What can I do to help?

I want to support Murder of Crows but I’m unable to help financially, what can I do?

I donated to the Kickstarter project but it does not seem to be getting any more pledges – what can I do?

I love the concept/project but I don’t feel comfortable posting advertisements and promotional links on my pages, what else can I do to help?

I am so enthusiastic but I’m out of ideas on how to help you achieve your publishing goals, what other options are there for spreading the Murder of Crows flames?

I’m a very lucky person to be getting these kinds of questions. So, utterly grateful! Thank you!

The beauty of the answers to these questions, is that there are many, many wonderful things you all can do to further the Murder of Crows adventure AND all other indie books, authors, artists and producers.

SPREAD THE WORD.

Plugging is the cheapest and most effective way of helping the project.  Spread the word. Post a link as often as you feel comfortable on your Facebook page, Goodreads.com, Amazon profile, MySpace, Twitter, or even personal blogs and websites.

You can plug it on chat forums, and any applicable site with a commentary section.

And feel free to talk about it, mention it in conversation, chat areas, a book club or at work.

You don’t need to donate cash or feel obligated to pinch yourself financially on the Kickstarter – but helping spread the word as often as you can, and promoting the book will allow other folks who like the project to pitch in if they’ve got a little extra in the bank.

All verbal feedback loops, hype and buzz, posted links, and encouraging comments on links will help the project speed toward the ultimate goal. And I thank you for it!

COMMENTS

This goes for all indie authors and writers who are in the publishing field. Comments on product draw the attention of others to a specific targeted project.

If you add a comment to an article, review, kickstarter, advertisement or blog post – you are in fact helping funnel attention to the material.

Many searches on pages with several products will bring up the most popular content first. Meaning if someone on Kickstarter is searching for popular projects the Kickstarter engines will pull up projects with the most pledges or the most comments. If you can’t pledge – you can certainly leave a comment and help drive traffic to the site.

This also applies to Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc. Once the book is published and posted on the site, search parameters will draw the top (popular) products for customer perusal. If you can’t help on the Kickstarter for whatever reason – the next best thing is to comment on the Amazon, or Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble page hosting the book and thereby draw attention to a product that might otherwise be lost like a needle in a stack of needles.

Which brings me to:

ADD A REVIEW

Reviewing a book is more in-depth than leaving a comment on a webpage, but many book-buyers are now reading reviews before purchasing indie novels to ensure that they are making a wise purchase in a field that lacks much quality control.

If you are comfortable reviewing the book, there are many sources and sites available to do so. Personal Blogs, Websites, YouTube, Amazon, Goodreads, Net Galley, Google Ebookstore and dozens more with quick Google search and a simple user login for any new review sites.

By promoting Murder of Crows through a review site or in a review format, you are exponentially increasing the number of people who would potentially purchase the book and enable book two to be written.

A note on reviews: A review doesn’t necessarily mean you loved the book and want to sleep with it under your pillow. Negative reviews, if you have a negative opinion about the product, can still help drive traffic to look at the purchasing options.

Generally speaking, a 1 star review is just plain unhelpful, and many authors request that if the book sucked enough to garner a single star, not to bother writing a review. However, I beg to differ, if Murder of Crows is worthy of a single star review, ouch, but okay. I’d rather have all reviews, all opinions, and all options available for potential buyers. Then they will be able to buy or not buy because traffic has helped them find the site that would have otherwise fallen into the obscurity of indie publishing overload.

GIFTING

Gifting the book or gifting a donation to the Kickstarter for friends or family is also a way to generate buzz and lift for the project.

GENERATING CONVERSATION

It’s easy to generate conversation about indie authors and their dreams of living an artistically enriched life, supported by their craft. Whether that be writing, acting, dancing or street performing, stilts, cigar rolling or even painting with citrus juice. Music and theatre, and community outreach of indie movements in culinary arts, urban development and education.

The list is endless. But the fact of the matter is that generating conversation at a coffee shop, book store, event, or online will help funnel interest to areas in need of support.

For Murder of Crows, I like to ask people the question, “What do you think would happen if all stories died tomorrow? Or all creativity was suddenly lost?”

It’s an impossible question to answer because it’s so ridiculous. Creativity is so fundamentally built into the human experience that we cannot fathom, even for a second, the landscape of our social or cultural development without it.

“That’s impossible,” they answer. “That could not possibly ever happen.”

“I’m not saying it will, I’m asking what would happen if it did.”

“But no one will ever believe that it might. That’s like saying Zombies could happen, or Vampires could happen.”

“I agree it’s just as probable as Zombies or Vampires – but did you know, the top selling, most marketable stories in fiction today involve Zombies or Vampires?”

“Oh, yeah, I didn’t think about that.”

“Is it possible to imagine that if mankind lost all creative energy tomorrow – we’d be pretty close to zombie mentality living in an era that would increasingly slip toward the Dark Ages?”

And so on and so forth. Conversation is easy. It evokes questions. Thoughts. Different points of view. And if you bring up a conversation about the pending threat of the death of the Muse of Story in Murder of Crows – it invariably sparks interest in the project.

HELP CREATE A FOLLOWING

The more fans and voices speaking up for a product generates momentum for more fans and voices. Encouraging folks to “like” the product pages or create fan bases will allow the book to have a longer “shelf-life”.

HAVE A BOOK PARTY OR A CLUB

Organizing a local get-together of like minds to support shared interests is a great way to provide much needed leverage to indie products and ventures.

Can you imagine having a Kickstarter Party? With door prizes and food? Featuring several projects or artists in one night?

For some of us in this economic landscape, a Kickstarter party is out of the financial sphere, but we might be able to attend one and offer chatter and reviews if someone else hosts or we team up.

Then there is always the option of including Murder of Crows on a book club queue to discuss the evolution of the creative wave.

Just ideas.

These are just some of the many things you can do to spread the word and help Murder of Crows see the light of day. Plugging the book, and telling your friends are the fastest most effective ways to push the project closer to success.

Word of mouth, in an age dominated by social media, is in fact the best marketing strategy an Indie Artist can hope for.

Whatever your budget allows, in time or money or an encouraging word – it is all deeply appreciated.

I cannot get this product to the masses without you and I am very blessed and grateful that you are willing and able to help in any way. Seriously, a girl couldn’t ask for better friends and family when the stakes are so high. I’m humbled by your abundance and generosity!

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

Athena