Author Kathy Strahs raised more than $21,000 on Kickstarter to publish The 8×8 Cookbook. The project was named a Staff Pick, boosting its visibility.
A guest post by Kathy Strahs
Over the past 18 months, both first-time and established authors learned to crowdfund a cookbook on Kickstarter, and raised good money. Here’s a sample:
- Leanne Brown, Good and Cheap: $144,681
- Hank Shaw, Buck, Buck, Moose: $93,763
- Emily Kaiser Thelin and Andrea Nguyen: UNFORGETTABLE: $91,465
- Anna Watson Carl, The Yellow Table Cookbook: $65,815
- Leslie Jonath and 18 Reasons, Feed Your People: $40,805
Mine was one. After writing The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook with a traditional publisher in 2013, I published The 8×8 Cookbook this past fall by establishing a publishing company, Burnt Cheese Press, and crowdfunding my cookbook on Kickstarter. I raised $21,388 from more than 400 amazing backers and came close to breaking even in my first month.
Here are my tips to crowdfund a cookbook successfully:
1. Get to know your fellow crowdfunders.
My best education on crowdfunded cookbooks came through conversations with friends who had run successful campaigns. They advised me on what worked for them (such as aiming for a strong first day) and the challenges they faced (media coverage can be hard). I even made new friends in this process—it turns out that running a crowdfunding campaign is a bonding experience.
2. Be realistic about costs.
Plan on significant upfront costs if you want a cookbook with full color photos. My costs were around $25,000 to $27,000. When determining how much money to raise, consider these factors in producing a book:
- Design
- Editing (a must)
- Photography (if you’re not doing it yourself)
- Printing
- ISBN, barcode and copyright fees.
Don’t forget the costs of running the crowdfunding campaign:
- Videography
- PR (if you choose to hire someone)
- Graphics (if you’re not doing it yourself)
- Kickstarter fees
- Shipping supplies
- Postage and other fulfillment fees.
3. Rally your backers.
I read somewhere that if you feel like you’re mentioning your campaign too often, you’re probably just starting to talk about it enough. That was out of my comfort zone, so I had to learn not to be shy.
The vast majority of pledges, at least initially, will come from people with a direct (or one degree removed) connection to you. Backers become your best evangelists, so be sure to equip them with links, hashtags, and business cards. I was blown away by how many people wanted to help.
4. Get the word out through social media.
Facebook was a big source of pledges for my campaign. Every time I posted an update, either on my personal page or on the Burnt Cheese Press business page, I saw an uptick in pledges. I guided my Kickstarter backers to “tell people why you’re proud to back the project,” to make their social shares more impactful, rather than just forwarding a link without context. I created a custom short URL for the campaign through bit.ly that was easy to remember so I could quickly provide it to anyone as needed.
5. Structure your rewards to match your audience.
Backers receive rewards in exchange for their support. By far the most popular reward was a copy of The 8×8 Cookbook itself. Given that my campaign was running just ahead of the holidays, I gave people the option to buy multiple or signed copies for gifts. Close friends and family may be willing to support you at a higher level, irrespective of the underlying rewards, so give them the chance to do so. I created a $500 Founder’s Table for them.
6. Take time with your project page.
Budget plenty of time to craft your project page. It’s not something to slap together at the end. Here’s where to communicate not only the details of your project, but your passion for it as its creator. Show as well as tell by using lots of graphics (enticing food photos as well as informational charts) to help bring the project to life. I’ve extended the life of my Kickstarter video by cutting a new version to use on 8x8cookbook.com, GoodReads and elsewhere to promote the book.
Personally packing and shipping more than 700 copies of The 8×8 Cookbook wasn’t easy, but Kathy took pride in delivering the final product.
7. Take charge of mailings.
I used a website called BackerKit to streamline the collection of mailing addresses, sell additional books and process shipping. Rigid cardboard wraparound boxes protected the corners of my paperbacks, and expanded to accommodate multiple books or t-shirts. I got a label printer, a digital postal scale, a bunch of rolls of packing tape and ordered stickers with my Burnt Cheese Press logo from VistaPrint to adorn the boxes. Inside the package, I included a one-sheet insert that thanked my backers and encouraged them to leave reviews on Amazon and GoodReads, join my mailing list and stay connected through social media.
Running a Kickstarter was grueling at times, but well worth it. On my official publication date, close to 700 copies of The 8×8 Cookbook were already in the hands of supporters and I neared break even on my costs. (I had printed 1000 copies through IngramSpark.) I will definitely consider crowdfunding for my next project.
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Kathy Strahs is the author of The 8×8 Cookbook and The Ultimate Panini Press Cookbook, the voice behind the blogs PaniniHappy.com and CookingOntheSide.com, and the founder of Burnt Cheese Press. She lives with her husband and their two children in the Silicon Valley.
