Rainy Road Warrior Newsletter
September 19, 2022
Lookin’ (sorta) Good!
As I write this on Sunday, the 18th, the Epic of Darkness Kickstarter campaign is at $700 with 28 backers. Obviously, it’s not setting the crowdfunding world on fire but at least it’s enough to meet the initial goal, which was just to fund a small print run.
But the real goal of this campaign — as with all of my previous campaigns — is to create a sustainable production model. Meaning, I would have a book completed and ready for printing at the start of a campaign and the majority of the money earned would actually go towards funding the production of the next book and so forth and so on.
I have enough ideas/concepts/characters/stories to do that. I just don’t have the money.
So the EoD campaign will need to earn quite a bit more than the $500 initial goal to allow me to justify continuing to spend thousands of dollars to create a single comic book. If I can just break even, then it would at least be “okay”.
EoD is the 4th book I’ve self-funded and, right now, I just look like a fool to everyone. Wasting time and (a lot!) of money that could have instead gone towards providing for my family. It is a burden that gets heavier by the moment and is quickly becoming overwhelming.
Share the love!
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve come to the conclusion that doing promo swaps with other creators is the best way to reach people who are actively looking for projects to support. So that’s going to be my #1 strategy for the EoD campaign.
In this regard, here are some projects that were gracious enough to mention EoD to their backers so I hope you can check ‘em out and see if they’re offering anything that might grab your interest.
And these aren’t just random comics. I chose ones that are in the same wheelhouse as EoD.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcaneinkdustries/legends-of-the-realm-1-2-set-in-stone
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/infidelium/infidelium
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadlycrimson/deadly-crimson-issue-2-0
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a-aron/blood-and-fire-a-samurai-tale-chapters-1-and-2
Crowdfunding 101
Another strategy that seems to have worked this time around is that I created multiple pre-packaged rewards at different price levels to make things easier for backers. In the past, I relied on Kickstarter’s add-on feature but I don’t think it’s as effective as it could be.
And I noticed that when I backed other campaign’s, I would scoot right past their add-on screens. Not sure why. Maybe it’s just that it seems like something that’s more of an annoyance (like a car salesman trying to tack on “features” as a sneaky way to increase the total price) rather than something that is truly helpful.
But I think having pre-packaged reward tiers — where the backers can see large images and clear descriptions of what they’re getting — works better. It makes it a one-click affair. So far, that seems to be the case when comparing EoD to my past campaigns.
I have to give a shout-out to Drew from SnowyWorks for suggesting this change. After the GunEngine Zero campaign failed, he advised me to try this approach. So, kudos to Drew!
Catalyst Indie Magazine
A short time ago, I was contacted by a fellow named Dalibor Zujovic who publishes a digital magazine called Catalyst. It’s roughly 100 pages of all things indie comics. There are even complete stories. And, from what I gather, he puts it all together himself. That’s an amazing feat!
(Not “amazing feet”. That would be something you’d say if you met Sasquatch at the shoe store.)
Anywho…
The newest issue features an interview with yours truly so go check it out — and subscribe — to support that madman and all of his hard work!
https://thecatalyst.digital/2022/09/06/catalyst-07-september-2022/
TMI, maybe?
Sometime after I graduated high school, a longtime friend of my father's was visiting our house in Miami when we got into a conversation about what I was going to do with my life. My notion of going to college on a football scholarship had revealed itself to be a delusion and my backup plan of enlisting in the Army was looking less and less like a wise choice.
As a kid, I held a secret desire to be an "artist" (cartoonist, illustrator, novelist, film director, etc.) but I never revealed it to anyone for fear of being ridiculed. I was well aware of the fact that our family consisted of generation after generation of lower-middle class, blue-collar laborers and anything "creative" was outside the realm of possibility. In fact, it was a realm that might as well have existed on the other side of the Earth.
But, for whatever reason, when my dad's friend asked me what I was planning on doing, I finally dared speak about my dream. I mentioned something about getting into film and video and he immediately laughed and said, "Who do you think you are, Steven Spielberg?"
This happened about 30 years ago. But I can still clearly recall the almost disgusted expression on his face. It's one of those impactful memories that walks in my footsteps. All I have to do is look back over my shoulder to come face to face with it again.
And it wasn’t just him. I've constantly had to fight external, dismissive, oppresive attitudes coming at me from all angles. Voices saying, "How dare you?" or "Who do you think you are?" or "You can't be serious!" or "Know your place!" External voices that eventually became internal.
Those voices have become louder than ever now that I’m on my 5th comic and yet to make it a financially legitimate endeavor. At this point, the only way to silence all those ridiculing and dismissive voices is through massive success.
Otherwise, they’re right.
~Michael T Gonzalez
