Analyzing a Failed Fiction Project

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Recently I made an attempt at crowdfunding with fiction. It did not work. You may find the post-project analysis useful.

Has anyone else had experience with crowdfunding projects that just totally failed to get off the ground? What do you think went wrong?

Comments

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

My current one is totally failing to get off the ground. Several people have expressed interest in reading it, but nobody's willing to put in the $10 to get it started. I think it's because I offered the starter the right to tell me some of how to do it, and nobody had ideas.

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Maybe. However, another possibility is that you may have readers with money, and readers with ideas, but nobody with both.

I think one thing that makes my Poetry Fishbowls work is anyone can give me a prompt, even if they're broke; and anyone can sponsor a poem, whether they inspired it or not.

Re: Hmm...

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'll adjust the rules, I think, to try it that way.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Glad I could help!

If you PM me once you've made that change, I will give you a prompt and pimp your project on my LJ.

Re: Hmm...

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm going to think through details and get it going tomorrow, I think. I'll send you a ping about it once I do.

[pocketnaomi.livejournal.com]

Understood. It was originally run through my own journal, which is mostly read by people who do know my writing; I thought I'd toss it onto crowdfunding just in case someone was interested.

Well...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

The community is here for networking. Sometimes it works, other times not, but we never know until we try.

I don't mind giving away ideas. I have plenty to share. Some of the ones that I get are not even to my taste.

Something that would be fun for a CFC website would be an idea bin, where anybody could leave some ideas or take some.

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I've scheduled a post about it over on "Hypatia's Hoard of Reviews." Thanks for the tip!