My books were too quiet.
Or that’s what I kept being told. Never mind that Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd’s lullaby in prose GOODNIGHT MOON, a book about a bunny who stays in bed throughout the entire book, is and continues to be one of the most consistently best-selling books in history…according to publishers, quiet didn’t sell. My agent submitted my books to publisher after publisher and we heard the same words over and over. It’s too quiet. There needs to be more action. I always got great compliments on my art, but as much as they seemed to like the way I drew, nobody was hiring me to illustrate their books.
So I decided to make a book on my own terms. I would make a book that was everything that publishers said they didn’t want from me. Too quiet? My book was going to have hardly any words at all. Instead of one long narrative, it would be a series of short pieces and vignettes, most of which had no perceivable plot. Even the format was unconventional: rather than typical children’s book dimensions it was a square. Instead of the usual 32 pages, it was 52. It was everything publishers didn’t want but it was the book I wanted to make. And the only way it would see print was if I self-published it.
To raise the money, I decided to use crowdfunding. I spent nearly a year researching everything I could about successful crowdfunding campaigns. I discovered that Kickstarter would be my best option. Though I had no experience in business or marketing, I came up with a marketing plan and budget. Though I had never made a video before, I shot my video on my iPhone and learned how to use the editing software on my Mac.
My goal was $7,000 dollars. Some of my friends told me this was too ambitious. That I was asking for too much. That I should set my sights lower. But this was how much I determined I would need to make the book that I wanted to make, and if I couldn’t make the book I wanted to make, I didn’t see any point in doing it at all. And if I failed, the only thing I stood to lose was the time I invested.
Once the campaign began, I got to work. I used every spare moment I had to promote my book. I spread the word on social media. I arranged an interview on a local radio station. I e-mailed everyone I knew.
My campaign succeeded beyond my expectations. Authors and illustrators I admired posted links to my project on their Facebook pages. My project became a staff pick on Kickstarter and one of their “projects of the day,” which meant that my video was featured on their home page. They even used my project as an example on their phone app. I raised over $10,000, well in excess of my $7,000 goal, and was able to use the extra money to enhance my book with extras like spot lamination and color endpapers.
While a few of my supporters were friends and family, most of them were people I didn’t know who had come to believe in my project. One of them was a small press publisher who offered to sub-distribute the book once I met my goal. The publisher would put their name on it, and with the legitimacy that a veteran publisher afforded, I could get the book into libraries and bookstores and I could get it reviewed.
I made some mistakes along the way but I’ve had the opportunity to learn from them. The book has opened many doors for me. It’s gotten a number of positive reviews. I’ve held signings and done lectures and taught classes. I’ve met a lot of wonderful people I wouldn’t have otherwise met.
But most important of all, my book is being read. And if you self-publish using crowdfunding you may not be the next J.K. Rowling, but I guarantee you will have readers. Because crowdfunding not only provides you the funds you need to publish, but it builds enthusiasm for your book and an audience that you wouldn’t have otherwise had. That book that everyone rejected, that no one was willing to publish will finally have readers.
And above all else, isn’t that the reason we do this? Because we love books so much we want to make them and share them and have others enjoy them? Because otherwise you’re in the wrong business.
Jed Alexander is the author/illustrator of (MOSTLY) WORDLESS, which he originally self-published with crowdfunding finances and which was then picked up by a small traditional publisher. He is represented by Abigail Samoun of Red Fox Literary. Find out more about Jed at JedAlexander.com.
Jed will also be co-teaching an extraordinary course on How to Self- or Indie- Publish with Crowdfunding starting March 23rd with Mira Reisberg. The course covers print, e-books, crowdfunding, marketing, social media, and much more.
26 comments
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March 2, 2015 at 12:21 pm
Jennette Mutolo
Jed,
You have such an inspiring story! Where can I find your book? I’d love to add it to our school’s library collection:-)
March 2, 2015 at 12:31 pm
Elizabeth Martin
Jed, your blog was most inspirational. You are an amazing man and I can’t wait to purchase your book.
March 2, 2015 at 1:15 pm
Michelle R. Eastman
Thanks for sharing your inspirational success story. My books are too “rhyming”. I chose to self-publish for many reasons, and I am very happy with my decision. In fact, I am giving it another go with yet another rhyming picture book. I love being able to work closely with the illustrator as we build the book. I also enjoy the freedom to be able to order my own stock of books to sell or give away as I please. Congratulations on your beautiful book.
Michelle
March 2, 2015 at 1:41 pm
Jed Alexander
Thanks so much for all of your kind words!
