"Why Do You Need $6,000 to Publish a Book?"

Monday, June 3, 2013

"Why Do You Need $6,000 to Publish a Book?"

We're over halfway to our Kickstarter goal, folks! Thanks so much for supporting it, and if you haven't yet, feel free to jump in now.

So, why do I need $6,000 to publish Badge? Good question.

First, know that every dollar from this campaign will go to the publication and/or promotion of Badge. No trips to Bora Bora for Art and Kel. Your money will be spent on the project.

But books can be published for next to nothing these days. Why the big price tag on Badge?

Because I want to do Badge right. This isn't my first rodeo, and I know how much it costs to publish and promote a novel well.

For example, I want to hire a proofreader, which is something I didn't have for either of my first two novels. Remember the misspelling of "customer" in Stuck? How about my inability to spell "Buddha" in Ghost Notes? Not this time. I want Badge perfect when it goes out to the world.

Also, I want to ship copies of Badge months in advance to sites for review. Again, I didn't get to do this for Stuck or Ghost Notes. Wow, just like a real publishing company.

Finally, I want to have a promotional tour in the first month of its release that takes me--at minimum--to every major market on the West Coast (SEA, PDX, SF, LA) and of course Phoenix. These appearances will probably feature reading, music and general mayhem. I can't imagine releasing Badge without also taking it to the street.

Considering the above, here's a rough breakdown of the costs of publishing and promoting Badge:

-KS/Amazon Fees - $600

-Taxes - $800

-Proofreader Fees - $400 (this is a screaming deal)

-"Calypso" (theme song) Fees - $100 (also, screaming deal)

-Printer Setup Fees - $500

-250 (mostly reward and review) Copies of Badge - $1,100

-Shipping Reward and Review Copies - $1,000

From our original $6k, this would leave $1,500 for the promotional tour, which should get me at least to the cities named above. I also plan on doing more promotional stuff in 2014, hopefully getting to places like Chicago, Denver, Atlanta and the East Coast ... but I don't want to put the cart before the horse. I need to get funded first.

So, that's why the price tag is $6,000. Anything less and I'd have to compromise Badge, and I'm not going to do that.

So, please contribute! You're my hope for making this happen.

Yours in laying down the law,

Art

Contribute to the Kickstarter campaign for my third novel Badge.