Thursday, October 4, 2012

Kickstarter Could Have *Read It First*

I find this kind of insulting, actually. I filled out a very nice little paragraph under risks and challenges, and they didn't *actually* read it. They just sent a email asking me why I didn't explain what might go wrong under risks and challenges.

Ah, well. I tinkered with it a bit and responded.

From Kickstarter

Hi There,

Thanks for sharing your idea with us. I understand that delving deep and trying to foresee potential hurdles that you may encounter can be a difficult undertaking, even more so when you have to present those challenges (some of which may be personal) to a public forum. In the long run, the transparency you present upfront will help foster a better relationship with your backers down the line.

There's always the potential for snags with any creative project, things can go wrong, take longer to complete than expected, etc. It's hard for me personally to speak to what the challenges of your project are, but I'm sure if you dig deep and are honest, there's gotta be something that could be potentially difficult, or just a little bit of a struggle to undertake.

That said, could you update your project to reflect challenges or hurdles you may need to overcome in writing the book, publishing it and fulfilling your rewards?

Best,
Aurora

From Me

Aurora-

I'm not certain I understand. I placed the following text under "risks and challenges" before I submitted the project:

"As general manager of Hero Games I've completed two prior Kickstarters and fulfilled our obligations toward their backers without any problems. The manuscript for An Unforgiving Land, Reloaded is completed, has been edited, and our cover image is ready. If any risks and challenges exist regarding the creation of this book, I feel they’re most likely to come from outside sources beyond our control. This might include my unexpected death or disability, a disaster at the printing facility, or the loss of printed books during shipping to our warehouse. Fortunately, my partners at Blackwyrm Books have significant contacts and resources that I believe would overcome any such difficulties in relatively short order."

I'm a professional. The book is read to go. I wrote it, it's been edited, and the cover is ready - all as indicated. The only problems I can think of are "act of God" type problems: I die, the print shop burns down, or the books get lost on the way to my warehouse – also as indicated in the above text while I submitted with the project.

Nevertheless, I have no desire to be difficult. So I've replaced the above text with the following.

“As general manager of Hero Games I've completed two prior Kickstarters and fulfilled our obligations toward their backers without any problems. As the manager of Indie Press Revolution, I have assisted publishers in fulfilling several others. The manuscript for An Unforgiving Land, Reloaded is completed, has been edited, and our cover image is ready. What remains is for us to complete is the layout, convert them into ePub and .mobi formats for eReaders, print at Lightning Source, and then shipping them to our backers.

Fortunately, developing, printing, and shipping books is what I do for a living, so I'm confident these are not significant obstacles. If serious any risks and challenges exist regarding the creation of this book, I feel they’re most likely to come from outside sources beyond our control. This might include my unexpected death or disability, a disaster at the printing facility, or the loss of printed books during shipping to our warehouse. Fortunately, Blackwyrm Books has significant contacts and resources that I believe will overcome any such difficulties should they arise.”
I hope this meets with Kickstarter's approval.

Sincerely,
Jason S. Walters