How to Publish a Book on Kickstarter

Are you an author looking to use crowdfunding as a means of getting your book out there to the masses? 

Non-traditional methods of book publishing have been on the rise, as authors are looking for ways to cut out the middleman (the publisher) who might be restrictive in what they publish. 

Kickstarter is leading the pack as an alternative method of book publishing for writers and illustrators everywhere, and your book could be the next great success story! 

In this article, we’re giving you a comprehensive guide to Kickstarter book publishing to give you an idea if this non-traditional approach is right for you. 

Ready to get your passion project on readers’ eyeballs everywhere? 

Let’s find out how! 

What Kind of Books Are Successful on Kickstarter? 

The most successful Kickstarter book of all time — The Way of Kings 10th Anniversary Leatherbound Edition — raised over $6.7 million from almost 30,000 backers to bring the project life. 

This fantasy book, written by Brandon Sanderson, sought to “turn [his] stories into a library of beautifully-produced books that go beyond the usual specifications of everyday paperbacks and hardcovers.” 

In other words, Sanderson worked to bring his project to life beyond what publishers were capable or willing to take on, which ignited interest from his readers. 

Here’s the deal — unless you’re an established author — you’re probably not going to be able to raise millions of dollars for your book. 

And you aren’t expected to. Many book projects set a campaign funding goal between $10,000 and $50,000, which is a much more reasonable endeavor. 

Based on our research, the types of books that most commonly receive funding on Kickstarter are: 

• Fantasy / Sci-Fi stories 
• Biographies, memoirs, self-help and non-fiction explorations 
• Children’s Books 
• Non-traditional books that break down genre boundaries 

Notice that literary fiction and poetry are not on the list. That doesn’t mean it can’t happen (it does, on rare occasions), but in most cases, people aren’t willing to take a chance on backing a traditional work of fiction or poetry, especially for a first-time author. 

That doesn’t mean that you can’t try to get your literary fiction published on Kickstarter, it just means that you might have a bigger wall to climb. Keep in mind that someone could walk into any bookstore and find thousands of fiction novels from people that they don’t know — so what makes yours any different? 

Unless you can prove (not to be confused with say) that your literary fiction is especially unique, revolutionary, or groundbreaking in some way, the Kickstarter community might not be your ideal audience. 

The Benefits of Publishing on Kickstarter 

Now that we’ve gathered an understanding of what types of books are typically successfully funded on Kickstarter, let’s get into some of the benefits of self-publishing on the platform. 

Self-publishing allows you to control everything, including: 

• Copyediting 
• Layout design 
• Printing 
• Distribution 
• Marketing 

Sounds pretty awesome to have total creative control, right? We agree with you. 

Here’s the catch: with control over everything comes responsibility for everything. With the traditional publishing route, much of this is going to be taken off your plate.

If you’re just looking to do the writing and leave everything else to someone else, traditional publishing might be the route for you. 

But if you want to have your full creative vision implemented and you’re up for the challenge, Kickstarter could be a great option. 

The publishing game can be a dirty business. While writing seems very romantic in theory, the process of actually publishing can be extremely cutthroat — especially if you don’t have connections in the industry. 

First off, with a traditional publishing route, you’re going to need to find a literary agent to shop it around. Not only can it be difficult to find an agent that will take you on, but it’s also very difficult to cultivate a healthy relationship with a book agent. 

Literary agents are trying to get your book sold — not necessarily bring your creation to life in the way you’d envisioned. You lose a good deal of creative control by passing your book off, which, as we mentioned, has its benefits and drawbacks. 

Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Publish a Book on Kickstarter

So — you know what kind of books are typically backed on Kickstarter, and you’ve decided that you want to rise to the task of taking care of responsibilities that usually fall on the publisher. 

First of all — congratulations! This process is going to be highly rewarding, whether you get funding or not. 

Let’s give you some step-by-step instructions for launching a Kickstarter campaign to publish your book so that you can be prepared to be as successful as possible. 

1. Create Hype Around Your Campaign Pre-Launch (And Know Your Numbers) 

When it comes to Kickstarter, you want to start trending on the platform as fast as possible. This will allow you to rank higher in Kickstarter algorithms, give you the opportunity to be featured in the Kickstarter newsletter, and ultimately get more backers to your campaign page. 

