Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform where any creative project can develop a business-like pitch in the hopes of receiving funds to turn their project into a reality. But when this type of platform is used to support self-publishing efforts, there are many ripple effects that turn into waves, crashing against the boat of the publishing industry – and here’s how.
Clinging to traditional methods, literary agents and publishing houses always ask for a query letter from the author; this letter contains an introductory hook designed to capture the agent’s or publisher’s attention, followed by a very short synopsis of the novel, and closing with the author’s resume/bio. On the other hand, Kickstarter asks the author to produce an introductory video, display some cover art, a description of the story, and more. The *way* that this information is communicated far surpasses that of the dated query letter. This unique marketing platform for communicating the author’s story is much more compelling, and in fact, has caused agents to begin hunting for new talent on crowdfunding sites.
Additionally, crowdfunding sites have helped give rise to independent editorial services as well as Print-On-Demand services. The publishing industry still operates using traditional retail sales channels, using the age-old warehouse/distributor/retailer relationship whereby if books don’t sell, they ship them back to the warehouse. These inventory problems that retail stores face are a limitation of the brick ‘n mortar business model. However, print-on-demand is a lot like the just-in-time-inventory production process. Books aren’t printed in excess of the sales (which causes waste) nor are they printed in a shortage of supply. It’s a method to produce the exact amount of books that are demanded by the market.
Now, not every Kickstarter campaign is destined to success. It still takes a knack to make it look professional and convey the story in a compelling manner. Take a look at this Kickstarter campaign for a fantasy novel entitled The Soul Smith, and you can immediately see that a significant amount of effort was put into it. www.kickstarter.com. It would seem that literary agents (who are considered the gatekeepers to the publishing industry) should be open minded and evolve the query letter process to something new.
What are your thoughts on this?
