Let me say up front: the whole Laserblasted project is daft. Yes, it’s a real novel. No, you don’t need to see the movie to understand it. (You don’t need to see the movie, period.) My alpha readers say it’s worthy. It’s not a novelization of the film. The marketing wrote itself.
But it’s daft.
This post is not a complaint, merely an observation. This is my career, and I knew the risks when I got into it. I am grateful for any support folks offer me, and I do not blame anyone for protecting themselves or their families.
By now I have a decent idea how much a Kickstarter will raise. I suspected that Laserblasted would bring in about $5,000, plus or minus a thousand, more or less. After fulfillment, that would net more than a trad deal with a reputable medium-sized publisher. It was on track to match or exceed that prediction.
Kickstarter provides a handy graph of backer support each day. What’s the campaign actually doing?
Huh. It’s like something happened last week. Something that took a few days to ripple through the economy, until it hit folks that this was real and they needed to prepare for financial disaster. When the plane loses cabin pressure, you must put on your own air mask before helping others.
I see the names of my backers. I recognize many of them. Folks who previously bought $200 omnibuses are now backing for $6 ebooks. Again, no blame on them. Put your own mask on first.
I’ve gotten notes from long-term backers and Patronizers, apologizing. These are awesome because I know they dearly want to support me. They’re heartbreaking because folks feel they’re letting me down. No, you’re not letting me down. I appreciate every one of you but again, put your own mask on first.
If you’re doing crowdfunding right now and everything imploded last week, know you’re not alone.
If you want to support my books but can’t, know that I don’t hold it against you. I know who to blame, and they never liked my books anyway.
I’ll keep shilling the campaign, and will raise what I can. I’m just glad I didn’t do the $200 Laserblasted 12″ Action Figure with Real Fake Lasergun Arm.
Thanks for that data. I’ve also seen a reduction in my eBay sales, which I attributed to the tariff braindeadedness (etc.). Hopefully the 3-month pause on most of those will bring back some consumer confidence, at least in the short term. Wishing you good luck with the rest of the campaign.
3 month pause, but not on the 25% Canada and Mexico tariffs, and boosting the tariffs on China to %125. Good thing Americans don’t use anything from those countries.