a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 22, 2013
AJ Walkley's Kickstarter Campaign
A.J. Walkley on Kickstarter
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.
***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. ***
Monday, April 8, 2013
Happy Book Release Day to Ann Marie Kucic
Push You, Pull Me
by Ann Marie Kucic
Calandra-Callie-Evans is a typical fourteen-year-old freshman. She has an annoying little sister and a large list of expectations to live up to. She’s starting high school and has to learn the ropes some way or another. She may have expected all this homework and a gigantic book bag, but she never expected to bump into Jaysen Jackson the senior.
Jaysen Jackson is failing high school; or at least that’s what he wants to do. However, that may be a hard task to accomplish with his father being the superintendent of the school district and his father’s girlfriend being the principal of the high school. When he manages to bump into Callie, the interesting new freshman, he realizes that some of his hatred for ninth graders might not be as big as he once thought it was.
With Callie gaining new friends and enemies and Jaysen reconnecting with older ones, high school seems to be flying by for the both of them. They discover that some things in life aren’t so bad when you have someone to push while you pull. But, when two people are trying so hard to help each other, someone is bound to get hurt.
Jaysen Jackson is failing high school; or at least that’s what he wants to do. However, that may be a hard task to accomplish with his father being the superintendent of the school district and his father’s girlfriend being the principal of the high school. When he manages to bump into Callie, the interesting new freshman, he realizes that some of his hatred for ninth graders might not be as big as he once thought it was.
With Callie gaining new friends and enemies and Jaysen reconnecting with older ones, high school seems to be flying by for the both of them. They discover that some things in life aren’t so bad when you have someone to push while you pull. But, when two people are trying so hard to help each other, someone is bound to get hurt.
Happy Book Release Day to Lewis Stockham
Overdue
by Lewis Stockham
Libraries have been around for centuries. Just like many other institutions in our society, they have changed and grown as society has changed and grown. Based on his personal experiences and stories he has collected, Lewis Stockham reveals the reality of working in the modern public library.
Libraries are not always quiet and peaceful. They can be loud, crazy and full of quite colorful characters. The stories contained in this book are meant to entertain but also to inform people. Stockham blends wit, humor, and his own philosophy into these unique experiences.
Libraries are not always quiet and peaceful. They can be loud, crazy and full of quite colorful characters. The stories contained in this book are meant to entertain but also to inform people. Stockham blends wit, humor, and his own philosophy into these unique experiences.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
God and the Garden – Devotionals for Fruitful Living by Lilka Raphael
Lilka Raphael, author of P is for Prayer - A Devotional, now has a new title available! God and the Garden was released on March 30th.
About God and the Garden:
One of the most pivotal events in the Bible occurred in a Garden. God placed Adam and Eve in a garden. It is in the context of a garden that we too can examine God’s care of us and how gardening principles applied in our own lives can allow each of us to reap the bountiful harvest God intends.
Sometimes we need to recognize when pruning may be necessary to promote better growth. Other times may require that we weed out a few things or even better establish our roots to bring about the changes that will promote us on our proper path.
Sometimes we need to recognize when pruning may be necessary to promote better growth. Other times may require that we weed out a few things or even better establish our roots to bring about the changes that will promote us on our proper path.
There are times in our lives we may each need a bit of Miracle Grow and at others we may need more Pest Control. Sometimes we may have to endure stormy weather and at others we require help navigating our clear skies.
No matter what season you may be in, God and the Garden will help you explore how to make the most of it. Topics such as reaping and sowing, being fruitful and digging deep will prompt you to search yourself and seek God’s very best.
Man may plant or work the land but it is truly God who makes a garden grow. You don’t have to wait for another season. There are changes you can make in your own personal “garden” right now. Reap. Sow. Weed. Prune.
Bloom where you are planted now.
God and the Garden is available on paperback and ebooks
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Insatiable - A Mermaid's Curse - Chapter 1 Sneak Preview
Insatiable - A Mermaid's Curse
Chapter One Sneak Preview
He’s smiling
down at me and all I can do is look away.
