A newbies guide to Kickstarter
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Feb 19, 2025 at 09:39:52 AM
Gah. I wrote an incredibly long post and then accidentally lost it all. So here I go again. I hope I remember everything. This isn't so much an "update" as it is a "how Kickstarters work tutorial." It's primarily targeted at those who are new to Kickstarter, but as each project has it's on peculiarities, even seasoned backers may find this helpful.
Kickstarter phases
In general a Kickstarter has several stages:
- Project Creation
- Pre-launch notification
- The Launch
- Funding Period
- Production
- Surveys
- Lockdown
- Fulfillment
Project Creation — happens weeks or months before a project goes live, where the creator has to verify who they are and where they live. They will also be vetted by Kickstarter as people with a bad past reputation won't be allowed to launch future projects. This is where we craft "The Story" and define the reward levels and what will be offered as add-ons. Once the creator has everything set, they ask for approval from Kickstarter to make sure it falls within their guidelines and they will either approve or reject the project.
Pre-launch notification — occurs between the "approval" and the "launch" - and at this time people can click on a button to be notified when a project goes live. If you are new to Kickstarter, you might want to browse other "coming soon" ficgtion projects and if you are curious about them, you can get a reminder at launch. For this Kickstarter we had just about 600 peoples sign up and so far 31% have backed the project (186 people).
The Launch — occurs on the go live date and time. This is when people can start backing the project. Once someone backs a given reward tier, the creator won't be able to change it (except for adding supported shipping countries). They also won't be able to change the end date. Just something to know because we often see comments asking people to keep the project going for a few more days. If you miss the Funding Period, no worries, there will be a way for you to back the project later. See the below section on missing the Kickstarter.
Funding Period — is pretty explanatory. It occurs between the Launch and the End Date. During this time, you can modify your pledge in a number of ways including:
- Swapping to a different tier (either up or down)
- Including or removing add-on items
- Including or removing "bonus money" for instance to reach a desired stretch goal
- Canceling your pledge (but please don't do that!)
At the end of the funding period, one of two things will happen.
- If the funding goal is not reached, no credit cards are charged, no backer data is sent to the creator, and the project ends.
- If the funding goal is reached, then your order is "committed." This means all the backers' cards are immediately charged, the creator receives the email addresses of the backers (but not their shipping information), and the reward are "locked in" — although as you'll see in a moment, (during the suvey stage), you can "upgrade" after the Kickstarter if you wish.
I should also note that Emilie won't receive the money pledged until several weeks after the funding period. This is because some credit cards will fail, and Kickstarter try to correct those errors for several weeks, and then any backers who haven't yet paid will be dropped from the Kickstarter - but don't worry, if this happens to you we can still get you in - see the People who miss the Kickstarter section below.
Production — For this project, it will start after the project ends and it will also coincide with when the surveys go out. Why wait? Well we might augment the books and make them better if various funding goals are reached. For instance, if we started printing early, we wouldn't have been able to add the gilded edges (Stretch Goal #1). There might be other additions made as the project continues.
The first step of production is determining the quantity of books to order (which we won't know until funding is completed). We will order more than the number purchased to account for (a) late backers (b) books lost or damaged in the mail, and (c) books that arrive to us in less than pristine shape.
Once we know the number we will get several printer quotes. Each printer has their own "house papers" and based on which printer we select (and which paper will be used) the width of the spine may change. Once we have selected the printer, the cover designer can adjust the spine widths and provide print ready files.
When the print ready files (and a 50% payment) is sent to the printer, we'll be put in a "print queue" - waiting for our turn to get on the press. We have no way of knowing ahead of time how long or short that queue is, but as soon as we know, we'll fill you in through an update. At some point, we'll reach the top of the queue and the books are printed, packaged, and sent to our Virginia warehouse.
Surveys — will go out a day or two after the end of the funding period. I hate this term as it sounds like it's some kind of "customer satisfaction" inquiry - which it is not. This is where we get important information from you —most importantly your mailing address! So if you DO NOT fill out your survey we cannot mail you your book.
