Liz Delton didn't make any money from her books for five years. Then a short story she'd already written became a cozy fantasy series that now raises five figures on Kickstarter, and every campaign has beaten the last.
S. Usher Evans has 49 books and a series that's earned her $100,000 a year for three years, yet her Kickstarters kept shrinking.
In this live conversation, we work out why. Usher explains what happens when you treat a side quest like your front runner, and what changed when she finally put her best-selling series on Kickstarter. Liz breaks down how she presents a campaign, from the banner to the story page, and how she's grown a community of backers who come back every time.
We also get into the business behind it: print runs versus print on demand, early birds and secret tiers, how much of a campaign lands on day one, running Meta ads to a pre-launch page, referral links, and why bundles have become a huge part of Usher's income. Both campaigns are live now.
🥧 Find Liz Delton
- The Pie Maker at the Edge of the Wood on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lizdelton/the-pie-maker-at-the-edge-of-the-wood-deluxe-cozy-fantasy - Website & shop
https://www.lizdelton.com/ - Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/lizdeltonwrites/ - TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@lizdeltonwrites - Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/lizdelton
🐉 Find S. Usher Evans
- The Weary Dragon Inn Omnibus, Vol. 1 on Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/susherevans/weary-dragon-omnibus-vol-1 - Website
https://susherevans.com/ - Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/susherevans/ - Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/susherevans/ - Usher's previous episode
https://youtu.be/uIsOl-eGBsE
🔗 Mentioned in This Episode
- Kickstarter for Authors (2nd Edition) by Anthea Sharp
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680131818?tag=hermansteuern-20 - New to Kickstarter? Start with my episode with Oriana Leckert
https://youtu.be/byCWcx2ZRx0 - Novel Publicity
https://novelpublicity.com/ - BookVault
https://bookvault.app/ - SeSe Printing
https://www.seseprinting.com/
⏱️ Time Stamps
- 00:00 Shrinking launches vs growing ones
- 01:58 Meet Liz Delton and S. Usher Evans
- 06:13 Why Usher's Kickstarters kept shrinking
- 22:14 Side quests vs the series that pays the bills
- 26:07 What makes a Kickstarter campaign stand out
- 48:29 Backers, fulfillment and the personal touch
- 57:46 Print runs vs print on demand
- 1:06:20 Early birds, secret tiers and day one
- 1:17:52 Meta ads, pre-launch and bundles
- 1:38:58 Their number one piece of advice
⭐ Interdimensional Drink Master
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hermansteuernagel/interdimensional-drink-master?ref=72j627
🛠️ Deals on Writing & Marketing Tools I Use
https://www.pintandportal.com/deals
📚 My Books & Author Newsletter
https://www.hermansteuernagel.com/links
Theme song: Power Rock Intro 7 by AndrewVovchynaC (Envato License). Some links may be affiliate links. Using them costs you nothing extra and helps support the show.
© Herman Steuernagel, The Pint & Portal Podcast