Great advice, here! I appreciate your being specific with costs and other details. Thanks for sharing this, Kathy, and wishing you continued success with your book!
Thanks so much, Jennie!
Congratulations, Kathy. So enjoyed reading your story and learning the how to’s and must do’s for crowdfunding a cookbook. Despite all the “grueling” work and many, many details involved, your last line speaks the loudest– that it was totally worth it. Thanks for sharing your journey, Kathy.
You’re welcome, Janice! Thanks so much. 🙂
Other things to remember:
TAXES. If your project is in one calendar year the the expenses are in another, watch out! You can take a gigantic tax hit. Even under best case scenarios, you need to set aside 15% for taxes, but in these multi-year cases, it will be more like 30%. So beware, and budget accordingly.
Also, if you don’t go with a fulfillment company on rewards, be VERY AWARE of postal regulations, which will be interpreted differently by different postmasters. In my case, a few postmasters labeled my t-shirt envelopes as parcels, and charged customers postage due. I had to send them checks to cover the balance as a show of good faith, even though it was only a couple dollars. Mailing hoodies is a nightmare, as is anything over 13 ounces. Be careful when you create rewards and have this in mind.
Don’t spend money unless absolutely necessary. There is no such thing as “extra money” and you are a fool if you assume you can take money off the top as profit before everything in the project is up and running. There are dozens of hidden costs in putting together a book, for example. You need money to cover that. And if you are doing a book, every extra dollar should be spent in marketing — without a publisher, you are on your own and will need to get the word out about your book yourself. Many big publishers don’t spend more than a few thousand to market their books, but then they have lots of established relationships with media and distribution. You need to spend more.
I actually didn’t run into any postal issues EXCEPT that the postal service didn’t show up for two scheduled deliveries, so I had to bring an SUV-full of books to the post office myself. All of my packages were greater than 13 ounces. I mailed the books via Media Mail, the ones that had t-shirts with them went Priority Mail. I printed the postage through BackerKit, which was really helpful in grouping like packages. There are shipping consultants who probably could have brought that cost down for me, but I had a very small window of time to get rewards out (campaign ended Oct. 30, I was shipping by Dec. 1).
Kathy, you so rocked it! For our second book, Mary and I are going to run a kickstarter campaign. You inspired us!
And you and Mary inspired me to go the independent route! Wishing you all the best with your campaign — I’m happy to bounce ideas when you’re ready. 🙂
What an invaluable post. I love all the practical AND detailed points.
I might be the only one who thinks this is a daunting project! Ha! Although I AM inspired! (I set up my Kickstarter page since my MS is ready to go and I’m trying to decide what to do with it.) I love all the publishing choices these days.
So thank you, thank you, thank you Kathy (Hank too) for all the tips.
You’re most welcome, Maureen! It’s definitely daunting. 🙂 But I found it to be highly worthwhile.
Great post and invaluable tips from you, Kathy, and from Hank. Thanks for sharing this and keep it up.
Thanks, Tori!
Kathy,
I want to crowdfunding my cookbook. What did you offer in the Founders Table? I have some interested parties at that level of donation.
Hi Cindy — So sorry I didn’t see your question until just now! For the Founder’s Table I offered the same tangible rewards as the next-highest contribution level plus a special acknowledgment.
This was very valuable information and encouraging. I was working on my very first cookbook and I’m self-publishing. I wasn’t thinking of crowd funding, but my brother suggested it. I was a little nervous about asking people for money for my project, but I have to let that fear go and just go for it! 🙂
You do have to get over asking for money, Tamara. That would be hard for me as well. Good luck!
Asking for money is hard for me too! I feel more comfortable with it, though, knowing that I’m giving that support right back in the form of a really good book that people are now using in their homes. 🙂
Thank you Kathy and Dianne for sharing this most informative article. I am planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign to pay for the printing of the second edition of my cookbook Delicious El Salvador. I loved the post and all the valuable and priceless tips. Thank you again!
Best of luck to you Alicia. And thanks.
You’re welcome, Alicia — wishing you all the best!
This is so uplifting, it is very kind of you to share your crowdfunding journey.
I m in the process of crowdfunding my second cookbook, but the procedures are slightly different now and there is a lot more to learn.
For now I will stay tune to your channel and try to learn as much as possible, I plan to use Kickstarter also.
Again, many thanks for the information, I look forward to speaking with you soon.
Chef Marlene Myrie
Hi Marlene,
This was a guest post by Kathy. I don’t think she’ll see it and answer, but I thank you for your comment and wish you the best of luck.
Hi! This whole thing was very insightful. Thank you. I’m in the process of writing a vintage pie cookbook at the moment and am still trying to figure out if I’m going the tradition publishing route or something independant like this. I’m bookmarking this for future reference.
That sounds good. Americans love nostalgia. To read more, select the self-publishing and cookbook categories. You’ll find many posts by cookbook authors about their experiences.