Happiness seems to be such a rare emotion for him, it always has, and I
know it’s only a matter of time until I become the one responsible for that
smile turning into something dark.
He places
his finger under my chin, lifting my head up. “Well, do you regret it?” he asks.
I want to
tell him the truth, that I don’t regret it, that I’d rather have had one day
with him than none at all, but the words don’t come out at first. I take a deep breath and I know that I
have to lie. I have to push him as
far away from me as I can, because I have no other option. So I focus on the part that I do
regret. I focus on the fact that
when offered my dreams to be made true, consequences didn’t even cross my
mind. Not just consequences to
myself, but I also never once stopped to think about how my choices would
impact those around me, how they would impact him.
All I can
think is that my next words are going to shatter everything that both of us
have lived for in the past few weeks.
***
There was only one thing that I ever wished for: to
be human. I always felt like I
didn’t belong. My dad used to tell
me stories about the human world and how lucky I was to live in a place even
humans considered magical. I used
to believe that to be true.
Everything seemed so fun: swimming all day, seeing the different colors
around, and exploring the ships that ended up on the bottom of the ocean. One day, I stopped feeling like that.
My dad and I lived near an island, which seemed to be
owned by one family only; after all, they were always the only ones there. Every summer when they came, I would
swim as close to the island as I could and hide behind the rocks to watch
them. I wasn’t trying to be
creepy, I was just curious about their world.
Years ago, when I was eleven years old, I was hiding
behind the rocks when I saw the boy who looked a little older than me. He seemed so mad. I saw a woman coming out of the house
yelling, ‘Blake! He didn’t mean
it!’
The boy just ignored her and ran toward the other
side of the island. That was the
day my life changed. I hated what
I was because I wanted to go after him and see if he was okay, but I couldn’t.
All I could do was swim back as fast as I could and
hide in one of the wrecked ships that wasn’t too far away from my home. I was so mad about what I was and how
limited I was because of it, that I didn’t want to see anyone.
I finally decided to go home when it started to get
dark. It was only a matter of time
before dad decided to send the whole kingdom to look for me.
On the way back, I ran into my friend Desiree. Like me, she liked to watch the humans
every once in a while. She came to
tell me the humans were leaving and to ask if I wanted to watch them go. I told her I had to get back and that
was it.
That was the last time I saw him that summer, but
they always came back.
Year-after-year, I watched the boy come back to the island. I knew that whenever he was alone, he
was the saddest being I had ever seen.
I also knew that there were a few things that always made him smile. He loved reading and writing, spending
time with his younger brother, and years later, his little sister. I caught
myself laughing with them several times, as he played with her at the
beach. And then there was this
year, the most horrible year of my life… the year I turned eighteen. That was when I saw him with a
girl, both lying down on a blanket at the beach, and I felt things that I had
never felt before. When he leaned
on top of her and I saw his lips touching hers, I wanted to be that girl. I wanted to have legs instead of a
stupid tail. I wanted to be the
one he kissed.
Kindle
Nook
Paperback (signed copies - likely to ship before 3/30)
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Tips on getting your book reviewed
Getting readers to leave a
review on Amazon is not easy. In fact, people are generally more likely
to leave a review for a product when they don't like it.
Here are a few tips to get
more reviews on Amazon and other websites, and have some fun in the process!
Host giveaways where the
reader is entered to win a prize for each review left. Giveaways are fun
for both the author and reader. You can giveaway something as simple as
signed bookmarks.
Contact book bloggers to ask
for a review. Remember to checkout their blogs for review guidelines.
Keep in mind that bloggers usually have hundreds of books to review and
it may take a few months before they can get to yours. Contact them as soon
as possible, before your title release.
Ask friends and family to
leave an honest review.
Trade reviews with other
authors. Ask them to review your book in exchange for a review of their
book.
*We recommend asking the
reviewer to share their review on Amazon, RSPLaunchPad, and GoodReads.
Although those are the main places, it is always helpful to have the
review posted everywhere your book is available.
**Ask reviewers if they
accept an ebook instead of paperback for review.
(If you need help contacting
bloggers or has questions about getting reviews, please email us at marketing@rocketscienceproductions.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)