Kickstarter Report – Time Kneels Between Mountains

Preparation
I prepared for my first Kickstarter campaign by reading Kickstarter for Authors by Anthea L. Sharpe and joining the associated Facebook group Kickstarter for Authors.. I took notes as I read and used them to design my campaign.

One key piece of advice was to build a pre-launch page and attract followers. I didn’t perform strongly here, but I did follow other campaigns to learn from their approaches.

I spent several months crafting the campaign story, graphics, and structure. Authors often choose between running “luxury” book campaigns with bespoke editions, or straightforward paperback campaigns using IngramSpark drop-shipping. For this first attempt, I kept it simple and focused on learning the platform.

Launch and Promotion
Despite months of planning, I hesitated to launch—until supportive friends encouraged me to push forward. I set a modest funding goal of $500, which felt both achievable and nerve-wracking.

During the first week, I posted daily on social media and shared the campaign via my newsletter. I also ran a 30-day Facebook ad. I had already started warming up my audience by talking about Kickstarter through my newsletter and socials.

At one point I became unwell and paused posting for about a week. Each time I felt discouraged, a new backer appeared—which kept me motivated.

Results

• Funding Goal: $500
• Total Raised: $822 (over 30 days)
  • $387 pledged via Kickstarter
  • $435 via external referrers
• Average Pledge: $34.25
• Total Backers: 24

Backer Sources

• Website (likely via Facebook ads): 7 backers, $280
• Kickstarter project launch followers: 4 backers, $116
• External pledges: 2 backers, $115
• Kickstarter homepage (nearly funded): 1 backer, $45
• Kickstarter saved projects: 1 backer, $45
• Google search: 1 backer, $40
• Kickstarter discovery page: 1 backer, $25
• Kickstarter recommended: 2 backers, $11
• Kickstarter publishing page / recommended ending soon / app recommended newest: 1 each, $10

Conversion Rates

• Project followers: 15 total → 6 backers (40%)
• Pre-launch followers: 5 total → 3 backers (60%)
• Post-launch followers: 10 total → 3 backers (30%)

Pledge Breakdown

• Digital-only rewards: 6
• Paperback only (posted or pickup): 6
• Paperback + Digital (local pickup): 4
• Merchandise box tiers: 3
• Paperback + Digital Bonus Content $35: 2
• Other pledges: $25 donation + $1 follower

Grand Total: 24 backers

Financials

• Total raised: $822
• Collected after fees: $812
• Money in bank (after Kickstarter deductions): $734
• Printing & postage costs: $247.04
• Profit: $486.96

Fulfilment
Fulfilment was straightforward. I managed it myself by:

• Collecting addresses via the Backer survey and direct email
• Drop-shipping paperbacks through IngramSpark
• Distributing digital rewards via BookFunnel on a dedicated webpage

Reflection & Lessons Learned
I’m proud of completing my first Kickstarter campaign. It validated the concept, taught me the process, and built confidence for future campaigns. The main lessons were:

• Consistent posting matters—even when momentum feels low.
• Pre-launch followers are valuable but require more effort to build.
• A modest goal makes the first campaign less intimidating.

​Future Goals

• Launch campaigns for Book 2 and Book 3 in the Seka Torlak series (paperback + ebook). I will be running smaller goals of $300 to reduce my stress.
• Later, run a premium campaign for bespoke hardcover editions of Books 1–3 as a boxset.

Kickstarter Backer Source Image

Kickstarter Funding Summary

Pledge breakdown and Financial summary in graphics