Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Down to the Wire


As I write this, there are 61 hours left on the Torment: Tides of Numenera Kickstarter and they have raised $3,424,278...oh wait...$3,424,752...no it's now...$3,424,787.  Well who knows how much it will be by the time I post this blog entry, but it'll be a lot.

Also as I write this there are 41 hours left to go on the Hollow World Kickstarter and I have raised $24,643. While I'm a backer of the first, I obviously am more interested in the later, and while it has only earned a tiny fraction of what Torment has, I'm very pleased with the result. In fact, to say that the project exceeded my expectations would be a huge understatement, and I want to thank everyone who has contributed to its success.

This has been a real eye-opening experience for me, and I hope other authors will start to use Kickstarter as well. So it was very interesting that when I looked at the "Popular this Week in Fiction" list I found these three titles:



Each one of which is being done by a traditionally published author. I'm so glad to see others taking advantage of this technology to connect directly with readers.

When you look at most of the projects on Kickstarter, games and movies are the big earners. In fact the highest earning Kickstarter for Fiction was only $75,457 (for an enhanced ebook application). As it stands right now Hollow World is:
  • #14 in most funded fiction projects 
  • #4 in most funded novels
We are just $357 away from the stretch goal which will provide backers with signed Riyria bookmarks, and one of my short stories.  If we earn $2,389 in the next two days then Hollow World will take the #1 spot for most funded novels.  It seems like a lot to do in 41 hours but considering $2,808 has come in the past three days it's not inconceivable.

The Kickstarter offers a variety of funding levels and you can choose your format (ebook, paperback, or limited edition hardcovers). For those that haven't been following the progress so far we've unlocked 10 stretch goals...10!  While the primary perk of being a backer is getting your copy early (six to seven months before the January 20, 2014 official release), there are some other perks for contributors. This is what we have so far:
  • A 24" x 36" poster for everyone who buys a printed book (ebook only orders can get the poster free in the US or if they pay for shipping for those who are overseas)
  • 3 signed Hollow World bookmarks
  • All those receiving a print book will get free DRM ebooks
  • All those receiving a hard cover book will get a bonus trade paperback and their DRM free ebook 
  • A bonus short story from me
  • Acknowledgements in the book for helping to make Hollow World Possible
  • Hollow World screen savers for computers, iphones, and ipads
Also there are raffles for bonus prizes.  The number of "tickets" in the raffle are based on the dollars contributed and while more prizes may be added if we hit more stretch goals this is what we have now:
  • An original watercolor painted by Marc Simonetti
  • 4 chances to appear in one of my books or short stories (I'll use either your name or create a character based off of you)
  • 6 chances to receive the ORIGINAL Crown Conspiracy (that I made even before it was published by AMI - where were only 300 of these printed and they've never been made available for sale)
So if you want to get in on Hollow World - act fast. Only those that pre-order will be able to get the book in June/July everyone else will have to wait until the official release on January 20,2014.

And for those who have already contributed....again my thanks for making this so successful...now I have to go back to proofing The Rose and the Thorn.

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