{"id":8568,"date":"2023-06-01T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/?p=8568"},"modified":"2023-06-01T09:36:17","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T16:36:17","slug":"fulfilling-rewards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plugoarts.com\/blog\/fulfilling-rewards\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulfilling Rewards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When talking with fellow members of The organization Kids Comics Unite<\/a> about crowdfunding campaigns the subject will ultimately turn to fulfillment. Rightly so, as the reason for running a crowdfunding campaign is most frequently associated with an end product. There are other instances which defy that commonly held outlook, but for the purposes of publishing and comics for kids there\u2019s an understanding that everyone benefits in some way, usually materially. The creator gets to see their project (book, zine, comic, graphic novel or novella) printed and backers receive a copy of some sort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the creator\u2019s primary responsibility to see that happen. Proper preparation should result in an accurately communicated time-line and updates about that should be substantial and consistent. Logistics can get hectic and it can take a lot of effort to make sure every backer receives what they are owed, but the effort can be rewarding in a number of ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It can be fulfilling to be tagged on social media when a backer receives their stuff. Some may simply derive satisfaction from a job well-done. But all that work put into a campaign can yield other fortunes if one can mine for the opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve only just started to consider the possibility that there might be a repeatable method behind the events which followed my first crowdfunding campaign. Maybe it\u2019s a kind of chaos magic<\/a> or time will reveal it was all simply a set of ideal circumstances whose only through-line was my applying the same project to any situation that came my way. I\u2019ll describe them here and you can decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2022 a Year of A Tiger\u2019s Tale<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After some 41 weeks of lead-up, Volume 1 of my crowdfunded graphic novel series A Tiger\u2019s Tale reached its funding goal over-night. The good will of one of my project\u2019s proponents, Ryan Claytor, moved me to reschedule the launch of my campaign from Tuesday the first of February to the night before. My core backers were quick to act on that surprise change of date, the resulting campaign launch-boom was quickly  followed by Kickstarter\u2019s acclaimed Project We Love badge. 29 days later the campaign ended at nearly 300% of its initial funding goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public campaign ended at the very beginning of March. While there would be a couple of weeks worth of lag-time while Kickstarter processed campaign fees and released funds I immediately shifted gears to attend to a grant opportunity which I\u2019d been made aware of while campaigning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Make More Comics Arts Grant was founded in 2020 by Will Hoffknecht of Patterson, California with the goal of providing direct cash payments to support new and creative works in small press comic creation. The 2022 award was the second award granted and news about the 2023 grant will be announced later this year. For more information visit makemorecomics.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its deadline was the end of that same month. With hard copies of that actual book unavailable I had to quickly assess what would be achievable for submission. The work done writing press releases and the story behind the crowdfunding campaign made much of the writing achievable. Instead of the full graphic novel, I opted to have a set of custom booklets quickly produced by a local print-shop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The specifications for my samples booklet were as follows – <\/p>\n\n\n\n