Crowd fundraising to self-publish my poetry book

We all have a dream and mine has always been to write a book, and get it published. I had planned to get this done by the time I was 30, but life got in the way.

Recently I sent a children’s book I’d written to literary agents Curtis Brown and was chuffed to bits when they agreed to represent me. That book is now under consideration with publishers, but it could take months or even years for them to decide to publish it (if they even like it, that is).

Self-publishing my poems

So I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands by going down the self-publishing route. Self-publishing seems to be all the rage at the moment with books being self-published every day. The press is full of stories of writers who have been rejected from 20 traditional publishers only to go on to make millions of sales through their own efforts. Vanity presses have been available for decades. But thanks to digital technology and particularly the emergence of e-books, the number of self-published titles exploded 160% to 133,036 in 2010 from 51,237 in 2006, estimates R. R. Bowker, which tracks the publishing business.

Self-publishing is, of course, full of potential pitfalls. But I’m happy to take the risk. Other people have expensive hobbies like jet-skiing and drug taking; this will be my expensive hobby!

Australian Poetry Café Poet

As part of my residency at Gnostic Mana (through the Australian Poetry’s Café Poet scheme), I’m going to spend my time pulling together a collection poems for self-publication. The book will be called ‘Gone Dotty’ after one of my favourite poems, which was written in memory of my grandma. While I doubt I’ll make millions, I’ll be happy to have a physical book with my name on the cover. (I know it’s all about ebooks these days, but I’m old school; I want to be able to sniff the pages.)

I plan to promote ‘Gone Dotty’ on this website, approach local bookstores and sell at events. Hey, I might even have a book launch! Wanna come?

Get involved

I thought it would be fun to set up a Pozible project to support my book. I think the site is awesome as it gives people the chance to be involved in creative projects and get a real return for their investment. You can check out (and hopefully support) my project here on the Pozible website. There’s a range of different awards including signed copies, mentions on the ‘Thank you’ page, dedicated poems and bespoke poems! Or you can just give $5 and be a part of the project.

I’ll be updating my progress with raising funds, writing poems and learning how to self-publish here on my blog. So please sign up for email updates (on the right) if you’d like to be kept in the loop, or join my facebook and twitter pages.

At the time of posting I’ve already managed to secure 67% of my initial book funding target, but hopefully I’ll exceed it, as now I find that it’s a bit more exy that I thought!

HUGE THANKS TO POZIBLE SPONSORS SO FAR (as at 10.30 on 25th January 2012):

• Elizabeth Ban – Signed copy from first print run.
• Craig Bailey – Signed copy from first print run.
• Fleur Beaupert – Signed copy from first print run.
• Sean Biddulph - Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page.
• Krissy Bradfield – Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page
• Anton Buchner – Chose not to receive a reward but will anyway!
• Charlotte Calder – Signed copy from first print run.
• Joanne Chan – Signed copy from first print run,mention on ‘Thank you’ page and picking a poem for a personal dedication
• Blair Cooke – Signed copy from first print run,  mention on ‘Thank you’ page and personal poem!
• Luke Flanaghan – Signed copy from first print run. (Check out Luke’s Pozible Project)
• Maree Frakes – - Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page.
• Rachael Gilbert – Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page. (Check out Rachael’s Pozible Project)
• Emma Hamill- Signed copy from first print run,  mention on ‘Thank you’ page and personal poem!
• Mark Higginson – Signed copy from first print run,  mention on ‘Thank you’ page and personal poem!
• Hilary Moussa - Signed copy from first print run,  mention on ‘Thank you’ page and personal poem!
• Mike Jones  – Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page.
• Sam Madden – Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page.
• Jacqui Pretty – Signed copy from first print run.
• Nakita Savaidis – Signed copy from first print run and mention on ‘Thank you’ page.
• Belinda Weaver – Chose not to receive a reward but will anyway!
• Graham Yates – Signed copy from first print run.

Wish me luck!

P.s. Read this interesting article on self-publishing.

Contact Kate Toon – Sydney writer

I’m a poet, writer, playwright (and in real life an SEO copywriter, SEO Consultant and Information Architect) call me in Sydney Australia on +61(0) 418 166 458 or email me.