It is a fun new age, right? I mean, sure, Kickstarter (and crowd funding) has been around for a minute now—so long that sometimes it’s hard to remember exactly how interesting, unique, and exciting these things are. I love Kickstarted specifically because it’s made such inroads that it’s now NORMAL for readers to connect directly with an artist using it.
That’s just great fun.
I’m thinking a lot about this because as Brigid and I go about finishing the work of fulfilling or really cool FAIRIES AND FASTBALLS Kickstarter, for Curveball Cursed (book 2 of the series), I’ve also been working on 1100 Digital Stories in an Analog World, which is another fantastic project of the heart, and collects up the first twelve stories from my career writing for Analog. It’s coming together. I’m hoping to launch it in the next week or two.
I’m thinking about Kickstarter in this way because without Kickstarter (or more appropriately without the amazing people who back new projects using it’s interface), I’m not sure either book could have come about—and even if they could have, they would not have the same opportunity to shine. The greatest thing about being an Indie writer is that you get the ability to interact directly with people who buy and read your work. In the past two days, for example, since we made a small error while fulfilling Curveball Cursed, I was able to step up and fix things for two readers. Both were great to work with and expressed excitement for the books. I was worried about the error—because who wouldn’t be—but the interaction was fantastic, and with luck those two readers now know a bit about us. That being that we are (1) human, and that (2) we care.
And, as a writer, it was heartening to feel their excitement for the story.
Obviously, traditionally published writers have moments where they are interacting with the public, too. I think that’s a fact of being a writer in today’s modern world even more than in the past. But the thing with being an Indie is that this kind of interaction is so much deeper. Very primal, really. I’ve dabbled a toe in the traditional writer’s space over the years—gone to conventions, done signings, sat on panels. All the stuff. And that’s great. In bits, anyway. But the connection I feel with readers during the event of a Kickstarter, and then in fulfillment is just more intimate. I like that I see names. I like that. I like that in the (hopefully few) times that I screw up, I get the chance to make people right again. In an odd way, those errors then become chances to make the bond with them even stronger.
Anyway. That’s what I’m thinking this morning as I work to finish fulfilling Curveball Cursed, and as I work to put the final touches onto 1100 Digital Stories in an Analog World.
If you’re interested in learning more about that book, the project preview is live. From there, you can sign up to be notified when the project goes live—which I hope will be somewhere around the middle of the month.
Hope to see you there!