So here’s where you can get my book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Mostly-Wordless-Jed-Alexander/dp/1934460338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425317601&sr=8-1&keywords=mostly+wordless
and congratulations Michelle, on getting your book made! Please post a link so we can check it out!
March 2, 2015 at 3:56 pm
kiwiskan
Hey Jed. I love your story and I’d love to get your book, but Amazon postage to New is pretty much prohibitive…
March 2, 2015 at 1:58 pm
marcia23
What an inspiring post! Thank you and congratulations.
March 2, 2015 at 2:11 pm
Jed Alexander
Thanks Marcia!
March 2, 2015 at 2:49 pm
Judy Cox
Congratulations! It looks like a lovely book. It’s nice to have so many paths to publication now.
March 2, 2015 at 3:08 pm
katmaz2012
Congratulations! Thanks for the inspiration. Self publishing is looking like a better option everyday.
March 2, 2015 at 4:09 pm
Rosi Hollinbeck
Congrats! What a great story. This gives hope to a lot of us.
March 2, 2015 at 5:27 pm
Jed Alexander
Thanks everyone! And Rosi, you can do it! If you want to make a book, all you have to do is make one. Whatever form it takes.
March 2, 2015 at 6:24 pm
evelynchristensen
Congratulations on your success, Jed!! What a wonderful story! (And, yes, I mean that both ways.) Best wishes on all your future projects.
March 2, 2015 at 6:40 pm
Ali Pfautz
Awesome post! I was not familiar with crowdfunding and will look into it a bit more now. I self-published last year around the same time as you! It has been a crazy, amazing ride. From the start, I knew it would be expensive because I’m not an artist (can’t even draw stick figures-ha!) and I wanted quality images. So I had to be willing to pay for those images. It all worked out beautifully, but it’s a lot of work! I can’t wait to check out your book! Thank you for sharing!!
March 2, 2015 at 6:45 pm
sabrinawrites1
Determination beats all, you have to have a vision. Well done!
March 2, 2015 at 8:37 pm
Lauri Fortino
Too quiet…that’s a comment I get quite a bit myself. It’s frustrating. Good to know writers have options to get their work out there. Congratulations on your success.
March 2, 2015 at 9:42 pm
Jed Alexander
Thanks everyone, and congratulations to another self-publisher, Ali!
March 3, 2015 at 7:12 am
Ali Pfautz
Thanks! 🙂
March 2, 2015 at 10:16 pm
The Head Woozle
Thanks for this article. I had a very similar situation with my book, Pandamorphosis. I got all the complimentary comments about my artwork, and the same reluctance to publish a wordless story, that didn’t have a big conflict in it. Like Jed, I did a crowd funding project on Kickstarter to raise money and was wildly successful.
I did not (yet) make a connection with a small publisher to distribute, but I haven’t given up hope yet.
Thanks for sharing your story!
March 3, 2015 at 7:03 am
gweddle
Congratulations! We need quiet books! Every story shouldnt be a drama or comedy if we are to have balance. Thanks for sharing your journey to publication. You did it! Congratulations!
March 3, 2015 at 7:12 am
M.A. Bentz
Hi Jed, Good job and great book idea. I remember seeing your book on kickstarter. I thought, this is an amazing book, it really looks like a book that should have been published. Your story is so inspiring. I get many rejections as well and just might have to go the self publishing rout. Thank you.
March 3, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Sheri Rad
Wow, that took courage and tenacity to do and lots of learning the ins and outs of self publishing. I applaud his success. Good luck in future.
March 4, 2015 at 9:47 pm
Jed Alexander
Thanks so much!
March 4, 2015 at 10:00 pm
Jed Alexander
And Anne: your Pandamorphosis looks terrific! You earned every penny!
March 6, 2015 at 6:49 pm
aliciaminor
Why not? We have to start somewhere, somehow and if self-publishing is the answer, by all means, go for it. It’s all for the love of book sharing.
March 25, 2015 at 5:01 pm
jakv6
Does anyone else think there’s a market saturation of crowd-funded projects? When something like this actually works, it’s something that restores one’s faith in humanity, but there’s always that voice saying ‘yeah, but it wouldn’t work for me.’
Or am I completely wrong?
May 1, 2015 at 3:23 pm
Christina Steiner
Thank you for this article. Like you, I got rejected too many times and in addition, I didn’t want to change my story to suit a publisher in the industry. Though I don’t have the talent to make my own illustration, I did find a very talented artist who was happy to work with me. Unfortunately I had to come up with my own financing, I never thought of doing a fund raiser of any kind. I’m very pleased that it worked out for you. Congratulations. I love your illustrations and will find the book on Amazon.
I’m very happy that the self publishing option is available to us writers with no, or not yet name recognition.