Earlier this week, I wrote about my publisher and why I chose them. Today, I would like to talk to you about pledges. A pledge, simply put, is you buying my book in advance, similar to a pre-order on Amazon but much better because with your pledge you get a variety of rewards, from getting your name in the book to being able to name a character.
In the case of Ashael Rising, the lowest pledge level is £10. That gets you the e-book as well as getting your name in a list of supporters in the back of the book which will be included in every edition. Now, I understand that £10 might seem like a lot for an e-book in these days of the 99p kindle daily deal. There was a time when I would have hesitated to pay that much for a book. The thing is, I wouldn't have thought twice about spending that money on a take-away. Or a bottle of wine. Or one (one!) cinema ticket.
After making that comparison, I realised that I'd much rather have the book than the take-away. It will certainly last longer!
So, how does it work then? You pledge for a book and if/when that book reaches it's funding target, the book is published. You get the special edition that goes to pledgers and then the book is available for general purchase. If the book you have pledged towards does not reach its funding target, after discussion between Unbound and the author, the book will be withdrawn and you will receive a full refund. So, you're not risking your money. Either you get the book or your money back.
A lot of people have already pledged their support for my book and there are no words that can thank them enough. I've even received some pledges from strangers, which has been incredibly humbling. If you have already pledged, you can still help to make the book happen by sharing the project across your social network, talking to people about what I'm doing, suggesting the book to friends who read fantasy etc.
Pledges provide the financial backing to get the book published. Many people have told me that they can't wait to read the book but without sufficient pledges, there will be no book for anyone to read. If you have been thinking about pledging, but haven't gotten around to it yet, I will be eternally grateful to you if you jump in.
At this moment in time, I am on day 43 of my 90 day funding period. I have raised 36% of the finds that I need for Ashael Rising to be published. With your help, I can reach 100% by day 90 and the book should be available before the end of the year.
If the book doesn't interest you at all (after all, not everyone is a fantasy fan) you can still help by spreading the word. The more people that know about this project, the better the chance that I will get funded.
Don't forget that by pledging, you also get your name entered into a prize draw when funding reaches 50%, 75% and 100%. You receive an entry into each draw, one entry per pledge. So those who have made multiple pledges will receive multiple entries. For more information see this post. The first draw was won by Connor McKee.
If you have any questions about the pledging process, please share them in the comments.
I hope I've made it clear how important your pledges are and why. Thanks for taking the time to read.
