PROJECT UPDATE – THE MIDNIGHT RAIDER: Revisions were needed for issue 1 and with those complete we are rescanning in all the pages, then its off to be re-lettered and colored for final production. Once the pages for issue 1 are all colored and lettered we will first be printing the Exclusive IndieGOGO edition for those awesome few to donated to our campaign and helped us reach this point in our j...ourney. After that The Midnight Raider issue 1 will release digitally through anacomics.com and other outlets, with the print edition of the book scheduled for release this summer.
Layouts for issue 2 are complete, and final pencil work has begun. The goal is to have a special Midnight Edition release in May, similar to how we released issue 1 before. Once that happens, the book will move along in the production process to be colored and art on the third book will begin.
We want to thank again all who have supported this project from the beginning! The Midnight Raider is coming and volume 2 is currently being plotted out. We are confident this will prove to be well worth the wait!
THOUGHTS ON GROUP FUNDING: I’ve used both Kickstarter and IndieGOGO for group funding campaigns, and with recent conversations I’ve seen people having I thought I would share some thoughts I have on the topic.
First off I want to say that it is worth trying. More than anything it doesn’t cost you anything to try, specifically with Kickstarter. Group funding provides us as creators with a platform to basically poll our target audience and test the waters before taking to many decisive actions. But does it work? Will it help you? And Whats the catch?
First it is important to know the general differences between Kickstarter and IndieGOGO, for the specifics please take the time to read through their websites. Biggest difference is that Kickstarter is an all or nothing pledge based situation, and IndieGOGO is a donation based program. How this impacts you up front is in your incentives. With Kickstarter you can plan with the understanding that your incentives are only filled after your goal is reached, yet with IndieGOGO you can only get one donation but you have to be prepaired to fulfill the incentive because you receive the money from each donation received.
As far as I know there is no sure way to success beyond knowing or having access to enough people who are willing to donate the minimum amount, helping your reach your goal. To a certain extent many people feel a rush a vulnerability when they put themselves out there, and when you don’t meet your goal it can sting. My greatest piece of advice would be to have at least 75-80% of your project complete before ever starting your campaign. This does two strong things for you. First it puts you in a position of confidence being able to say to your would be backers that you are already that close to completion. This allows them to donate with more confidence, trusting that in a short span of time the product they just pledged to support will be available for enjoyment. This confidense will hopefully also lead to more frequent donations and you reaching your goal sooner. Second, having that much of your project completed, should your funding goals be reached it will be easier to set aside the time to fulfill all the incentives you’ll likely have.
Its good to know your timelines. Which many times will require asking for input from other, but the knowlegde is invaluable. Having this info will allow you to accurately communicate with your supporters. My first campaign was for a graphic novel, it failed. Which part of me believes is because of the long timeline remaining on the project. So when I did my second campaign it was on a much shorter timeline, yet I had another lesson to learn also about timelines.
Being so accustume to my own side of the process I didn’t accurately take into the account of the other parties involved in the production of the project. On top of that we only raised $565, which is nothing compaired to what it costs to produce a full comic book. Thankfully the creators involved are all contributing their talents at no charge, however since this is not a paying gig, its also can not supercede their need to complete paying work. Its all a test in patience and keeping oneself focussed on the tasks at hand.
Would having raised a larger amount impacted the time lines of things? Yes. If a surplus was collected than a small amount could have been used to pay for assistance. This did not happen for me, so we are having to make due.
The benefit of this information for you is that you might learn from my mistakes. Hopefully group funding, though overly saturated by some opinions, could continue to help support independent comic book creators and help all of us get our stories out there!
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