TL;DR- Let’s talk about the two-year anniversary of the Love Clichés and the super special Kickstarter just for you!
Two years ago, I was breathing into a paper bag, trying to decide whether or not I should hit publish on a secret project. It was a romantic comedy, one I started writing in 2019 but finished in a quick two-week stint of writing furiously, grinning the whole time.
But … was I funny?
Would my current readers like this shift from sweet romance to sweet romcom?
I REALLY HAD NO IDEA.
So, I hit publish, then ducked under a table. (Not literally, but it felt that way.)
Two years later, this one book changed my author career. Quite literally.
Readers like you flocked to read Falling for Your Best Friend’s Twin and got obsessed with the five women at the center of these stories: Abby, Zoey, Delilah, Harper, and Sam. You didn’t mind the men, either. (Especially Thayden.)
NOW, IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE!
I had been planning some special things for this month (currently October 2022), but after attending an author conference, I realized I wasn’t planning big ENOUGH.
Enter Kickstarter.
You may not know much about this crowdfunding platform (I didn’t either), but for a bunch of reasons, it’s the perfect place to launch what I’m calling the Love Clichés Anniversary Party!
Some things are still a surprise until the party launches on October 11th, but I want to give you an idea of what you can expect. Namely: super fun, new & exclusive Love Clichés swag, special edition books, and more!
To help you understand what I’m doing and WHY, here are some things you need to know!
WHAT IS KICKSTARTER AND WHY USE IT???
What is Kickstarter?
At its core, Kickstarter is about crowdfunding. It brings an audience in to help fund the creation or production of something, with rewards for funding.
As in … it’s NOT donations. Not charity. (It’s not like GoFundMe, for example.) What it really will be like is a fan participation shopping experience. Fun. Exciting. You being PART of the experience.
Think of it as a Pop-Up Shop.
This Kickstarter will serve as an online shop that pops up for a limited time with new, exclusive, and one-of-a-kind items. (Assuming my funding goal is met–but I think I’ve set a nice baseline goal.)
At the end of October, it goes away. Some items may be available in my own shop later, but I’m debating on how to handle my online shop in general. Which brings me to the next point…
Kickstarter will help me print and stock items much more easily.
Doing this through Kickstarter allows me to see what y’all want BEFORE I order and stock items. It also keeps my house from being overrun with a LOT of stuff.
Even in the smaller orders I’ve done through my shop, it is not an easy thing to have everything in my house in stock and do all the packaging, labeling, shipping, etc. This will help me have exactly what I need and then do a big batch of shipping and packaging all at once.
This streamlines the process AND allows me to offer things that would be harder to offer if I were just doing it via my own shop.
What’s in it for YOU?
So much! The cool thing about Kickstarter is that it can kind of gamify the shopping experience. The way the site is set up makes this whole thing more exciting.
There will be stretch goals–which means that once we’ve met the funding goal needed for me to produce and print all the items, if we go higher, there will be rewards added. Some will just be a bonus onto a paid level, and some will be things in the add-on sections where you can choose to add something on.
For my international readers, this will also help with international shipping. I’m partnering with a company to help bring down those costs and the shipping costs as much as possible, though they will still be high. Shipping just is what it is, unfortunately. But! Some readers who didn’t have access to paperbacks before will have access now. (And I hope, going forward, to be able to offer this. Working on it!)
What will be offered?
I’ve had the most fun this month picking and choosing fun Love Clichés designs and more. I’ve got new artwork, special edition paperbacks, and new bonus audio. Some may be available for purchase later on in my own shop on my site, but for now (and likely through the end of 2022), you will ONLY be able to get them here.
There is also one high level EVENT that will be completely unlike anything you’ve done before. It’s only for the WILDEST of my fans, so we’ll see if we get any takers for that. 🙂
Is this, like, a discount sale?
NO. This is not like a special deals thing in terms of price, though some things (like stickers) might be slightly cheaper here, mostly due to how I’m bundling things.
This is more of a special deal in terms of exclusive, extra stuff for superfans who NEED their Love Clichés books and merch and special swag and are happy to purchase them.
What do these costs include?
Pricing accounts for things like production itself, packaging (shipping gets added on at checkout), and TIME.
The time needed to write bonus scenes; the time needed to package all this up in my house. Cost of things like my narrator to record bonus audio and my assistant who has helped set this up and will help me ship. Cost of designers to help with things like turning my illustrations into coloring pages.
I’ve looked at Kickstarters before and been like, DUDE! They made so much money! But in actuality, many barely break even. Some lose money if they don’t correctly account for things like shipping, cost of things like boxes or mailers to ship, etc.
I’m hoping to make enough to make the time I’ve spent worth it, but this will not be a cash cow thing for me. 🙂
So… why are you doing this again?
Honestly, the more I heard authors talking about Kickstarter, the more I realized this could be something REALLY FUN for my readers and for me. Kickstarters can build community and work with your existing community.
It’s an experience. An event.
You guys are awesome, and this is a fun way to celebrate the Love Clichés and the fans who really made this series what it is.
We’re doing this TOGETHER. It’s fun! There are exciting things to unlock as we reach funding goals.
You know how I love surprises and there will be some fun surprises offered in there!
What if you don’t wanna do it?
NO WORRIES! I have other fun Love Clichés things happening this month, giveaways (did you enter yet???) and some sales. Kickstarter won’t be for everyone, and that is OKAY WITH ME.
I’m excited for those who do want to take part, and if this is a good fit, we may do it again with other series when they’re complete.
I already know not everyone will participate. My expectations are that SOME of you will be all over this. Some of you might want to just see what it’s about. And others might THINK you’re not interested until we’re talking about all the fun things, and then you’re gonna jump on board.
I’m cool either way. Got it? Okay. 🙂
WHAT NOW?
Follow the Kickstarter so you can get updates and hear when it goes live!
Make sure you’re in my Facebook group to hear about more!
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