Most of you probably know that I ran a Kickstarter campaign in February and didn’t make my goal. It failed. I wrote all about it, so we won’t get back into that.
But what you might not know is that I ran another Kickstarter campaign in September and — drumroll please — WE MADE IT! We raised $12,000 to fund the printing of my next release, I’ll Be Here, which comes out to 317 preorders of the book!
The pressure was on going into this new Kickstarter campaign. I already had one campaign fail, and walking back onto the court where you just lost is tough. This time, I had a lower, more specific goal. In February, I wanted to fund the printing of two full curricula sets with several books and educational items in each set. This time, I went for just one diverse children’s book – a timeless, classic picture book for every family.
This time, we had a steady incline to reach our goal. We didn’t have a single day without a pledge! That’s huge! It took us until the last 72 hours to cross that finish line. Phew, that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
One thing I had to remember: Not everyone will support me. When gearing up for a campaign like this, it’s always advised to make a list of people you think will support you (the people you can count on to back your campaign and share it). It was hard to look at that list and the list of backers and see those not matching up. Some people couldn’t do it, and I had to constantly remind myself that it was okay.
The next thing to remember: Focus on those who do show up. The ones who did show up showed up in major ways. We often want people to be the version of them that we want them to be. We expect them to show up for us because of blood or history. The truth is God will put the right people in your life to support you. Focusing on the people who believed in me, pledged their hard-earned cash to get this book funded, and shared the book with their circle was encouraging and life-giving.
Through this process, I have a newfound respect for my team. Every person on my team gave it all that they had to give. I was able to see just how much my Inspirus team believes in the vision and mission to diversify the pages of all books.
Overall, I am extremely grateful to have gone through another Kickstarter campaign, to experience success this time, and launch this beautiful book. I’m so grateful for every person God placed in my path – those who pledged, those who shared, and those who prayed for me. The biggest thing I got from this Kickstarter is more gratitude.
