Author Kate Korsak explains how (and why) she ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise $5K for the publication of her next fantasy novel. TIMESTAMPS 01:50 - Author Kate Korsak on her upcoming epic fantasy novel 03:34 - Timeline from getting the idea to approaching publication  07:30 - Writers using Kickstarter  09:10 - Exclusive editions, book boxes, custom book-inspired coffees 11:24 - How early should you start marketing before a book is published?  11:57 - Publishing timeline (when to open preorders, etc.)  17:25 - Getting art for your novel (cover + promotional art) 20:19 - Indie (self-publishing) vs. traditional publishing (+ what querying is like) 24:42 - What is partner publishing? Kate’s experience (not ideal, if you want a spoiler) 26:52 - Formatting your novel 29:03 - Which Kickstarter rewards worked and which didn’t work  31:16 - Do Kickstarter ‘sales’ count as pre-orders?  33:14 - Getting readers interested before publication  34:40 - How much info about your book should you share pre-release? 36:40 - What’s a release team and why would writers need them?  38:46 - How to choose people to be on the team 39:36 - What’s an ARC reader and why would writers need them?  42:05 - How important is personal brand as a writer?  44:30 - Advice for writers who are shy to show up on camera 45:30 - Dealing with trolls (dragon r@cism and me getting blamed for the Vietnam W@r in a post about YA, if that interests you) 52:26 - Kate recommends resources to writers wanting to go indie KATE'S INFO: Instagram: @writerkatek TikTok: @writerkatek Website: https://www.katekorsak.com/ MY INFO: Workbooks: https://schoolofplot.com/collections/workbooks Writing Blog: https://schoolofplot.com/blogs/writing-guides Insta: (My main place of posting) https://www.instagram.com/schoolofplot