Last week, I shared What I’ve Learned as an Indie Author, AI and Publishing: Part One. Today, I will continue the conversation with what I’ve learned about crowdfunding, their AI policies, and how this avenue can be beneficial to helping artists and authors get their work into the hands of readers like you who might enjoy it.
What crowdfunding is and why it’s helpful to indie authors and publishers.
When releasing a book, authors most often lean on the help of others to publish, distribute, and help market it. In most cases, traditionally published authors look to the support of their literary agent, publisher, and marketing team to move their work from manuscript to manufactured. While self-published authors coordinate and manage the publishing process themselves, they rely on a “Street Team” to help generate interest and sales. These activities take time and dedication, and an excellent Street Team can even help an author move up the best seller ranks.
Crowdfunding is very much like gathering a Street Team and asking them to help support a creative project. Platforms like Kickstarter, Indigogo, and BackerKit offer tools and resources to help creatives source interest and funds to expand publishing and marketing endeavors.
Know a guy named Brandon Sanderson?
It took the fantasy and sci-fi author 13 books and over eight years to finally attract a publishing deal, and today he’s earned a cult-like following with millions of readers championing his work. Sanderson has multiple books on all the best seller lists, and one of the ways in which he was able to reach this level of success is through crowdfunding. In fact, Sanderson broke crowdfunding records this year as the most funded project to date with his BackerKit campaign Words of Radiance Leatherbound.
It took me writing 14 books in 10 years to attract a publishing deal, and now
I have my sights set on Brandon Sanderson-level success.
That’s why my new book Mystic Storyteller: A Writer’s Guide to Using the Tarot for Creative Inspiration is being launched on BackerKit in August.
BackerKit and AI
BackerKit is a crowdfunding platform that helps creatives like me fund our dream projects. They provide a pledge manager that makes it easier for indie authors to build our Street Teams. La Panthère Studio, my indie publisher has chosen BackerKit to launch Mystic Storyteller over other providers like Kickstarter and Indigogo because their AI policies prohibit the publication of machine-generated content. According to BackerKit’s website, “BackerKit has committed to a policy that restricts the use of AI-generated content in projects on their crowdfunding platform. BackerKit will also automatically exclude all content uploaded by their creators for their projects from AI training.”
This means readers like you can enjoy stories written by real authors like me, and that’s why
I’m gathering my Street Team on BackerKit.
This week, my publisher and I are working behind the scenes to construct the Mystic Storyteller launch page. Once this campaign is built, you will have the opportunity to follow the project on BackerKit where you’ll continue to receive updates about the launch on Tuesday, August 6, and subsequent details on how you can back it to secure your own copy of the book and deck.
Would you like to join the Mystic Storyteller Street Team?
As a subscriber to my Substack and/or my email list, you are on the fastest track to getting on the Street Team and helping me reach Brandon Sanderson numbers on the best seller charts. WHEN I reach them, I want to see you there so I can
sing your praises and share how grateful I am for YOU.
Save the Date
The Mystic Storyteller book and tarot deck is being launched on BackerKit Tuesday, August 6. That means YOU will have the opportunity to support bringing this book and deck to life! If you are reading this via an email from me or through Substack, you’re on the fastest track to staying updated on all details. THANK YOU for your interest, your kind words, and your support! If you are not already following the project on Instagram, please do.
In Case You Missed It
Have you downloaded your free copy of my Fill Your Cup: Focus on YOU Workbook? This resource is a token of gratitude for every Substack and email list subscriber, and I designed it to support your holistic needs. If you have yet to download your copy, please do. You can find it here, and you can also read more about the workbook here.
In her more than thirty years as a storyteller and visual designer, Amanda “Mandy” Hughes has written and designed over a dozen works of literary, Southern Gothic, and women’s fiction under pen names A. Lee Hughes and Mandy Lee.
Mandy is the founder of Haint Blue Creative®, a space for readers and storytellers to explore, learn, and create. She holds a Bachelor and Master of Science in Psychology, and she has worked as an instructional designer for nearly twenty years.
When she’s not writing, Mandy enjoys the movies, theater, music, traveling, nature walks, birdwatching, and binging The Office. She is a tarot enthusiast who uses the cards to enhance creativity and foster wellness. Her book Mystic Storyteller: A Writer’s Guide to Using the Tarot for Creative Inspiration and companion tarot deck are coming to La Panthère Studio in 2024.
Mandy lives in Georgia with her husband and four sons, two of whom are furrier than the others (but not by much). Visit her website at haintbluecreative.com and follow her on Instagram @HaintBlueCreative and @MysticStorytellerTarot.