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Help Bring My Life In Horror to print
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My name is Kit Power, and I am an author, blogger, podcaster, reviewer, and lifelong fan of the horror genre.
For the last five years, I've written a monthly blog as part of Gingernuts Of Horror - Europes biggest independent horror blog, and recipient of 12 British Fantasy Society nominations in the Best Non-Fiction and Best Magazine / Periodical categories.
Part critique, part autobiography, My Life In Horror is an extended act of cultural and psychological archaeology: every month, I write about a book, film, album or event that had a permanent impact on my developing mind, and talk both about the item itself and my relationship with and to it.
The volume one collection includes extended essays on:
Robocop
The Temple Of Doom
Stephen King's IT
John Carpenter's The Thing
The Wasp Factory
Queen: Greatest Hits II
Gremlins
And many, many more.
Every single essay has been fully revised, expanded, and will be professionally edited for this edition, and the essays themselves have been rearranged to be presented in the order in which I first experienced the subjects. This volume will represent the definitive edition of this work, creating a book that serves as both a passionate appreciation of the works of horror that have shaped my life and as a memoir of my development as a writer.
I am incredibly proud of this book and want to ensure it's published to a professional standard, with thorough editing, clean formatting, and a good looking cover.
And I can only do it with your help.
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What I Need & What You Get
Professional editing costs money. Professional formatting costs money. Professional cover design? Money. I need this book to be as good as it can be, and I'm not currently in a position to invest that money ahead of time. This campaign allows me to fund that important work by pre-selling copies of the book, and then use the funds raised to ensure the book is presented to a standard I feel proud of.
For that reason, I have made this an all or nothing campaign. That means the project will only go ahead if I raise enough money to ensure that the editing, book production and shipping can be completed (including calculating in-site and transaction fees).
So, that's why I'm making this project a crowdfunded one. What do you get in return for your support? Well, most obviously, you'll get a copy of the book - in the case of the physical editions, signed copies. There are also exclusive-to-this-campaign perks where you can request me to record a reading of your favourite My Life In Horror column or short story. See FAQs for more.
There will also be two different limited hardback editions of the book, both of which will only be available via this campaign. These editions will both feature covers exclusive to this campaign and will be individually numbered and signed. The Deluxe Edition (limited to 26 copies, lettered and signed) will also contain an exclusive essay. This essay will only ever be published as part of this edition of this book.
So, you'll get My Life In Volume 1, signed and/or in a format unique to this campaign. You'll also get a warm glow from knowing you helped me get this book out into the world in the best shape I could.
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Risks & Challenges
This is not my first self-publishing rodeo. I have successfully self-published my debut short story collection A WARNING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE ENSLAVEMENT THAT YOU WILL DISMISS AS A COLLECTION OF SHORT FICTION AND ESSAYS BY KIT POWER.
Prior to starting this campaign, I approached several editors I have worked with before for quotes. All have been advised of the timescale and confirmed they can work within it safely. The person who will be formatting and creating the covers has also confirmed they'll be available to do the work within the timescale. In each case, I also have an alternate who is also available.
That said, the two biggest risks are that either those timescales slip or I have miscalculated the costs.
In the first case, I will be transparent about any such issues as and when they arise and will keep you fully appraised of the production process following the close of the campaign. I don't anticipate any issues here - for my part, the text is fully assembled and ready to go to the editor the second the campaign successfully concludes.
In the second case, the main x-factor is the transaction fees from the site itself. Having spoken to other people who have run this kind of campaign, they've advised that those fees end up taking out around 15% of the total figure (and that doesn't include the separate 5% the site itself takes or the £50 flat fee). That transaction figure can vary, though, depending on the number of small backers, as it has a 'floor' of 30p + 3%. What this means is that if this project funds entirely through e-book purchases, say, those transaction fees would be higher than 15% (though in that case, the project would still fund comfortably).
The pre-production costs are known, and the physical productions costs and postage I have estimated carefully. Should I turn out to have miscalculated on either, I will swallow any additional costs in order to complete the production and get you your books. I don't expect to make much (if any) money off this project, but I am confident that if it funds, I will be able to fulfil it, out of pocket if necessary. That's why I've set it as an all-or-nothing campaign, and why the figure to raise is £1100.
If the project funds, barring an act of God, the book is going to happen.
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Other Ways You Can Help
A project like this will live or die by word of mouth. If you've enjoyed My Life In Horror, whether or not you can contribute financially, you can absolutely help make this happen in a number of ways:
Tell people about the project - Tweet or post a link to Facebook. Tell people why you dig MLiH, and why you think this'll be worth their while.
If you have a blog, plug it there (and if you want me to provide some text, drop me a message).
If you have a podcast, mention it there - again, every avenue that helps get the word out helps the project (and if you do this, drop me a link so I can signal boost).
If you're a part of any Facebook or Goodreads group that might enjoy the book, share the link and let them know.
Thank you for taking the time to check out this project, and for your support in making it happen.