Within just seven days of launching the Kickstarter campaign for my cyberpunk comic Reality Hackers, we hit the funding target!
This was my first attempt at launching a crowdfunding campaign. I’ll be honest – at first I wasn’t sure if it was going to be successful. I didn’t know how many people would be willing to pledge, especially to an artist they’d never heard of! I have a small audience on social media, but I knew I would also be targeting newcomers to the campaign.
Little did I know that independent comics fans are seriously awesome! There’s a huge source of support online for crowdfunded comics. Also, turns out people love cyberpunk!
The Campaign
It was a 30-day campaign, and I set a goal for one thousand pounds. Even that, I thought, was too high. ‘No-one is going to want this’, I said. But I stuck it out. With support from my partner and friends, made a promotional video and launched the campaign. A week later I was watching the numbers go well above that amount.
Not only did I raise above the target, but enough was made to afford some amazing cover art by the exceedingly talented Karl O’Rowe. Check out his work – it’s really quite breathtaking.
A few weeks after the campaign ended, I finalised and formatted the pages for printing, and here I am now!
I can’t describe in words how amazing it felt to hold in my hands a professionally printed comic – that I MADE. I’ve made my own comics before, and stuck them together with PVA glue… But that wasn’t quite the same.
Hacked!!
This experience has taught me not to doubt myself so much. It’s worth following through with a challenge even if at times it can seem overwhelming. It most definitely paid off!
I would like to extend a huge and tremendous thank you to everyone who made a pledge on the campaign. You have literally hacked my dreams to become a reality. Hopefully see you again for the next one!
Aimée(http://aimeemclernon.com)