Thinking of Doing A Kickstarter

[LWriter]

So, currently working on developing a new series and have found an artist to work with, but the costs are more than I can manage on my budget, so, thinking of finally doing a Kickstarter to gather enough funds to pay him to draw the comic. Is this common?

Was thinking of keeping it just to the first issue, since we don't have a big following, and that means the goal is smaller and more achievable that way. Should I include printing costs? Like, is that something people look for as a must in order to fund a comic project? Just ask because I always see that included in most comic Kickstarter campaigns, but think I'd rather wait until we have all planned 5 issues finished before we look into printing (and again, keeps the goal smaller), or do people prefer single issues more?

As I said, it would be my first time doing one of these, so, I guess I'm just looking for any info or tips anyone might have in regards to all that. This wouldn't be until end of the year, or early next one more likely. Hope ti's ok to ask that here, and thanks! ^^

[nostalgicroxas]

Overhead + Standard Fees like shipping / printing if applicable

Generally this is "everything" needed to make the thing. So fees for the artist, sometimes applicable, filing for copyright fees (or filing for patents), ISBN costs if applicable, cost of materials (if you do it yourself) or cost of it being made (either in country, or out of country or through contracts). And then a standard amount. You can break up the tiers, too.

Tier 1 is just support and gets the comic and a thank you card. Also a small name in the book for supporting.

Tier 2 gets the comic and some kind of shout out in the book, thank you card, and usually some small thing like a matching bookmark or sticker.

Tier 3 usually gets all of tier 2, but also gets something extra like copies of original sketches or doodles that would not be in the book. Usually they're signed.

And if you do a tier 4 they get not copies, but originals, of sketches and doodles, and they're matted+framed.

Tiers 3 and 4 naturally cost more, 1 they're getting better stuff, and 2 they're getting "bigger" fancy stuff that will cost more to make and more in shipping handling.

An important thing is that all tiers should get the "main" item you're marketing, and all tiers should get their name in the book as a thank you.

[LWriter]

Actually, one quick question about something you mentioned there, do I have to register my comic somewhere for the copyright? I don't know how that works, I thought that was automatic the moment you released it but, if there's something I have to do I'd love to know what it is. Is there a place you go to online to do that?

[nostalgicroxas]

That is "generic" copyright. Formal copyright (in the USA) needs to be filed and costs a fee. It is done for scripts, novels, comics, piles of art sketches (such as "Art done between 2012-2015" they accept). I've got a guide for doing it as a novel that's pretty accurate still.

How to upload and purchase copyright

Also note that digital copyright exists too, but the office itself formally looks at "this version" specifically. That is why I don't file NTN as 2011, 2018 for the first chapters because those older versions are not the ones being copyright'd. Those older ones are "protected" by dA's system more or less, with their timestamp. But timestamps don't exist on physical books, which is what the USA office looks at. So you'll date it whatever year you're filing in. So you have to plan ahead a tad by several months. This time of year might make that number change, so keep that in mind (2019 to 2020).

[darthmongoose]

This might sound negative, but I just want to prepare you for the reality of running a Kickstarter campaign so that you know what to expect. It can be a very effective way to get funds, but it's also a huge obligation that may dominate your life for months, even years, and involve huge up-front work.

People nowadays are a lot more wary of pledging to Kickstarters in very early development, and a lot of the ones that are successful getting funded are already well along the way to completion, or even have all the pages completed and are looking to print. That said, you are more likely to succeed on a new project if you have a body of completed work on other finished projects that people can see, and an existing fanbase for it. You have a polished looking site with polished looking content on it, and that could be a huge help!

I would assume that people would expect a kickstarter comic project to result in a physical item and would pledge more to one that would, because usually kickstarter rewards are physical. People expect to pay a LOT less for digital-only projects (yes, even though paying an artist and developing and making a comic costs way more than a print run of books, I know, people are... frustrating at times, but... yeah, "them's the breaks" as they say).

Some other notes from my experiences of being involved with both successful AND unsuccessful kickstarters.

• Presentation means a lot. If your Kickstarter has some great art to show off and a fairly polished video, those will both really help, and if somebody browsing kickstarter has never heard of you or your work, you'll be relying on this a lot to catch peoples' eye and to look professional and like you get things finished with polish. Pretty pictures, nicely themed banners for reward tiers, concept art, teaser pages... The more, the better.

• Having a big "high concept" really helps. People will throw money at projects from total unknowns with zero industry experience if it sounds like something they want in their lives, or something they want to support. Whether that's more of a genre or type of content most mainstream publishers don't cater to, work from a creator from a marginalised or under-represented group in the industry, or an absolutely amazing story concept that's unique or just very appealing.

• Don't set your cost right down to the wire. You will inevitably find extra costs pop up here and there, from the substantial cut that Kickstarter takes (about 10% I believe, and yes, that's out of the total visible on your campaign, leading the people who pledged to tend to think you got more money than you did), to the cost of mailing out all the rewards, budget for an extra 10-15%, and don't just assume you'll get that by going over your initial goal, budget for barely passing the finish line and be thankful if you do better.

