Hi there,
It has been too long since my last post and for that I am sorry. I have been busy getting my book ready to go to the printer. Even though it has been a crazy time, it has been an awesome and exciting time! I can't wait for you to know the feeling. The feeling of seeing all your hard work come to fruition and knowing you are doing what you love. You can do it! Ok..back to the topic of beginning your initial fundraising efforts.
Hopefully by now you have a good idea about what kind of book, characters, storyline and product you will be developing, who your target audience and market are, what kind of vendors you will use, and who your team members will be. In addition to all the work you have done relative to the above tasks as well as write your book, you will have to think about the funds it will take to make your dream a reality. Some of us may be in a position to self fund a project like this; some of us may not.
There are many accessible ways to gain different kinds of funding for your project but for this entry I would like to focus on creating your database and begin reaching out to your friends and family. Create groups for the people you know. It is like thinking about an onion and its many layers. Your groups of people range from acquaintances to family members.
People that know you well and know your project more intimately (the inner layers) are often more likely to contribute financially to your project in the beginning. This is a great way to gain momentum in your fundraising efforts and begin to pay for your start up costs like a video, prototype, and maybe even initial payments to your vendors. This shows people who might not know you or don't know you well (the outer layers) that you have already invested time, money, and hard work to be where you are regarding your book.
The more involved you become in this process the more you will learn about the necessary funds you will need to get your book completed, printed, and into the market place.
Check back soon for Raising funds for your book part 2---"Crowd funding"
And don't forget to WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!
JACI
