Should Authors Use Crowd Funding To Help With Publishing Their Books?

A couple of months ago I was talking with one of my relatives on the phone. I was telling him about my new young adult novel called Finding Becca. I am really excited about this book! Here's a quick synopsis - Finding Becca is written in both the mother's and her daughter's voice. Becca is a fourteen year old teenager girl whose parents separate. Becca was close to her father and takes to Facebook to discuss her woes. She has not set up her privacy settings and a young man sends her a request after viewing her page. She accepts his request and she and the Bronx King become "good friends". Becca becomes all consumed with this young man and when he invites her to come to NY, without hesitating she runs away from home. Once in NY she finds out that the Bronx King is really a man, not a teenage boy. He holds her hostage and forces her into the sex slave industry, along with the other teenage girl he has been holding hostage for two years. Becca soon plots to get away from this maniac. Back home Becca's mother learns that Becca is in NY so she goes to NY to get help from the police department to find her daughter. It isn't long before she realizes that she is going to have to find and save her daughter if she wants her back.

A few weeks after I sent the book to my editor three young women are found in Ohio that had been missing ten years. And each day someone is sharing something on Facebook about a missing child. So, the book is very relevant and I wanted to get it published and hold workshops in my community called Bridging the Gap. There is a storytelling festival coming up in November and I wanted to take about 500 copies of the book with me. I didn't have the money to do what I needed to do, so I turned to Kickstarter. But first, I researched the company. I looked at the projects that people had posted. I did a search on what authors had used Kickstarter. In that mix, I found some well known writers: filmmaker Matt Porterfield who wrote the film Putty Hill, author Bob Walker, Dan Harmon, Kevin Kelly, Neal Stephenson and Seth Godin, just to name a few. Then there were the famous folk that used Kickstarter - Whoopi Goldberg, Ricki Lake, Matthew Modin, and Spike Lee. 

So, with much enthusiasm I uploaded the information about my book Finding Becca to be part of this phenomenon. The first couple of days it went live, I got my first two backers. I then shared a link to my site and an explanation what I was doing and hoped to do on Facebook and email asking my friends to visit and if they were inclined to do so, make a donation. I am talking contacting all of the people that I know, - other storytellers, friends and family. My friends on Facebook. A few people responded by telling me that they would donate something when they got paid. Some said that they enjoyed my link and thought my book was a great idea. But, no one pledged any money. So, I asked an author friend on Facebook. I was shocked by his reply to me. He said I am "Begging and it sounds like a scam!" He went on to tell me to "stop it! Why would you reach out to people to finance something you will profit from? Who taught you this? There are no shortcuts in this business!" I began to tell him what I know about Kickstarter and he blew me off with  - "Good night." He didn't want to hear anything else.

At first I was ashamed. I certainly didn't want to give anyone the impression that I was begging for help. I revisited Kickstarter. I wanted to know how many authors have shared their book project with the art world with the hopes that they will get help funding their projects. There were 496 authors! Many were fully funded to make their books a reality. Some received more money than they requested. Many were not supported. But that is okay too, if you don't attempt it, you have already failed. So, that to me is not begging. It is another way to make it happen for you. There is no shame in that. 

I was going to remove my Kickstarter account based on what this man said to me. Now I am not. Why?

I had no plans to write a young adult novel about a teenager that runs away from home and is forced into the debauched and filthy world of the sex slave industry. That story had not even entered my mind. Not until I saw a young relative's Facebook page. I was shocked by the things she said and the pictures she posted. My concern fell on deaf ears. I got the idea then to write this book. As I continued working on it, each day a photo of a missing teenager girl or boy was on my newsfeed. I would check the web periodically to see if the young one had been found and if they were okay. THAT propelled me on to write my book. I am hurting for our teenage girls and boys. I saw a youtube video of a young child that was three years old twerking and all the adults standing around cheering this baby on! It was so disgusting to me. Who are raising these kids? What morals are they being taught? What is right and wrong in their lives? What discipline do they receive when they are wrong? What kind of grades are they making in school? All of these questions ran through my mind and I continued writing. 

At the completion of the book I knew that it had to be published. That is my goal. I honestly hope that I get the assistance that I requested on Kickstarter. I wasn't working at the time. And without an income - money, greenbacks, I can't get this book published. I am looking for a job and know that with the holidays coming up, people are hiring now. So, one way or another I hope to get it published. It just that, NOW it is relevant! How many missing children's face will come across my newsfeed today? Who knows? But what I do know NOW is that there is no shame in reaching out to my community of artists and art lovers to assist me in making this happen. 

Also, we don't know know everything! All of us can learn something if our minds are open for the experience. In fact the things we don't know can fill volumes.