Have you ever dreamt about self-publishing a book but thought it would cost too much? Crowdfunding is one way to turn your creative dreams into reality.
Last year, author and travel writer Lee Atkinson lived the dream of so many of us: hitting the road and doing “The Big Lap” of Australia. She’s writing a book about her 10-month adventure and rather than going down the traditional publishing route (this is her 13th book) she’s using Australian-based crowdfunding platform Pozible to finance the printing and production of The Big Lap.
Crowdfunding is more than just a way to raise money, explains Lee. “It’s a fantastic way for people to get involved in creative projects because you get updates from the creators along the way,” she says. “You can support the projects by ‘pledging’ small amounts of money, even as low as $5 – in return for special ‘rewards’. My book campaign runs until 9 April, and the ‘rewards’ include ebooks and desktop wallpapers, signed copies of the book and even personalised itinerary planning consultations. You can pledge any amount you like, via credit card or Paypal, but no money changes hands until the target is met – $6000 in this instance. It’s an all or nothing proposal, so if we don’t get enough pledges the book doesn’t happen. If we do meet target, you’ll get a copy of the book – or whatever ‘reward’ you opted for – delivered to your door in June.”
Why crowdfund? “It’s a win-win,” says Lee. “Everyone that pre-orders a copy of the book gets it almost half price, and I know that there are enough people who want to buy the book before any trees are sacrificed to the printing presses.”
YourLifeChoices thinks it’s a great project and we’ve made a pledge: for more information see www.pozible.com/biglap. Orders close at noon on 9 April 2015.