I hope that helps you make an informed decision. If it was me in your position, I personally wouldn't do it. I'd try to come to an agreement with the artist to do a few pages, then try to get funding coming in via patreon or similar to fund a full issue, then when I could put that on the web, I'd consider running a kickstarter. That's just what I'd do though, I'm a stingy, risk-averse person, and as an artist, I've never had to make that call. Do what you think seems best.

[ben]

Kickstarter is definitely more for physical products and people probably won't back a project where they won't be getting a book. Even if it's a single issue. I think a the collected 5 issues would be preferable BUT since the project hasn't even begun, you have't started working with this artist you found, and you don't have the following yet, keep it small. Have a sample of the comic so that people know what they're investing in.

We had 800 backers for our last Kickstarter so I disagree with the advice of putting all of your backers names somewhere on the project partially because of the potential for it to get out of hand, the possibility that some people do NOT want their names on there, and it just looks a little unprofessional.

Make sure you account for printing costs of the actual project itself, any of the costs for the extras you might have to produce for higher tiers, shipping costs (especially for out of country sales) and paying your artist out and keep in mind that Kickstarted takes a cut. Be sure to also give yourself enough financial leeway too because this WILL take up a LOT of time if it manages to get kickstarted.

Also make sure you set a very realistic deadline for shipping out the project.

[LWriter]

Ah, this sounds complicated lol. I'm not American nor do I live in the U.S though, does that affect that in any way? And you're saying if I dont register my comic through this website (lulu or was it another one?) then it's not protected at all? Sorry if this makes me sound dumb, I'm really new to all this. I've been releasing my comic here and on my website throughout this year thinking it was automatically safe.

[joannekwan]

Anything you create is safe to a limited extent. But generally speaking, you aren't at a complete disadvantage without a proper paid-for copyright. Especially if you carefully catalog the work your create and can back of your claims of being the originator of your work with the original files and so forth. I think that's generally enough to get people on your boat if someone does copy your work, just put it on blast on social media that 'Hey, this person/company is stealing from me'.

Getting the paid-for copyright is handy if you ever do find yourself in a court case, actively pursuing charges against an infringer who is profiting off your work.
But still, I would only copyright a major piece of work, one significant enough that thieves would even be interested in lifting. There are numerous cases where big companies rip-off smaller artist work and use their designs on products. All the artists can really do is alert people on social media about it, since one can't feasibly apply for a copyright or trademark for everything they create.

I would look into copyright laws of your native country though.

[revisionstudios]

This is a bit of a tricky situation for all the reasons mentioned earlier in the thread--it's a little harder to fund something brand new if you don't have a lot under your belt as proof that you won't abandon the project.

That said, Kickstarters are an excellent way to raise funds for people just like you. I think if you do it, you should maybe save up to get the first issue or at least 10-15 pages done before launch so people can see you're committed.

And yeah, physical books are pretty much required to fund something of that size. Collections are much more popular than individual issues, but if you feel like you just want to dip your toe in and only do the issue, I think that's fine.

If you're so inclined, I made a thread last year while I was doing my Kickstarter, you might find some good info there:

Okay, so, yes. I am totally making this thread partly to promote my Kickstarter. But I ALSO wanted to give back to the community! I know it's something that's pretty intimidating for creators, especially starting out. So having run one already and in being in the midst of my second, I figured I could give some first hand experience. I also do conventions regularly so I'm quite familiar with printing and merchandise. Is there anything you've been wanting to know and can't find a good answer o…

[nostalgicroxas]

since one can't feasibly apply for a copyright or trademark for everything they create.

Yes and no. As I said in regard to the US copyright, they have sections for scripts, movies, novels, comics, art (as in sketchbooks) and other such stuff. So yes you can send them digital files of bunches of art and sketches dated a certain time to file. You can also pay extra upfront for an "in progress" item that will be copyrighted and state that you plan to complete it in the next decade, then when it's done, you'll have a bit less up-front paperwork to do to file it for protection. However if during that period of creation, because you've filed for copyright first before someone could steal it, you would retain ownership of it and that can be used in court. [Total sidenote, but it's currently really hard to copyright dance outside of fine Opera which is music + complex choreography. That's currently an issue that is forcing the US government to make a firm statement on how you can claim copyright and ownership for dance. Literally new in the last decade - namely because of Fortnite "stealing this dance" claims.]
Keep in mind that copyright does not equal "registered trademark" or "trademarks" (which are shown as ® ™)

[joannekwan]

Yeah, but for a lot of artists just starting out, I think a formal copyright is one of the last things they really have to budget for when they are better off putting their limited earnings into bills and such, and in the case of this kickstarter, probably paying the artist(s), printing, and shipping.

Like once the volume is dead set complete, or there is a solid plan for completion, then sure, go on and register for a copyright.

For anyone interested, here's a general list of U.S. copyright fees
https://www.copyright.gov/about/fees.html

And yeah, copyright and trademarks and patents are all different things. I'm just saying in general, regardless of who reads these posts. Everyone should research the things that pertain to whatever they're creating.

