The Characters Kickstarter is live. Check it out!

My goal is modest, I’m only trying to raise $600. But this is a short Kickstarter: only two weeks long! It’s not a given that I’ll make it. Your pledge could make the difference!

Why set a goal so low? Because I’m trying to use Kickstarter as a distribution mechanism, not as a fund-raising mechanism.  For a pledge of $9, you get a copy of Characters. The retail price of Characters with shipping is just about $9. And Characters will ship IMMEDIATELY after this Kickstarter ends and funds have cleared. You don’t have to wait for me to actually publish Characters. (Here’s a secret: I’ve already published it.)

I use Kickstarter often, with every book in fact. I hope my modest goals will assuage Kickstarter fatigue and Kickstarter skepticism.

The thing is, I need to get my books to people. There are few distribution options available to me, so if I find one that works I stick by it. The other thing is, I need to make my publishing sustainable. My books (eventually) need to pay for themselves. I don’t have enough working capital to operate any other way. The last thing is, I pay my authors. Not a lot, but I pay as much as I’m able to while keeping my publishing sustainable. All this means that even if I am a little skeptical about Kickstarter (and I am) I can’t afford to ignore a way to sell my books that actually works. I can’t afford to be too proud to use Kickstarter.

And, anyway, if Fantagraphics is using Kickstarter, isn’t it officially ok? What am I apologizing for? Get off my back!

Honestly, if there was another app that offered a pre-order system that was as popular and efficient as Kickstarter, I’d use that instead. But until then, I’ve got Kickstarter. And I’m thankful for it.

For more thoughts on how I use Kickstarter, check out the Risks and Challenges section of the Characters Kickstarter.