee from her husband; a Peace Corps volunteer takes her in, leading to an attack by her husband and his accidental murder; the two women must flee, encountering physical, ethical and cultural struggles along the way.

I just finished the first draft of The Pileup during NaNoWriMo 2012; this book follows the stories of every passenger involved in an eight-car pileup on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles one morning, getting into their backstories as their fates in the massive accident are revealed.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A.J.: I was driving home one day and saw a car swerve in front of me when I realized the driver was on his cell phone. This got me thinking about what was so important that he had to read a text while driving. I thought it might be interesting to write a book that started with that premise and expanded from there.

What genre does it fall under?

A.J.: Probably just traditional fiction.

What is the one-sentence synopsis for your book?

A.J.: A pileup on the 405 in Los Angeles during morning rush hour reveals the lives of the passengers involved, forever connected by one of the worst accidents in recent history.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

A.J.: I’ve been seeing more and more stories in the media about terrible accidents and injuries caused by texting and driving, so I wanted to incorporate that message into a book in some way. As I wrote it during NaNoWriMo 2012, however, that message became overshadowed by the serious stories each of my characters were dealing with at the time they became involved in the car accident that was caused by a text. Now, it’s not so much a cautionary tale about texting while driving as it is a character-driven story in which that message is only one small factor.

I can imagine that there is a lot of research involved in writing The Pileup. What can you tell us about what the research process has been like and it's obstacles? 

A.J.: When writing a NaNoWriMo project, there is no time for research except for what is in your head already. I had years and years of watching terrible car accidents on the news to base my initial draft off of, so that was, in a sense, my "research." As for the ample amount of characters I chose to include, all of their individual accounts of the crash and their back stories just sort of came to me as I was writing, very organically. When I finished the first draft, I was actually surprised by what I had made the characters do and have happen to them. I almost felt like this story came from someone else!

I participated in NaNoWriMo before and one of the few negatives things that I have to say about it is that it took away from my being able to get to know and enjoy my characters like I usually do.   Do you think that NaNoWriMo limits what 'could be' in terms of research and character development or is that something which can be easily fixed during the revision process when you have more time to go back and add to the story?

A.J.: For me, I love the NaNoWriMo challenge simply because it forces you to write, write, write and not to worry about editing as you do, which leaves you with a pretty nice sized rough draft at the end of the 30 days. Because of the need to not edit, however, there are tons of details, especially character details, that need to be added and fleshed out in the weeks and months post-challenge. I am sure there are some writers who prefer to get those details down on the first run. In my writing, however, I find the revision process post-first draft to be a fine time to go back to the beginning and get into the nitty-gritty of it all. Oftentimes, it takes me the entirety of the first draft to really get a feel for who I want my characters to be, so this method works really well for me.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

A.J.: I think The Pileup would interest readers who enjoy reading books in which different characters take up varying chapters. I really enjoy writing such stories where each chapter is told from the perspective of a different person, eventually having all of those stories overlap and intertwine down the line.

'Queer Greer' is available on RSP LaunchPad, Amazon, Kindle, and Nook