Author Kate Korsak explains how (and why) she ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise $5K for the publication of her next fantasy novel.

TIMESTAMPS

01:50 - Author Kate Korsak on her upcoming epic fantasy novel

03:34 - Timeline from getting the idea to approaching publication 

07:30 - Writers using Kickstarter 

09:10 - Exclusive editions, book boxes, custom book-inspired coffees

11:24 - How early should you start marketing before a book is published? 

11:57 - Publishing timeline (when to open preorders, etc.) 

17:25 - Getting art for your novel (cover + promotional art)

20:19 - Indie (self-publishing) vs. traditional publishing (+ what querying is like)

24:42 - What is partner publishing? Kate’s experience (not ideal, if you want a spoiler)

26:52 - Formatting your novel

29:03 - Which Kickstarter rewards worked and which didn’t work 

31:16 - Do Kickstarter ‘sales’ count as pre-orders? 

33:14 - Getting readers interested before publication 

34:40 - How much info about your book should you share pre-release?

36:40 - What’s a release team and why would writers need them? 

38:46 - How to choose people to be on the team

39:36 - What’s an ARC reader and why would writers need them? 

42:05 - How important is personal brand as a writer? 

44:30 - Advice for writers who are shy to show up on camera

45:30 - Dealing with trolls (dragon r@cism and me getting blamed for the Vietnam W@r in a post about YA, if that interests you)

52:26 - Kate recommends resources to writers wanting to go indie

KATE'S INFO:

Instagram: @writerkatek

TikTok: @writerkatek

Website: https://www.katekorsak.com/

MY INFO:

Workbooks: https://schoolofplot.com/collections/workbooks

Writing Blog: https://schoolofplot.com/blogs/writing-guides

Insta: (My main place of posting) https://www.instagram.com/schoolofplot