In this video, I explain what Kickstarter is and why I'm publishing Spear of Destiny there first.

Hello everyone. I'm thriller author J.F. Penn, and today I'm talking about what is Kickstarter and why am I launching my latest thriller Spear of Destiny on the platform?

Well, if you've never heard of Kickstarter or never used it before, it's a crowdfunding platform where you can support creators to bring their projects to life.

It's a different way of shopping for interesting and unusual books and products. Like a pre-order for special editions.

You can support creators you already love, or find books from new creators you might never have heard of before.

Kickstarter has become an important part of the business of being an author these days. It enables creators to make more money more quickly and retain a higher percentage of the royalties rather than wait months or even years to get paid. This means we can keep writing the books you enjoy.

There are all kinds of different projects on the platform from art and design to films and games and music, and of course there are authors creating beautiful books. You can find us in the Publishing category at Kickstarter.com.

Campaigns usually run for a few weeks when you can check out what's available and back at the level you want. You enter your credit card number at this stage, but you won't be charged until the end of the campaign and only if the creator makes their target.

You can get special editions like my silver foil Spear of Destiny.

You can get bonus content, you can get merchandise, great value bundles, digital specials, print exclusives, and early access, sometimes months before books are published on retailers like Amazon. You also get to connect with the author through updates and messages.

Once the campaign is over and fully funded, the creator can fulfill your order. That might be an ebook or an audiobook, a special print edition or a bundle. The money is used to pay the printer for the books and other creatives involved in the process, like editors, cover designers or audio book narrators.

Why am I using Kickstarter for my latest thriller Spear of Destiny instead of just launching on the usual platforms?

Well, for the first time in my 13 years of being a full-time author, I'm doing a special hardback edition for my fiction.

It has this exclusive Kickstarter only cover, silver foil on the dust jacket and the hard cover underneath, a black ribbon for a bookmark, red and black head and tail bands, higher quality paper. Plus this special edition includes photos from my research trips in the author's note, and it will be a signed first edition, so you won't be able to get this anywhere else.

And if you prefer other formats, you can also get early access to the other editions. This is the paperback and there's a large print edition if you like a bigger font and a bigger size. You can also get the ebook and the audiobook.

They will be out on my store, www.JFPennBooks.com in August, and on Amazon and all the usual retailers in September 2024, so you can read or listen months early if you get them from me in the Kickstarter campaign.

I'm also offering bundle deals for the whole ARKANE series in ebook, audiobook and paperback, and this is the first time I've done an audiobook bundle with so many books.

Plus, if you are a writer, you might be interested in my discovery writing webinar, which is also available as part of the campaign.

You can find out more at www.jfpenn.com/destiny and the Kickstarter runs from the 30 May to 18 June, 2024.

Even if Spear of Destiny is not for you, go check out the other wonderful publishing campaigns on www.kickstarter.com/publishing because you can get some brilliant books and other products and support creators directly.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Thanks for listening, and I hope to see you inside my campaign at www.jfpenn.com/destiny