Turning Roads Kickstarter Coming Soon!
As I write this, the Turning Roads Kickstarter page is undergoing final reviews before it’s launch. Assuming there are no delays, it’ll be out in the world on Wednesday, February 24th. This is a big, scary time for me as a creator, but with 30+ people to help push the project, I’m hopeful to see some positive results.
The preparations for this book have meant looking at portfolios for dozens of comic creators, and assessing pitches based on those and the idea the team want to work on. It’s given me a new appreciation for the work of editors of anthologies and magazines, and a certain sense of acceptance upon rejection – I know how difficult the decision can be, and more often than not it’s not the quality of the submission that’s the issue, but the suitability for the project, and how it fits with everything else on offer. Thankfully, even after issuing some rejections, I still managed to get over 30 creators for the book.
I’ll be populating social media channels with creator bios over the first few days of the campaign, with a mind towards focusing on the stories in the second week, and hopefully pushing towards stretch goals by week three. We’ll have an overlap with St Patrick’s Day for this campaign, too, which is fitting, and the fact that it falls on New Comic Book Day is a blessing I couldn’t have dreamed up. It’ll be hashtags at the ready on March 17th, let me tell you!
The Kickstarter link will be posted on social media channels as soon as it’s live. Early bird backers can pick up the physical book at a reduced price, which lasts the first week of the campaign. I’ll share the campaign link here next week, for anyone who might miss it on social media – there will still be time for early backings next Tuesday!
I’m excited to have an enamel pin tier for Turning Roads, too. The above design, while subject to change, is what I’ll be aiming for with the manufacturer. It’s also indicative of the design of the sticker pack in the Kickstarter; I’m leaning towards a microchip sci-fi aesthetic with Celtic artwork, to create something different than people would typically see.
The final note for the book is that I’ve recorded with two podcasts so far, both of which are due to go live during the campaign. The first was with Gerard Cunningham of the National Union of Journalists, for their online version of the Freelance Forum. We spoke about self-publishing at length. The second podcast was with Mannequin Blue on Doing it for the Exposure, part of Nerd to Know Media. I’ve known Mannequin Blue for a few years now, since I ran a market in Dublin, so we were able to bounce off each other quite a bit, and I felt comfortable enough to let my nerdy side shine. I’ll share links to both podcasts – and whatever else I do as promo! – as soon as I have them.
