Crowdfunding to Self Publish

I want to be read. That's the reason I write things. I want people to read them, to share them, to think about them. That's what being an author is to me.

So when I talk about the impermanence of short stories, how they get their place on a site for a short time and then get put away, it makes me glad they were out there. I provide the link to friends who might be interested and I love getting their reactions. But then the stories are gone.

Publishing keeps changing in so many ways. So what I want to do is put out a couple short story collections. They would be self published, but that is not the stigma it used to be. They would be professionally edited and formatted. The covers would be done by a good artist. [I already found at least one who can work with me.]

The best part is that anyone could read these stories.

The worst part is that I can't afford it by myself at this time.

However, there are ways around my funding issues. I'm looking into crowdfunding: Kickstarter, Kapipal, IndieGoGo, Go Get Funding, and others. I'm limited in that I write erotica and I plan to give erotica away as incentives. I don't think it's a big deal, but anybody who wants to go through PayPal needs to be careful because they won't allow pornography in their incentives (along with alcohol and a bunch of other things). I probably could make the distinction that this is erotica, there are no pornographic pictures or videos, but I just want to play that part safe.

There are two ways to do crowdfunding. One puts out a goal of a monetary sort and says, "If I make this goal, the investors get their incentives and I get the cash. But if I don't, nobody gets anything." The other way allows investors to get the incentives and me to get the funds even if we don't make our goal. Some of the sites take a larger percentage if you don't make the goal, but it means I'd still have to provide the incentives if I only got a percentage and I'd get at least partial funding for this project.

Partial funding might be enough. I have options on ways to go, but I don't think I can take on the whole project without help. So I'm working on incentives and deciding which crowdfunding company will suit me the best.

Thoughts?

Dragging My Feet

I need to stop dragging my feet. There is always another reason to not get out there. To just say I'll do it tomorrow. Forget that I've been super busy with things outside of my writing and they're good excuses - they're still excuses.

I missed on one of my goals. I just realized I did not send out a story in March. I sent out two in February, but that doesn't count. So I decided I must send out two this month to balance that out. I pretty much know what I'm sending where. I thought I'd have a response from one of them by now, but I'm sure they'll get back to me soon.

Goals are good to keep us on task to where we need to be, but I don't feel the need to beat myself up over little stumbles. This goal is getting me toward where I want to be - published. If I quit now I'll never get there.

So I review my progress every so often. I try to figure out what I'm doing well and where I can improve. It's far more productive than beating myself up. For the most part I write short stories, though I do have a few projects in the novella and novel range that I will continue to work on.

The only hard part is the whole process is not very permanent. A short story gets a few minutes in the limelight and then it is pushed to the side for something else. There are a few places where you may pay and view what you like. Ruthie's Club was one, but they went defunct a while back. Literotica is a free site that is similar, but there is very little in the way of quality control - if you write it and it is within their guidelines, it doesn't matter how well it's written, it's out there.

So there are also ideas in my head that to make those more permanent. Just because it is a short story doesn't mean it can't be out there. And I'll give more information on that later.

The Problem with DIY

I suppose I ought to be careful with this one. DIY, or do-it-yourself, is practically the American Way. Want to write a book? Go for it. Want to finish your basement? It takes some time, but it improves the value of the home. Want to take up a sport? Find another weekender who shares your interest and dive right in. A million sites tell you how to do anything you want to do from completing home projects to earning extra money and encompass nearly everything you can think of.

Learning is good. Figuring out the best way to do something can be a brain-teaser or even a service to offer to others. But while doing something yourself can be good, doing everything yourself is the best way to invite errors into your endeavors. 

Remember very few people walk into court and choose to represent themselves. The law is one of those things the average person doesn't want to mess with. It makes me wonder why so many people want to do their taxes themselves. Sure, it costs a bit of money to find a good accountant - but once you get beyond the 1040 form, isn't it worth it to know taxes are all filed correctly? You can write a will yourself, but do you know it's legal? Do you know the changes that need to be made through time to keep everything current? 

The thing about doing it yourself is that you can do anything and everything you choose to do - but doing it well might take practice. The people who get the practice are experts in their fields. Often when you put the DIY against the expert you can easily see the differences. Maybe you don't notice all the little differences between your work and the expert's - but someone can, and many others do. 

It's one reason self-publishing can get a bad rap. Anyone can do it and throw out whatever book they decide to write, edit and/or polish (and sometimes not on the last two). It gives the rest of the writers who go through the trouble to make a professional product a bad rap. 

Think about those small businesses where the owner tries to do everything himself (or herself). Do they try to do everything until they can afford an accountant, a lawyer, or a plumber? How long do they last, compared to the other businesses who hire needed professional services for the areas where the owner lacks expertise?  How's the bottom line? 

Before you do your next project yourself, make a list of your strengths. Each different part of the project may be fun, need a specific skill set, or require previous knowledge. The pieces that you don't have or are unable to spend time to become the expert needed are the pieces you should hire to be completed. 

Doing it yourself is becoming an expert in that niche or screwing it up. The latter option costs even more to fix it than doing it right in the first place. Everyone has a story about something they knew could have been done better - don't let that be you.