Crowdfunding A Book
Past Times
Some of my readers will know I have an obsession with medieval life and history in general. During my studies I have done a lot of research on the pastimes of those who lived in the past. So I would like to introduce you to a book series I am currently in the process of launching.
Past Times is a series of books focused on sports, games, and leisure throughout history. I am using Indiegogo to crowdfund the publishing of this new series of books. I will be tracking my progress on this article and keeping followers up to date on the progress. Please check back often to see what's going on with the publication of this book series.
image source sxc.hu, used with permission
The First Book is Released!
After much hard work and preparation the first book in the series is available for purchase. Past Times: Ancient Board Games is now available on Amazon.com and many other stores. It can be ordered from any brick and mortar retail store that will order in books as well.
The second book Past Times: Sports and Games of Medieval Europe is in editing phase and will hopefully be ready by spring 2015.
The Project
- Past Times
An indiegogo project to raise funding for the publishing of the book series "Past Times" - Fairview author takes journey to ‘Past Times’ | Sports | Fairview Post
An article in the local paper about my project.
What is IndieGoGo
Indiegogo is a crowdfunding platform to raise money for projects. It allows you to raise funds for any purpose, be it starting a business, publishing a book, expanding your business, charitable causes, and much more. Your project requires you set a goal, a timeline (max 60 days) and assign perks to those that donate money. For example if someone donates $25 to my Past Times project they will receive an advanced copy of the book when it is ready for publication.
Research Books
Some of the books I am using to research my book
Summer Updates
June 4th 2013
Added four card games to the book. The writing is really coming along.
Sold the first pre-order from the indiegogo campaign, so excited about that.
June 5th 2013
Did some more work on the introduction and wrote out the section on medieval golf.
Added some interesting videos showing the importance of games. Included them here as well for interest sake.
June 6th
Did some more work on tidying up the intro and added some new images to the book.
Promised on the campaign page to post an excerpt from the game if I got another contributor today.
June 10th 2013
Moving on to week two of the campaign, 1% funded, but word is spreading. Hoping more and more find the campaign and decide to help out.
June 12th 2013
Uploaded a new video yesterday, put it in the video's below, but you can also see it by going to the gallery on my indiegogo campaign page.
Managed to get two more card game write ups finished up for the book. It's really coming along quite nicely.
June 24th 2013
Been a while since I posted an update, book is practically writing itself. Flying along. I think a release date of November this year may be in sight.
Fall Updates
Sept 5 2013
Summer was busy, not much got done other than some cleaning up. Back at it hard this week
Nov. 19th 2013
Haven't been good about keeping this updated, but work is really progressing fast lately. Have a copyeditor and she has been working hard on getting the book ready for publishing. I still have to get more writing done, but the sections that are done will be sent to the copyeditor piecemeal. Intro is completely done and edited. Board Games Intro and Tafl family of games now in the editors hands, still have a couple more games to add to finish the entire board games chapter. Table family of games (backgammon) is proving to be the real challenge.
The Promotional Videos
Why Are Games Important
Sports, games, and toys are an important part of development. Not just human, but all animals play games. Studying how and why we play leads to more insight into ourselves, and studying the games of history show us more about a given culture than I think any other single aspect of that culture.
Here are some interesting video's about the importance of games.
© 2013 Jeff Johnston
Guestbook Comments
AUTHOR@Chanelle Carver: Thanks for the advice :D Working on getting friends and such to spread the word :D
I like your idea! A relationship coach and author I know has raised over $5000 on Indiegogo for her book within 45-60 days. One thing she did was have a "team" to promote the book and campaign. So if you don't have a team to help with that you might want to think about creating one. Nothing fancy. Just friends or people you know (and who know, like and trust you) with some influence on social media or an email list will help get more eyes on your page. More eyes more potential donations. Just a thought. I wish you all the best! :-)
- AUTHOR
@anonymous: Thank you :D
- AUTHOR
@flycatcherrr: The book is approximately half written :D the editing and such will be the tricky part.
Cool idea, Jeff. Best of luck to you with the Indiegogo campaign (and then... duhn duhn duhn ... the long haul of writing!). Can't wait to see this!
Well done! I am excited for you.
Good luck to you! Sounds like a great idea for a book. The Writer's Cafe at kboards.com (KindleBoards) is a fantastic resource for getting tips from indie authors about self-publishing and promotion.
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