The editing is underway and going well. The cover is nearly all set. Reviewer research is done and ready to be engaged. And then it comes at me. My Kickstarter – it’s time to tell people why they want to support me in producing this book.
One of the downsides of being a creative is the requirement for money to put your masterpiece into the public domain. If only the Star Trek dream of money being obsolete was true, endeavours could just happen. But back to the real world.
It took me a while to realize this but a Kickstarter is a
fantastic opportunity to engage people in my dream. It is scary to lay your soul on the line and try not to sound like a complete fool or a dribbling clown but if we don’t share our art what is its worth. It may be therapeutic but why keep that balm to ourselves. And so, for me, a Kickstarter seemed essential.
But then they mentioned the video. A good Kickstarter promotional video can encourage people because it shows the artist in the raw – not nude obviously, I want them to fund this, not run a mile. The real kicker came to me after I started thinking about how to make a video. The people in the know say that it isn’t about how professional your video is (although it is good to be as professional as you can). It is about your audience seeing you, connecting with you, understanding and wanting you to fulfill this dream, this idea.
And it came to me. What do I tell those around me about my books? How enthusiastic do I get? What about those times when I can’t be shut up for rabbiting on about my latest project? How wonderful do I think my characters, Austerley and Kirkgordon, are? What do I tell people the purpose of my book is, what strangeness in life am I exposing?
The trick now is to take that honest, down to earth passion I have for the book and put it on a screen and then dress it up with some technical know how. But at least I have the essence of my task already within me. Time to take on Hollywood? Well, YouTube at least.
