I'd like to crowdfund, but need some help getting started
Hello, everyone. I'm pleased to meet you all, including the ones I've already met. :) I would like to use crowdfunding as a business model for original fiction writing. However, after having read ysabetwordsmith's articles and taken a look at what some people are doing, while I think I have some idea of what to do, I'm still a little confused.
First, I see that the general way for writers(, icon makers, and artists) to do things is to have a prompt call. I understand this as follows:
Cathy Crowdfunder makes a post to her LJ naming a specific theme-- something like "home", "older people" or "military SF"-- and stating that she is taking prompts for Awesome Artistry (such as icons, flashfics, or poems) on this theme until one or two days after the post is made.
Cathy links her post here.
Peter Prompter shows up and leaves a comment with a prompt, such as "what happened to not!tree?" or "a disabled separatist group IN SPACE."
Cathy writes about disabled separatists in space, or writes a sequel to The Tree That Wasn't.
Cathy replies to Peter's comment with her own comment, saying something like "this became The Army of One Tree That Wasn't, about the adventures of Generic Protagonist in Setting with Awesome Plot Point. Buy it now: $X"
One or more people somehow pay.
The story becomes free for anyone to read.
???
Profit!
First, is this correct? Or does the process differ materially from what I've outlined?
Second, why are there discrete prompt calls? Why not accept prompts whenever they happen?
Third, what if I write slowly? ysabetwordsmith has written several of my prompts, sometimes within hours or minutes of my giving them, and usually within a day or so. baaing-tree has only answered two, but both have been within about a day. Is this typical? Is it required? What if I come back to a prompt days after the Fishbowlathon? Is that acceptable?
Fourth, how do I know who my donors are? How do I tell where a donation came from?
Fifth, how do I know which work they're paying for?
Sixth, how do I set up a donation button?
Seventh, how do I price my work?
Eighth, what would I do with stories written outside of prompt calls?
Finally, I have some worlds that would make great homes for connected serials that couldn't quite be structured into novels because there's a little too much sprawl, in time as well as space. Would it work to post a batch of short first installments introducing the worlds and conflicts, and say something like "I'll take prompts for any of these universes, but further installments won't be freebies"? Is there anything dreadfully wrong with that idea that I haven't noticed?
And one last thing. Would it work to leave all fanfic free forever, and charge for original fic with exceptions for series-beginners? Or would that work better without the series-beginner exception?
(I can't figure out what to tag this with. Sorry.)
First, I see that the general way for writers(, icon makers, and artists) to do things is to have a prompt call. I understand this as follows:
Cathy Crowdfunder makes a post to her LJ naming a specific theme-- something like "home", "older people" or "military SF"-- and stating that she is taking prompts for Awesome Artistry (such as icons, flashfics, or poems) on this theme until one or two days after the post is made.
Cathy links her post here.
Peter Prompter shows up and leaves a comment with a prompt, such as "what happened to not!tree?" or "a disabled separatist group IN SPACE."
Cathy writes about disabled separatists in space, or writes a sequel to The Tree That Wasn't.
Cathy replies to Peter's comment with her own comment, saying something like "this became The Army of One Tree That Wasn't, about the adventures of Generic Protagonist in Setting with Awesome Plot Point. Buy it now: $X"
One or more people somehow pay.
The story becomes free for anyone to read.
???
Profit!
First, is this correct? Or does the process differ materially from what I've outlined?
Second, why are there discrete prompt calls? Why not accept prompts whenever they happen?
Third, what if I write slowly? ysabetwordsmith has written several of my prompts, sometimes within hours or minutes of my giving them, and usually within a day or so. baaing-tree has only answered two, but both have been within about a day. Is this typical? Is it required? What if I come back to a prompt days after the Fishbowlathon? Is that acceptable?
Fourth, how do I know who my donors are? How do I tell where a donation came from?
Fifth, how do I know which work they're paying for?
Sixth, how do I set up a donation button?
Seventh, how do I price my work?
Eighth, what would I do with stories written outside of prompt calls?
Finally, I have some worlds that would make great homes for connected serials that couldn't quite be structured into novels because there's a little too much sprawl, in time as well as space. Would it work to post a batch of short first installments introducing the worlds and conflicts, and say something like "I'll take prompts for any of these universes, but further installments won't be freebies"? Is there anything dreadfully wrong with that idea that I haven't noticed?
And one last thing. Would it work to leave all fanfic free forever, and charge for original fic with exceptions for series-beginners? Or would that work better without the series-beginner exception?
(I can't figure out what to tag this with. Sorry.)