What months do you have big commitments (work, family, etc.)?
When are important holidays or birthdays?
Who are you making your project for? When might they be available?
How long do you want your campaign to last?
Publishing Timelines
It’s worth considering a traditional publisher will take 2-3 years to publish a book.1
My first book was completely written when I crowdfunded. I had proof editions of both Discover Your Creative Ecosystem and Your Creative Ecosystem the Companion. I fulfilled orders 6 months later so they would arrive before Christmas. In retrospect I wish I’d given myself more time to refine some minor issues in the printing and proofing process. There’s always a delay before proofs arrive and everything felt a bit rushed at the end.
It’s so important to give time and space to the publishing process itself. For authors we can feel like the book is “done” once we’ve written it, but there are so many little steps that need to be taken care of to bring a book to life.
Moving forward I will always give myself at least one year between crowdfunding and the projected date to fulfill orders.
Why do we expect ourselves to publish faster with fewer resources, collaborators, and experience?
Let’s discuss.
Share your reflections or questions about this part of the process below.
Before you start working on a crowdfunding campaign the most important thing is that you need to have a strong foundation and belief in the why behind your work. Being rooted in the reason that you’re bringing this project to life makes it so much easier to fundraise.
You are not asking for money for yourself.
You are asking for collaborators to help bring an important project to life. Framing it like this makes it so much easier to do the work that you need to do to have a successful crowdfunding campaign.
I talk more about finding your why in my self-publishing course that is specifically about books but it’s probably applicable to other projects so if you want to take a peek at the why module replace “book” with whatever you are crowdfunding.
People discover books through web search instead of browsing bookstores now. To help your book’s discoverability you want to use keywords (the words people might use to search for a book like yours) is as many places as possible.
I’ve heard several published authors recommend having a therapist on hand during and after your book launch.
You can hear Cait Flander’s talk about this on Claire Venus’ podcast Sparkle on Substack. Cait also helpfully reflects on how you don’t have to say yes to every opportunity and how important it is to say “no” and protect your energies during launch.