In order to trend, you’ll want to go after a large initial funding dump in the first couple of days of your campaign. 

You do this by cultivating a dedicated pre-launch strategy that creates hype around your campaign before it even starts. You want to get people chomping at the bit to back your project! 

To get some great information about running a Kickstarter pre-launch, check out this video. 

As a quick overview, your pre-launch strategy should include: 

• The building of an email list
• Implementing a social media strategy
• Calling upon friends & family for support 

We know what you might be thinking: 

I’m a solitary writer! I don’t have rich friends or Twitter followers. 

And hey, this might be true. This is why some writers use publishers to market their books for them. 

But keep in mind — this is your dream project. It’s time to pull out all the stops, call on everyone you can, and let go of the fear that is holding you back.

The worst thing someone can say is no, and whether you believe it or not, you can survive! 

It’s also important to know your numbers before setting your Kickstarter funding goal. That means busting out the spreadsheet (we know — this is a scary word for writers) and considering what it’s going to take to actually bring this project to life such as:

• Cost of editors 
• Cost of materials 
• Manufacturing of your book 
• Fulfilling and delivering the book to backers 

Once you know how much all of it is going to cost per unit, you can start building rewards for your backers to choose from. For publishing projects, your rewards can include things like: 

• The book itself (obviously) 
• Behind-the-scenes access to your writing process 
• Lunch/coffee/call with you, the writer 

Think up creative ways to get your potential backers engaged and emotionally provoked by your rewards offerings! And if you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, look at what successful book campaigns have come up with in the past.

You’ll learn a lot by researching other campaigns! You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. 

2. Build Your Campaign Page 

Now that you have executed your pre-launch strategy and crunched the numbers, it’s time to actually build out your campaign page before going live on Kickstarter. 

This is another opportunity to research other campaigns before you get started. What strategies are successful publishers before you using? 

As a general outline, your campaign page should have: 

• An engaging title and subtitle that promises something to the reader 
• A Kickstarter video that provokes emotion and encourages readers to learn more 
• Images, gifs, and other engaging materials that attract the eye
• Copy that gives a general outline or description of the plot / topic / concept of your book (without giving it all away!) 

Remember that with your campaign page you are also going to have to: 

• Set rewards tiers 
• Set your funding goal 
• Set your campaign duration 

To learn more about all the intricacies of building a campaign page, check out this helpful article.

Remember that an awesome, clean, and provocative campaign page is the difference between someone being interested in your project and clicking away and actually converting to buy your book. 

Don’t give them the chance to click away! You’re a writer — you know what it means to build suspense and tell a great story. Your campaign page is no exception. 

3. Launch Your Campaign and Be Interactive 

Now that you’ve: 

1. Built out your pre-launch strategy 
2. Set up your campaign page 

You are officially ready to launch. 

Unfortunately, once you hit the Go Live button, that doesn’t mean you can just toss your legs up and watch the pledges roll in. You have to remain active throughout the duration of your campaign. 

That means: 

1. Sending out frequent updates on Kickstarter to talk about the progress of the project. 
2. Replying to comments on your campaign page, whether they be questions, concerns or compliments. 
3. Continually working to push traffic to your campaign page with your email list, social media accounts, and personal outreach. 

Expect an initial dump of funding at the beginning of your campaign, a plateau over the middle portion, and another spike near the end due to urgency. 

You’re either going to reach your funding goal or you’re not. On Kickstarter, you can’t keep the funds unless you reach your goal. 

If you don’t meet your fundraising goal, that doesn’t mean you’ve failed — especially if you’ve done your research and put your best foot forward. You can always relaunch another campaign or go after a different self-publishing strategy! 

Conclusions 

Publishing a book — whether it be through a traditional publisher or in a non-traditional self-publishing format such as Kickstarter — is a lot of work. 

We hope that this article has helped you to garner a better understanding of what it’s going to take to publish your book with crowdfunding so that you can go forth with confidence and bring your project to life. 

Feeling like you could still use some help? 

Book a coaching call with me to learn more and get specific suggestions on your particular book project. 

I’ve helped tons of creators in the past bring their projects to life through successful Kickstarter campaigns, and I’d love to work with you! 

Good luck on your endeavor — we need authors like you in the world, and we support you!