Kickstarter - Who needs publishers?

[GA Russell]

Here's an article from Thursday's Toronto Globe & Mail about a website called Kickstarter which allows authors to raise money to publish their books independently.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2346322/

[astrangerhere]

I have participated in funding a number of independent short films through Kickstarter. They also provide a means for game developers to get start up funding to publish independent game titles.

[CRussel]

I participated in a Kickstarter project for a fantasy genre author whose previous work I'd read. The process was clear and the goals set were reasonable and achievable, with appropriate rewards for each level of participation. The result will shortly be a book, and I'm sure both the contributors and the author are quite happy with the process.

The key here is that the author set a reasonable and achievable goal for funding the project, and set appropriate and interesting rewards for different participation levels. In the end she was fully funded and then some, and has done a good job keeping everyone up to date on progress. I'm sure it was more work for her, but I also suspect it will go a long way to solidify a base of committed readers, definitely a good result.

[anamardoll]

I participated in the Order of the Stick kickstarter and that adventure game that everyone is talking about these days. (Can't remember the name at the moment.) It's been fun and I love the idea. It definitely requires a prior audience, I think, though.