A guide to funding your book on Inkshares.
People will find your book and buy pre-orders. But you'll need to get the ball rolling first. Must successful project see about 80% of their pre-orders come from author outreach. As such, we’ve compiled a list of the most important ways you can sell pre-orders, in order of importance:
Take the time to contact people individually. Tell them about your book and how excited you are about it. Appeal to them in a genuine way and ask them to spread the word. Start with your family, friends and close professional colleagues. Turn to social media second. Avoid sending group messages.
Post a flyer with information about your Inkshares project with your local book store or coffee shop. Host a party where you make a pledge, in person, to attendees so they can read your body language and gauge just how enthusiastic you are about your project. Make stickers and hand them out at social gatherings.
Appeal to bloggers who write about publishing (like Craig Mod or Mike Shatzkin) and tell them about your project. Writers are always willing to help other writers.
We’ve found bulk messaging to be a very ineffective means to sell pre-orders and fund your project. In fact, we’ve found it turns people off should you personally contact them later. Think about getting readers one by one. Don’t spam!
Communicate with your readers often. Keep them informed when you hit milestones: you finish your first manuscript, a blogger picks you up, you hit your funding goal, etc.
Inkshares gives you two channels to communicate with readers. The first allows you to email all of them when you have general updates. The second creates a discussion on your project page where readers can write back to you and to each other.
While you’re fundraising, keep your readers updated on how you’re progressing toward your funding goal. Tell them how excited you are that you’ve hit, say, 35% of your goal. And ask them to help you spread the word about your project. They'll likely be happy to help.
Your readers have access to the manuscripts you upload to Inkshares, so upload often! Ask them for feedback. “What do you think the protagonist should do here?”, or “Is Chapter 16 necessary?”
When you hit your funding goal, tell your readers! Tell them how well your book is selling, or how many times your article has been mentioned on the Internet. Your readers are your fans and have taken this journey with you.