Alan R Marble

Well, not quite two weeks into the Kickstarter project and we've reached (and even started to exceed) our goal!  This means that the project will indeed fund come November 13 and we will proceed quickly with the necessary steps to publish.  Because the goal was met so quickly - and because we are now assured funding - we're comfortable spending a little money now to expedite the process and ensure that the hardcover edition goes out along with the paperback.  This should hopefully put the book into the hands of all our backers just in time for the holidays!

I've also gotten word from our cover artist, Maarta (http://mlaiho.daportfolio.com/), that the finished version of the cover art should be available tomorrow, and we'll get to make some font selections to get it all wrapped up.  We're also talking about some fun ideas for potential stretch goals for the Kickstarter project, and also to get the website rolling.  Blogspot has worked as a platform for the project thus far but we're soon to outgrow it and begin transitioning to a standalone website.

Things will begin moving quickly over the next few weeks.  I've been using the Kickstarter page as a sort of surrogate blog but I'll try to avoid that temptation and keep things more updated here in the meantime!

All right folks, the most crucial step in the pre-publishing process is upon us : our Kickstarter project is now up and running!  Here's the link : http://kck.st/RyMj4y

If you haven't been following along or just are not quite sure what Kickstarter is, let me take a moment to explain.  It's a service that allows people all over to generate some startup funds for creative projects - in my case, publishing a novel!  Anyone can peruse the project, learn more about it, and then make a financial pledge to get the project moving.  If the funding goals are met before the deadline, the project is funded and the backers get something in recompense for their pledge.  Everybody wins!

We are hoping to use the service to raise $1,500.  This money would be used to help pay for some of the initial costs of publication - the purchase of ISBNs, offset the cost of licensing artwork, some initial promotional/marketing costs, and the like.  Oh, and, of course, making sure that backers get the promised rewards for their contributions!

I'd like to take a moment to make something clear - if we fail to meet our funding goals, we aren't going to fail to publish the novel.  That is going to go forward no matter what.  The difference will be that in that case, we'll hold a private pre-sale to defray some of the more urgent costs, and have to put the other stuff, like marketing, off till I can handle the costs on my own.  Again, I will repeat - publishing the novel is not contingent upon funding, so don't worry about that!

All right, we've got that out of the way, so let's get down to specifics on what this means for you and how you can help!

First of all, every dollar counts.  If you'd like to contribute to the project but aren't really interested in the rewards, you can still pledge and opt to not receive the rewards (no idea why you'd want to skip out though!)  To that end, the project accepts pledges of as little as $1.  Even that's not a donation, and there's a reward for helping out no matter how much you can offer.

A lot of folks are looking for a way to pre-order the book, and this is how you do it.  There are a few different options available (paperback or hardcover, signed or not) as well as some nifty personalized rewards for more generous pledges.  Now, I understand that there might be some concern that the pricing here seems a little higher - that's sort of true, but not really.  Yes, the cost to pre-order a paperback copy is $15 while the list price is going to be $11.99.  But keep in mind that you get other rewards too, like the e-book copy, so it really evens out.  Plus the satisfaction of knowing you're helping out :)

If you can't help out with a pledge, that doesn't mean you can't help!  Exposure is just as important to the fundraising project as money.  Whether or not you make a pledge, the most important thing you can do is share the link to the Kickstarter page with as many people as you know, and ask them to do the same.  The more people who see it, the better chance of success.

If anyone has any questions about the fundraising, please ask and I won't  hesitate to answer!  Thank you, and wish us luck!

The Kickstarter project is soon to go live!  The page has been submitted for approval as of this morning; according to the FAQ on Kickstarter's page, they anticipate 1-2 days to review projects before they are approved to go live.  Since we aren't anticipating any issues - I'm quite certain that there's nothing about our project that violates the terms of service or is otherwise prohibited - we're looking at going live with the project no later than Wednesday.  Keep your eyes open for updates!

So obviously the Kickstarter project was not, well, kicked off over the weekend.  I still have to sit down and put the video together, something that's likely to come in stages over the week.  While it's no big deal that it didn't start this weekend, I do need to set a firm goal to have it in place and ready to go by next weekend, otherwise I run the risk of missing on some release goals and deadlines that I've set!

It was a fairly quiet weekend, and other than visiting family and participating in a 5K walk for the City of Hope, didn't get up to a whole lot.  Lazy weekends can be kind of nice.

I'm thinking it probably wouldn't hurt to do a little more with this blog than go on about the project and maybe put a bit more of a personal touch on it.  So tonight or tomorrow I'll be taking a little chance to discuss who some of my favorite authors are and how they have had an impact on me.

Well we have the first concept sketch in of the cover art!  It's all just an idea at this point, just to get a feel for direction and such but personally I rather like the composition!

Well, since it's now officially official, I'll go ahead and share that we've made a decision on our cover artist!

We're excited to have Maarta Laiho on board as our official cover illustrator!  You can check out her existing portfolio at http://mlaiho.daportfolio.com/, there's some neat stuff there.  We're looking forward to seeing what she comes up with for this project and will of course keep everyone in the loop.

Work on the interior layout is still under way.  I believe I've mentioned this before but I've settled on the 6" x 9" trade paperback with the white paper interior.  While I'm fond of the smaller, mass-market pocketbook size, the larger trade paperback is becoming a popular format and is printed on higher quality paper, so I think in the end it's definitely the way to go.

In addition to the paperback, a 6" x 9" hardcover is going to be published as a special edition for those who are looking to have something a little extra special.  This edition will be available only during the Kickstarter fundraising stage (or if that does not succeed a pre-sale event) and will not be going on sale afterward.  If the response to the paperback is good then I will offer up the hardcover for purchase, but it will be a second edition.  Only those lucky (and generous!) few who are willing to support me in the beginning will have access to this edition.

Stay tuned for exciting developments coming soon!

Not much to offer up in terms of  update on the project.  There will likely be a bit of a lull till this weekend, or whenever I get the preliminary sketches in.  I will need to start working on a video for the Kickstarter project though .. fun times ahead.

Been reading a few articles on promoting/marketing.  Whew.  There's a lot to it, and it's both exciting and daunting at the same time.  I suppose the relative success (or failure) of the Kickstarter attempt will dictate just how aggressive I can be with this angle.  I suppose in a way it's the hardest part for me - I've never been very keen on promoting myself - but that's the way it's got to be.  We'll get it figured out!

Not much more for now, so goodnight world!