Is Kickstarter Worth It for Children’s Authors? A Pre-Launch Guide

Written By Emily Trevithick

Writing and editing a book is just one step of a children's author’s journey, publishing it is an entirely separate endeavour that often arouses a similar amount of frustration. If you’re an independent publisher or an indie children's author wanting to secure pre-orders, attract new readers, and build hype around your book’s debut, Kickstarter is one pre-launch marketing method you should consider implementing.

I helped launch a Kickstarter Campaign for Dr Sarah Pye, author of ‘Curious Kai Asks Why’ a middle-grade chapter book that follows the adventures of Kai, a young Australian girl enamoured by weird and wonderful wildlife. We exceeded the goal of $2,500, raising $3,006 within two months with 55 backers, plus a ‘Projects We Love’ spotlight gifted from the official Kickstarter team. 

Whether you’re just starting your self-publishing journey or are interested in learning about a pre-launch marketing strategy you haven’t considered before, this blog has you sorted.

What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is a global online platform designed to help crowdsource creative projects, especially books. Authors create a project page that includes a video and description to outline the project, answering questions like what is their book about and why are they writing it? 

Its business model operates as all-or-nothing, meaning if the creator meets their monetary goal set by themselves, they receive their funds. If they don’t, they get nothing.

How does it work?

Backers are the individuals who pledge money towards your project, but in return for their payment, they expect rewards.

Rewards can vary between projects. However for a majority of book or literary-themed campaigns, rewards such as an early-bird paperback copy, an ebook copy, bundle packages, special editions, bonus content, bookmarks, or even a shout out in the acknowledgement section are the most popular. 

The more exclusive the rewards are, the more appealing they are to potential backers. There is also the opportunity to receive donations to your project without the exchange of rewards, which family and friends might opt to do instead. 

If you’re after a more detailed insight into Kickstarter and how it works, I would recommend checking out their official Creator Handbook. Stay tuned for a follow-up blog of what a successful Kickstarter campaign should include and some helpful tips to get you started. 

Why Should Children’s Authors Consider it as a Pre-Launch Strategy?

Kickstarter is a powerful pre-launch strategy for children’s authors because it allows you to build an audience and secure funding before committing to full production. By showcasing the story concept, early reviews, illustrations, and rewards, authors can gauge real interest from parents, educators, and supporters. 

It also helps create early hype and a sense of community around the book, turning backers into invested supporters who help spread the word outside of your own marketing efforts.

What are the benefits?

Here’s a quick snapshot of a few of the benefits of a Kickstarter campaign for children’s authors:

• Even if a project reaches the funding goal before the deadline, your project can still continue to earn beyond the original goal
• You have full decision-making authority over the funding deadline and the amount of funds your project will need
• Receive funds from supporters to help cover editing, illustrations and manufacturing processes
• Discover new readers and returning customers for future projects 
• Avoid marketing and promotion fees you would expect from a traditional publishing house or agent, or even a marketing agency when launching a new book
• Affirm that your book’s message resonates with readers 
• Your audience is on the ride with you through the development process via community updates, newsletters and on social media
• Connect with readers on an emotional level

Important Things to Remember Before You Start

There are a few risks creators should be mindful of before launching a campaign through Kickstarter. Mainly, Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing crowdsourcing platform, meaning if you don’t secure enough funds to meet your goal by the set deadline, your backer’s pledges will be cancelled, therefore you won’t receive any money and will be unable to fulfil orders. You will not be able to launch your book at that time.

If you run into issues related to shipping or manufacturing your rewards, it’s best to be immediately transparent with backers and update them on every part of the publishing journey.

Whilst you may have to prematurely end your project and reschedule the Kickstarter Campaign for a later date, your openness will likely keep backers and encourage them to return and support you again.

Conversely, if your campaign is a success, responsibility falls on you to fulfil orders, including shipping and responding to any backer inquiries. If you are managing your campaign solo, it is up to you to provide updates and check messages routinely, managing backers and maintaining their support is pivotal. 

Would you consider using Kickstarter to launch a book? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Want to read the result of our Kickstarter Campaign? Check out Curious Kai Asks Why on my website.

Whilst you’re here, check out the official Curious Kai Asks Why online launch which introduces leading Queensland wildlife scientists and experts who feature in this engaging story.