Kickstarter and The Economics of Writing

Second Chance Charms has launched on Kickstarter, as of twenty minutes ago!

I have been writing professionally for nearly ten years in total. That's from 2009-2026, and doesn't count the years I didn't write professionally, or at all.

I made a professional income in exactly one of those years (2010). It was about the same amount I later made as a first year English teacher, a position no one could sensibly claim is overpaid.

I write commercial genre fiction, so next to the literary poets and the short story writers, this is rightly regarded as a roaring success. Next to many other professions which also require care, thought, and hard work, this is ludicrous. Well-meaning people will often say, 'but you do it because you love it, right?'

Of course I love writing. If I didn't, I wouldn't do it at all; it's an impossible amount of labour to put in to something for which you're wildly undercompensated if you don't love it. I love it so much I quit working full time at a job I also loved, because I needed to prioritise time to write.

Still, one must eat, and the mortgage must be paid. Money tends to be the way people do those things. The banks rarely accept love as legal tender.

It often seems as if the world makes it very difficult to write - even if you're privileged enough to be literate and have had the opportunity to become well-read, have time you can dedicate to your work, health enough to do it, a room of your own (with a door that locks), and you enjoy writing the kinds of books that people enjoy reading. Don't get me wrong: these days, I pay a grocery bill each month with the money I earn from writing, and that's not nothing. One must eat!

But it's not what you could call a sensible income. And that's why I love crowdfunding.

Kickstarter is a brilliant way to cover some expenses before the book comes out, and a way for me to reward the people who support my work. The initial funding goal doesn't actually cover full production costs, but it certainly contributes towards them. I can pay my cover designer and editors (who must also eat!) with less concern. Backers get high quality books, edited, proof-read, and well-made.

Then, if we hit stretch goals, a) I have in fact covered all my costs and b) I get to give people extras, and they get to have them!

If you like stories about magic, romance, and people working together to beat back malicious powers-that-be, then I think you'll like Second Chance Charms. If you read and enjoyed Magician First Class, you'll almost certainly enjoy this one too - I think it's a better, richer book.

And if you're new to the Sparks and Recreation series, the Kickstarter also includes tiers with the first book included, so you can read the first and immediately binge the second, which to me is the best possible way to approach a series.

I'll be back next week, with a report on the murder mystery dinner party on a train, and, more importantly, with pictures of my outfit. Until then, I hope your days go well.

Love, Karen (Kate).