Aug 21, 2020
In this episode Mark interviews Russell Nohelty about writing
scripts, comics, novels, editing, publishing, and his work
optimizing Kickstarter campaigns to raise revenue and connect with
fans.
Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word about this episode's
sponsor, Findaway Voices.
You can learn more about how
you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems
around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway.
Mark then shares comments from recent episodes and a personal
update.
In their conversation, Mark and Russell talk about:
- How Russell got into writing because he was never told he
couldn't pursue the things he was interested in doing
- Russell's high school work in theatre, writing and working on
plays; taking broadcast journalism in college, and his experiences
writing and shooting his own short films
- How getting into a car accident and being unable to do the full
film production tasks (except for writing), that funneled Russell
into focusing on writing - one of the only things he could do while
recovering
- Being re-introduced to comics after a long hiatus of not
reading them
- How writing and creating comics led to novels and Russell's
production company
- The difference between writing a movie script and a comic
script
- The difference between writing comics and writing novels
- How comic writers and comic artists connect and
collaborate
- The significant cost involved in indie comic publishing
(especially when compared to indie novel publishing)
- The long term sales Russell has seen selling indie comics - ie,
with strong and ongoing backlist sales
- How Russell's production company started because he wasn't
impressed with some of the other companies he'd been working
with
- The origin of the name Wannabe Press
- Two of the main "norms" in indie comic publishing: Doing
Comic-Cons and doing Kickstaters
- How it's a lot easier to make the couple of thousand dollars
needed to ensure a novel pays off on Kickstarter (with the average
spend being between $25 and $30 for about 100 people) - which leads
to $3000. As opposed to having to sell 1000 copies of a low priced
eBook to earn the same amount.
- One of the great things about Kickstarter is the access you
have, after a campaign funds, to the community that supported
you
- How, in a little over 6 months, Russell has raised over $50,000
from three different Kickstarter campaigns with no advertising
spend
- Messaging daily about his Kickstarter campaigns, and how
Russell has never received complaints from people who are actually
supporting him and buying his books - he only receives complaints
from those who AREN'T buying.
- The importance of building and leveraging a community before
you launch a Kickstarter campaign
- The fact that many thousands of people buy Russell's books, but
a much smaller number of people actually help him create those
books in the first place
- How, on Kickstarter, people aren't just buying your book, they
are investing in you as a creator and artist they believe in
- The most common and blatant errors that people make on
Kickstarter
- The importance of starting with the WHY in your Kickstarter
campaigns
- Why you should always have something that people can download
immediately
- The value of always having something that people can offer just
a single dollar
- And more . . .
After the interview, Mark reflects on Russell's comment that
earning $500 on a Kickstarter might look like a failure, but it's
actually a huge success, especially when compared to the typical
results of the average book selling on the major retail
platforms.
Links of Interest:
Russell Nohelty is a USA Today Bestselling author and publisher
at Wannabe Press. He’s written comic books like Katrina Hates the
Dead, Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, and Pixie Dust, along with
more than a dozen novels, including his Godsverse Chronicles. He
also edits the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series. He has
raised over $180,000 on Kickstarter across 12 projects, and has a
very entertaining newsletter, which you can join at
www.russellnohelty.com/mail and get a few of his books for free. He
lives in Los Angeles with his wife and dogs.
The introductory, end, and bumper music
for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by
Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and
is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0