Is a Funding Campaign for Your Novel the Right Choice? by author Megan Michelle

 

 

Being the first female Navy SEAL is no easy job, but someone's got to dismantle the patriarchy. Rachel Ryker, call sign ‘Skylark,’ can outrun and outgun just about anybody, and with her second in command, Christopher Williams, by her side, she’s practically unstoppable. Christopher would follow Rachel to hell and back… or maybe just to the Middle East. When a top-secret malware code is stolen from the CIA, Rachel and Christopher lead their SEAL team through the Middle East in an attempt to recover it. They both have their own reasons for fighting, but as the team gets closer to finding the stolen malware, Rachel discovers that the man they're looking for may be closer to her than she thinks. Will Rachel’s obsession with completing their mission override her common sense and cause her to lose sight of what is really important- keeping women and children safe from the oppressive patriarchy they are all living in? With secrets, pride, and a strict no-fraternization policy keeping them apart, falling in love would mean sacrificing everything Rachel and Christopher have worked for. But when Rachel gets injured in combat, everything changes. Now Rachel will have to choose: does her devotion to the Navy outweigh her love for Christopher? Purchase a copy of Skylark on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.

Is a Funding Campaign for Your Novel the Right Choice?

 When someone first suggested crowdfunding as a way to finance my novel, Skylark, I thought “Oh, this looks easy!” It’s . . . not. Crowdfunding can be a lucrative way to bring in cash, but it’s not for the faint of heart. Most authors who are successful at crowdfunding have an established audience. If you don’t, then you need to have very supportive friends and family. This isn’t the sort of thing where you simply post your project on a crowdfunding platform and passively wait. Selecting which platform you want to use is a project in and of itself. Then you need to create your page. I’m not the most technically skilled person so arguing with Canva and Adobe trying to get my images to be the correct size was a chore. I finally had someone help me.

Even before your project is posted, you need to market! Social media, email newsletter, however you launch and market your book, you need to do that for your crowdfunding campaign, too. The kicker is everyone knows what a book is. Not everyone knows what crowdfunding is. So, you need to educate your audience about the process then continuously remind them to pledge. At one point towards the end of my campaign, I was on the phone with friends and family who had said they would pledge walking them through what buttons to click.

You need to set an achievable goal because most platforms don’t give you any money unless you reach your initial goal. This is a tricky balance though, because if you can’t actually fund your project, but people have pledged, you’ll have to refund their money. I was fortunate enough to have saved money so that I could fund the printing and shipping of my books by myself. So, I used crowdfunding more as a way to do pre-sales and get some of the money up front. I set my goal at $500 and managed to raise just over $1500 which I put towards printing 1000 special edition copies of my debut novel, Skylark.

My main tips to be successful:

1.       Have an established audience or a solid group of people who you know for a fact will pledge.

2.      Spread the word far and wide and remind people constantly about what you are doing. This project may be the most important thing to you, but it’s not the most important thing to anyone else, unfortunately.

3.      Give yourself enough time. Don’t rush building your project page and give your campaign enough time that you won’t be stressed trying to get everyone you know to pledge.

4.      Really work out your math in advance. What is a reasonable, attainable goal? How much do you actually need to fund your project? (Don’t forget about shipping costs)! And consider how you’ll fund the project if you don’t bring in enough to fund the entire thing.

5.      Have fun!

 

About the Author

Megan Michelle writes dark romance for the fearless women who are ready to reclaim their power and confront the shadows of their past. Her stories blend the raw emotions of military life, the strength of feminism, and the passion of forbidden love, all while guiding readers on a journey of self-discovery and healing. Through dark romance, she explores the complexity of love, power, and identity. Her stories invite you to dive deep into the hearts of women who don’t just survive—they thrive, reclaiming their power and rewriting their stories on their own terms.