While Kickstarter has their own survey (and recently added a late pledge option), we will be using a third-party fulfillment software for these functions. It's called BackerKit and it is a bit more sophisticated and easier to use than the built in Kickstarter features. So your survey will come from Kickstarter rathaer than from BackerKit.
NOTE: the survey will be sent to the email you have on file with Kickstarter BUT it CANNOT reach you if you are using an Apple Pay Private email such as: [email protected]. Nor can we email you to tell you your email address is invalid. We will send you messages via Kickstarter - so please be on the lookout for those notifications and provide us with an updated email address so you can get your survey.
In addition to providing your shipping data, surveys will also allow you to change your mind and upgrade your pledge. Through it you can:
- Switch to a higher reward tier (such as Both Books rather than Omni or Book #1)
- Purchase add-ons
- Add a "tip" for either Emilie or the fulfillment team
If you upgrade, additional funds will be collected by BackerKit's secure checkout process. You'll enter your credit card information (which we do not receive) and we will charge you during the lockdown phase (see below).
NOTE: Deluxe editions will also be available as "add-ons" during the survey phase - this will allow you to get two (or more) copies of the deluxe editions shipped together. The reason we don't do that during the Kickstarter is BackerKit has a more robust system for calculating shipping weights so rather than having a bunch of different reward levels for multiple deluxe editions - we'll handle that through survey add-ons.
NOTE: You will not be able to "downgrade" your pledge as that commitment was made through Kickstarter and the money was collected by them and sent to Emilie already.
Lockdown — will be announced a few days before the books are scheduled to arrive at our warehouse. This is the last time to make any changes to your pledge or to update your shipping address if you moved (or plan to move soon and you want us to hold your order). If you changed reward levels we'll charge your card then. As mentioned, we DO NOT receive your credit card information.
Fulfillment — starts after lockdown. James will create shipping labels; Emilie will sign the books, and the rest of the shipping team will start packing, labeling, and sending packages to various carriers. Your tracking information will be updated in BackerKit and you will be notified via email.
If you don't get a tracking number, check your email and Kickstarter messages, it's because we needed additional information from you (like apartment or suite number) and you've not seen the notifications. We do EVERYTHING we can to get the information required, but sometimes there are one or two people we can't ship to. In this case, we will reserve your books - and ship them once we learn where they should go - in some cases this has been years after the Kicksatarter ended! Please don't be that guy/gal.
If you are not in the US, and your country charges import fees or value-added taxes on books sent from the US, you need to watch your shipping status carefully. That's because you will be contacted by your carrier to pay your import duties - which does not come to us. It goes directly to your taxation authority. If you fail to make this payment the package will come back to us. If that happens, you'll have to pay for a second shipment and it will be more expensive since Emilie has subsidized part of the postage on the first shipment. So please don't let this happen to you.
We will watch the status of all packages, and if it says "delivered" we will assume you have it and everything was fine. We take great care in packaging, but a very few number will be damaged in the mail - if this happens send a picture of your damaged book(s) to [email protected] and we'll get a replacement sent out. If your package is marked as "delivered" but you don't have it - it may be because of porch pirate or wrong delivery by your post office. If that happens, please notify us right away, and we'll resend another package at our expense. We generally won't be watching a Kickstarter months after the packages have arrived, so if you wait too long, you'll hae to reach out to Emilie directly.
People who miss the Kickstarter
If you missed the Kickstarter, or you cancelled or didn't pledge because you needed more time to put aside the money, don't worry you can still get the books. BackerKit has the ability for a "pre-order" store where you'll be able to purchase any of the products sold through the Kickstarter. There will be a "Late Backer" button in the header of this Kickstarter (and we'll also post the URL in updates).
NOTE: While there is a one time transfer of data from Kickstarter to BackerKit at the time the project ends, there is NO communication from BackerKit to Kickstarter. In other words if you pre-order or change your order in BackerKit, Kickstarter is not aware of that. If you pre-order you will not see updates automatically. So, please check the updates at this link before inquiring about the status of production or shipping.
Wrapping up
And that's the process from soup to nuts. I hope I answered any questions you may have had, but if not - just add a comment or send a message to Emilie and I'll get the answer to you. Thanks again for your support.
