Recent years have shown sites like kickstarter and indiegogo explode with creative works from filmmakers and authors, whose ultimate funding goal is to then go out and produce the product they campaigned for – a task that proves to daunting for a good portion of creators.
I’d venture to guess of the countless book, software and film projects I have backed only about a third of them have come to fruition. (There’s still hope for some, but I’ve written off most.)
The thing is, these crowdfunding campaigns are often proof of concept that there is an audience for whatever is being touted – so I firmly believe that it does make good sense.
You know what would make even more sense? If there were an industry specific campaign hub that when a concept does prove it has an audience, the hub gets behind the project and makes sure it is produced and delivered to professional industry standards.
Now, who’d have thought the in-flux world of publishing would deliver the first evidence of this logical and brilliant idea? I only hope that film and other creative entrepreneurs take note.
My friends and authors, I give you INKSHARES
“Crowdfunded publishing combines the strengths of traditional publishing – expertise, distribution, economies of scale – with the power of communities to select and support great writing. Our platform lets authors pitch writing proposals to communities of readers and supporters. Once they reach their target, we provide the traditional resources of a legacy publisher in development and distribution. Authors don’t need to wait months or years for a publisher to acquire their manuscript, nor do they have to invest their own time and money in self-publishing.”
Here is a write up on the business of Inkshares from Publisher’s Weekly
Of course as with any successful crowdfunding campaign it’s recommended to start months in advance to build up your audience. Inkshares will promote some projects on their home page but it is still up to you share and promote via any method possible to get backers (much like kickstarter and indiegogo). The nice thing is, you essentially get paid to write if your campaign is successful. Inkshares makes their money once your book starts selling. The nicer thing is, their percentage is much less than the traditional route.
Even well known authors such as, Daniel Wallace, have decided to go the inkshares route.
Check out inkshares, let me know what you think or better yet if you launch a campaign!
Their site is clean and easy to navigate:
1st 10 pages 