[silverraven0]

Not sure if you know but we've a comic anthology Kickstarter funded before. (I'm not the one creating it but I'm in the anthology).

You can see our page on the link down there and @faeriesandents can tell you more about t since they're into their second Kickstarter for a novel anthology :

Over A Coffee

To be honest, we're all small creators and we almost not able to get it totally funded before the time limit. Everything was kinda smooth the first two weeks but then we don't get many despite a lot of us promoting it everywhere and lacked like, half of it(?).

We got lucky a generous anonymous backer help us with the last 1.600, if not this comic Kickstarter might not be able to be funded completely and have to cut the comic production, so you probably really need to think about the cost and everything thoroughly And planning About the promotion.

[Croik]

Like others have said, people pledging to Kickstarter are often looking to own a thing, preferably a physical thing. Not to say you can't have digital only tiers, but are you planning on posting the comic to Tapas or Webtoon after the Kickstarter is done? If so, you really ought to disclose this, but that means you're asking people to pay for something that's going to be free for everyone else as soon as the comic is finished and posted.

That's not much incentive. You'll have to come up with some extras that your Backers will get to make it worth it for them.

Also, don't start your Kickstarter at the end of the year. I don't know about the laws of your country, but for tax purposes it's much easier if you're able to spend all your funds in the same year that you earned them, so that you can deduct some of the expenses.

[xabelmind]

but the costs are more than I can manage on my budget, so, thinking of finally doing a Kickstarter to gather enough funds to pay him to draw the comic.

If you can't fund your artist to do the first issue of your comic exactly as you have it planned, how about to cut costs? Like drawing it in b/w instead of colou,r or any other related stuff that helps the artist put less hours in the work. You could get to an agreement with him.

I say this because, regardless of you doing Kickstarter, or Patreon, or whatever you decide, you need to start the work and make the people before make the money.

I remember an animation project (I can't remember the name ) that funded the episodes of their story with Kickstarters. Their first Kickstarter didn't achieve the money goal, so they posted what the money they gathered let them do.

So that first episode has some scenes that are just sketches, or just the lineart, but posting it let them reach to more people, and with that they could make it in the Kickstarter for the second episode.

With this I don't mean "do the Kickstarter", I mean use the money you already have wisely.

In the case of comics, this could relate to do a raf webcomic, build audience, and then fund a print version that's all neat and fabulous

Regarding the copyright part:

When you do something like make a printed vers of your work, you should put a copy of the stuff you're going to put in that book in the office that takes charge of that.

Copyright doesn't protect abstract stuff, like ideas. But it can protect that physical expression of your work before it goes through the hands of editors, printers, etc.

It's just a legal proof that it is yours, like have a proof that your house is yours signed before notary.

You still have your rights over the work from the very moment you create it, that's just an irrefutable proof in the eyes of legality and something you can signal to your editor/printer when you send them the work.

"I already put it under copyright so I can send it to you on..."

You don't have to leave the exact final version all edited and marvelous in the office, just the content, and you still can do small changes after, as long as that content doesn't radically change (like change the plot of the story).

Copyright is handled by the gobernment and it's only valid in that country, you should look there (in their site) what you have to do and where to go to register a work.

Still, keep in mind if a big company stole your work, would you have the money to sue them?

It may not be absolutely effective, but nothing is, they're just small measures, like lock your door when you go to sleep, it won't stop a burglar to enter if decided, but it may help in many situations.

[LWriter]

Hey guys, thank you all so much for all the information and advice, really means a lot! ^^ I will take it all under consideration as I decide. I planned to make the first 5 pages first to show and build interest in the project, and if I did the Kickstarter, use it to showcase what we're making. I might still do that, but from what you all told me, it does sound like I might want to make the first issue on my own first (even if it takes a while) and save the Kickstarter for the second issue to show our commitment.

I have seen series that have been done like that through Kickstarter, one issue at a time. Ultimately, it does sound like there are no guarantees no matter what you do or how you do it. I guess where I'm struggling the most is on what to offer as rewards other than the comic itself. Open to any ideas there lol. Someone said a page thanking people who pledge, which, sure, as a high reward could be doable.

I do understand that a lot of people prefer to pledge when it's for a physical product, but honestly, would rather save for the full series if I ever finish it. I'll think about it, but It's just not very feasible for me to get or ship the books from where I am (plus it drives the goal higher), so, would prefer to save that for the end if possible. Yes, I would disclose that we're making it digital-only for now, to put here and on our website. If that's a deal-breaker for people, well...it is what it is, I guess.

P.S: We are a chapter away from finishing our current comic, which we've been releasing here without interruption the entire year, so, hopefully that goes a long way to show we're committed to finishing our projects.

[joannekwan]

I guess where I'm struggling the most is on what to offer as rewards other than the comic itself.

If the artist is willing, you could offer commissions at certain tiers!
You could also look into doing cheaper merchandise, like small prints or even postcards, perhaps even buttons. Those you can pop into a standard-sized envelope and mail out at a low price.