The Kickstarter Thread

[Senji]

I think it also boils down to the incentive rewards. Along with what Inkthinker said and I agree with everything he pointed out, you'll probably need to create limited edition 'Kickstarter' rewards that are pricey but hold some sort of unique value. There are fans out there that are willing to pledge for these incentives, its a way for them to support the creator and fund future production.

I've noticed that it's common to see a $200-500 pledge incentive for promising to immortalise a pledger's likeness as an actual character in the comic, so that might be interesting. I've also seen limited edition posters or original sketches that shoots a campaign past their goal line. But at the end of the day, I think it's the actual comic art/story and the way its presented after all you're there to pitch and create a comic that people will want to read and purchase. If its not interesting you won't go far in the campaign.

You can only go far on fuelling your project with Kickstarter's generously curious pledgers. Instead you should focus on creating something that everybody wants.

[hadesillustrations]

Hades, you forgot to account for printing costs.

No, the idea is to pitch to a publisher prior and have them handle printing, mass advertising and distribution. The distribution and advertising is where an established publisher like Image will play a key role, as well as printing the book. I'm most concerned with the content production being up to par. I wouldn't bother with that though until I have some contracts signed with a publisher.

[SHAMWOW!]

What i want to know is kickstarters that already ready to print or within close range...what printing company do they use to print.. ,like whatvdid order of the stick used..sulluvan sluggers and other succesful one of their not having darkhorse or image helping them

[weirdozhead]

I'd bet these guys could handle the job: http://www.qg.com/

If you can run a successful kickstarter you don't really need a publisher that I can see. The distribution is already handled for you (assuming you're selling the book as a reward), of course you will need to deal with the printer yourself as well as shipping out the books to all your customers, you could probably hire some minimum wage help for this

[scmarooney]

No, the idea is to pitch to a publisher prior and have them handle printing, mass advertising and distribution. The distribution and advertising is where an established publisher like Image will play a key role, as well as printing the book. I'm most concerned with the content production being up to par. I wouldn't bother with that though until I have some contracts signed with a publisher.

This is something I hadn't really considered up to reading this. Does anybody know if any of the current comics being published by Image or any of the smaller (ie: non Big-2 comics) comic publishers had their genesis as a kickstarter funded project?

[hadesillustrations]

Yeah - there's been a few. The one's I've seen were by guys that had already published with Image. They were just looking for funds to pay their collaborative creators. I had great success with my Preview Issue of Brass Falcon - we went through a Canadian printer, http://www.sipscomics.com/ - they did an excellent job, were inexpensive and on time. The issue with printing the book yourself is one of marketing. If you're ok with just Kickstarter customers buying the book, then great, you're all set. But, if you have delusions of grandeur, like me, then you want to sell books to people that don't know you're on Kickstarter as well. I want to sell 20,000 copies of whatever book I'm producing. That's a tall order and unlikely to happen, but I like to aim high with my goals.

Using my example from earlier if I want to add print cost and paying both myself and the writer:
I'd take $100 per page for me, plus covers ($9600) and the writer would get $50 per page ($4600).
Printing cost would likely be $.60-.80 per book at the 5-10,000 copies level. Let's plan for 10,000 at $.60 =$6000.
That's an additional $20,000 added to the already $14000.

Are Kickstarter funds really asking for $34,000 to make a comic book? Are these rates too high - should there be some planning for payment on the backend? The profit each issue would make, assuming a price of $4 per book distributed through Diamond would be $1.40 per issue. If all 10,000 copies sell, then you have a bonus $14000 per issue, or a total $56,000 for the four issue limited series. Are these numbers the expected norm for production costs? Am I way off base?

Whoops - forgot something. All the issues for the Kickstarter folks. Let's assume they take half the issues (5000 people contributing). That cuts Diamond sales profit in half to $28,000. This profit is all gravy, so that's no biggie.

[JasonWelcome]

Hey Guys

I'm new here, my name is Jason Bienvenu. I am a Illustrator and Graphic Designer from Louisiana, and this is my kickstarter project. Iam currently working on the 4th issue and should have that one finished in a few weeks.


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-jason-bienven
http://www.thekingdomcomic.com/
http://jasonbienvenu.blogspot.com/

Here are a few helpful tips that I learned from my project:
Dos
1. Have a great project video, thats not too long
- I cant tell you how many great projects I've seen that tell you what the projects about than drag on for another 2 minutes... keep it short and sweet.
2. Social Networking is Key
- Reach out to all of your friends on your social network, this includes emails.
3. Don't ask for money
- I started off asking people to fund the project which didn't work very well... Instead ask all of your friends to view and share t he project, this method was way more successful for me.
4. Thank you so much!
- Thank everyone for backing you, I dont care if its just $1.
5. Updates are important
- Updates keep your backers engaged during and after your project run, its also a great way to remind people on your social networks about the project.

Don'ts
1. Don't launch your kickstarter around christmas time...
- I can't tell you how many people told me they would have backed my project but I launched it during the christmas shopping season.

I hope this tips will help you guys out, good luck!

Jason

[Steampunk]

I want to sell 20,000 copies of whatever book I'm producing. That's a tall order and unlikely to happen, but I like to aim high with my goals.

Consider that established pros can have trouble hitting 5K in orders at top 3 publisher Image and 20K might be a bit of a stretch. With the page rates you mentioned before, I can't see the kind of names needed to attract comic shop guy's orders.

That said, if you're all networking well and spread the word like crazy, it could be possible to sell you're 20K directly through Kickstarter...who knows?!

[hadesillustrations]

I know it's not easy, but it's my goal.. Again, I'm setting the bar high. Really high. But if you set your bar low, then you'll get poor results. I'm goal oriented and getting to 80% of a full goal for something like this is a major achievement. It makes you work harder. There are few indy books that sell in this range: Walking Dead, Invincible, sometimes Haunt hit that figure. Most decent major books are above this mark by quite a bit - selling 30-50,000 copies. The other successful indy books are sitting around the 10-15,000 mark. The best selling indy book was Buffy The Vampire Slayer, coming in at around 50,000 per month. Gotta love a loyal fan base.

Anyway, 20,000 copies is the goal. Don't take that as an expectation - it's a GOAL. If I reach that goal someday, I'll up it by 10-15,000. I have to push myself.

[basil81]

On behalf on everyone here, just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to create an account to make this informative post. Congrats on meeting your goal as well!

Hey Guys

I'm new here, my name is Jason Bienvenu. I am a Illustrator and Graphic Designer from Louisiana, and this is my kickstarter project. Iam currently working on the 4th issue and should have that one finished in a few weeks.


http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...-jason-bienven
http://www.thekingdomcomic.com/
http://jasonbienvenu.blogspot.com/

Here are a few helpful tips that I learned from my project:
Dos
1. Have a great project video, thats not too long
- I cant tell you how many great projects I've seen that tell you what the projects about than drag on for another 2 minutes... keep it short and sweet.
2. Social Networking is Key
- Reach out to all of your friends on your social network, this includes emails.
3. Don't ask for money
- I started off asking people to fund the project which didn't work very well... Instead ask all of your friends to view and share t he project, this method was way more successful for me.
4. Thank you so much!
- Thank everyone for backing you, I dont care if its just $1.
5. Updates are important
- Updates keep your backers engaged during and after your project run, its also a great way to remind people on your social networks about the project.

Don'ts
1. Don't launch your kickstarter around christmas time...
- I can't tell you how many people told me they would have backed my project but I launched it during the christmas shopping season.

I hope this tips will help you guys out, good luck!

Jason