Novel Marketing The 5 Kinds of Author Kickstarter Campaigns
7 snips
Oct 14, 2026 
Russell Nohelty, a USA Today bestselling author of more than 70 books, shares five Kickstarter campaign types for authors. They explore testing demand before writing, reviving backlist titles, creating premium editions, and expanding book brands into games, planners, comics, and audio. They also tackle memorable campaign storytelling, profitability, and why T-shirts can be a costly reward.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
A Kickstarter Tested Demand Before Writing
- Thomas Umstattd Jr. tested an unrelated dating book before writing it, requiring a $10,000 commitment from backers.
- His audience funded the project, proving demand before he invested months completing it.
Use Kickstarter To Force Honest Demand
- Use Kickstarter to distinguish polite enthusiasm from genuine buying intent.
- Set a high enough goal to make interested audiences prove they will financially support the requested book or product.
Backers Reveal Your Real Audience
- Crowdfunding reveals which readers actually buy, unlike friendly surveys that often produce socially acceptable answers.
- Compare backers with your intended genre audience; mismatches signal packaging or positioning problems.
