How To Get Funding For Your Book
When self-publishing, authors become business owners in a sense but with one product: their upcoming book. Like any business venture, you have your stakeholders and customers.
If you set it up correctly, you need to raise funds, work with editors, and talk directly to readers and fans to pay the bills of publishing your book correctly.
You should also understand that any money you acquire to publish – grant, contest winnings, crowdfunding – is taxable, so you’re not throwing money away, merely investing long-term into your future.
The team at Palmetto Publishing has been empowering independent authors to publish their work for decades, so let’s talk about how to get funding for your book.
How Book Funding Works
Crowdfunding
Authors need to learn the art of self-promotion. Most funding comes from people the author knows directly, but the rest can sometimes come from crowdfunding. To be successful at crowdfunding, start by studying completed campaigns to learn from their strategy. Also, note that certain platforms like Spotfund and Indiegogo tend to be more author-friendly than Kickstarter and concentrate your efforts there.
Crowdfunding can be a good way to get your book published for several reasons:
- Book funding: Crowdfunding allows authors to raise funds from a large number of people who are interested in their work. This can be a great way to finance the costs associated with publishing a book, such as editing, printing, and marketing.
- Community building: Crowdfunding can help authors build a community of supporters around their work. Backers are often passionate about the projects they fund and can become strong advocates for the author and their book.
- Marketing: Crowdfunding campaigns can be a great way to generate buzz and create interest in a book before it is even published. By promoting the campaign and engaging with backers, authors can build a loyal following and generate excitement for their work.
Overall, crowdfunding can be a powerful tool for authors looking to get their book published. It allows them to tap into a large pool of potential supporters, build a community around their work, and maintain control over the publishing process.
Grant for writing a book
Researching grants for writing is not mistaken for ‘grant writing,’ which is the process of applying for funding provided by a private, corporate, or government grantmaker (for an organization, not a personal endeavor).
When you apply for a grant, make sure you’re story’s plot is complete and you have a marketing plan in place. These two elements make it easier to prove that you have a plan to sell this book, especially if you’re a first-time writer without a history of book-selling success.
Publishing Grants
Publication Grants are intended to encourage non-academics to do original research and to encourage academics to make their research accessible to the public.
The government makes grants available for various educational projects, so if your book has a purpose that advances a cause, there is potential to get funding for your book.
Grants are a great option for funding your book, but the caveat is that they’re hard to get. With a grant, you can allocate the funds to the various components like editing, cover design, and formatting that will make your book publishing dream a reality.
Funding for Self-Publishing
When it comes time to publish your book, do not cut corners. In other words, invest in editing, professional cover design, formatting at the minimum, and illustrations and professional marketing if possible.
If you skip these steps or have inexperienced help, it can negatively affect your book’s long-term success. The reality is that readers do judge a book by its cover and the quality of the book’s content. Obvious oversights will turn off readers and reflect in book reviews.
Like a business, if publishing your book is truly a priority, you will have to work at it every day and set aside funds to build your publishing plan.
Like anything else in life, if you want it, you’ve got to find a way to make it happen. At Palmetto Publishing, we can help you with ideas to make a strong proposal and marketing plan, and when the time comes to publishing your book. Contact us today to get started!