Jules Cassidy & Kickstarter 101

So I’m doing something a little different for the release of my latest Troubleshooters book, Jules Cassidy, P.I.

I’m holding a Kickstarter Campaign.

I’ve learned something interesting since I launched this Kickstarter Campaign last week: The vast majority of the readers who have ordered JULES are “first-time” Kickstarter users! (Which completely makes sense. Authors are just starting to discover the power and ease of using Kickstarter to get books to their readers. I think you’ll see more and more of it, though!)

But using a new platform or different technology can be daunting, I know, so if you’ve never used Kickstarter before, let me attempt to de-daunt you! We’ll start with the basics.

What is Kickstarter?

Kickstarter is a crowd-funding site that I’ve used to raise money for the LGBTQ+ indie movies and TV shows I’ve produced over the past few years. Kickstarter is a great way for ultra-low-budget filmmakers like me to fund movies that often get overlooked or ignored by big studios. (And yet, there’s a small and vocal audience for them, kinda like those of you who want me to keep writing the Troubleshooters books!)

The way Kickstarter works is simple: A filmmaker (or author) sets a financial goal for a specific project, and then asks people who might want to see (or read) it to chip in to make it happen.

That’s it. That’s crowdfunding. (It’s not that different from pre-ordering a book. You see a book you want to read, you hit the preorder button, and a few months later, it drops into your ereader.)

Here’s a good example of a Kickstarter project that I backed years ago: The Veronica Mars movie. Once upon a time, there was a TV series called Veronica Mars that I really, really loved. When it got cancelled, fans of the show pushed the writers and producers to bring it back. The Veronica Mars production team decided to hold a Kickstarter to make a movie with those beloved characters. They set a financial goal that was pretty dang high—with the understanding that if enough fans didn’t chip in, the movie wouldn’t get made and everyone would go home and shut up. Of course, we the fans got both loud and busy, and we raised a significant amount of money, and, yup, the movie got made. (It was so much fun to watch!!) That’s Kickstarter, in action.

But it could’ve gone the other way—and often does with Kickstarted projects like movies. You see, if enough people don’t back a project with a high financial goal, the campaign fails, backers’ credit cards don’t get charged, and the project doesn’t get made.

In the case of my Kickstarter Campaign for Jules Cassidy, P.I., I intentionally set my financial goal at a very low $200, which means we became “fully funded” (Kickstarter-speak! More about that in a sec...) about nine minutes after I launched the campaign last week. 

So there’s no longer any doubt—if you back JULES you will receive your ebook(s) on December 11^th, and your print book(s) (if that’s what you ordered) in early 2026. (The book is already written and is ready to be released.)

So really, I’m using Kickstarter as an outside-the-box platform for self-publishing. I’m skipping the usual ebooksellers/middlemen (like Amazon) and instead I’m getting JULES to readers directly, via Kickstarter and an ebook delivery service called BookFunnel. (More about BookFunnel below.)

Yes, it’s a little different, but hey, here in 2025, there’s a lot happening that’s very different, I think you’ve gotta agree.

If you’ve never used Kickstarter before, it can help to understand the terminology this crowd-funding website uses:

I am a “creator,” and Jules Cassidy, P.I. is my current “project” also known as my “Kickstarter Campaign.”

You’re not “buying” an e- or print book (although ahem, you really are!), you’re “pledging” or “backing” or “supporting” my “campaign” or “project.”

(Deep breath. Moving on...)

If you “support” the “project” by “pledging,” you are now a “backer,” and I, the “creator” of JCPI, will send you an ebook copy of JULES, along with whatever else you’ve selected (print editions, Zoom chat, ebook add-ons) as your “reward” for “backing” this “project,” after the “campaign” ends on December 8^th. (Whew.)

Ebooks of JULES will be sent to backers just a few days later on December 11^th. I need a few days to get info I need via a “backers survey” (more about that below!), such as all of the you-the-backers’ email addresses.

I know that’s a lot, but once you have the ability to translate the Kickstarter lingo, it all makes more sense!! In a lot of ways, this is an updated version of the old-school “virtual signings” I used to hold back in the day, via PayPal. Now, in addition to print books, I’m offering ebooks, too!

The Kickstarter website is easy to use. Like every website where you can purchase a book, you’ll set up an account with your name and a password and your email and credit card info. Then you can follow one of my links to the JULES campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/suzannebrockmann/jules-cassidy-pi

or simply search Kickstarter for Jules Cassidy, P.I. (JULES will pop right up!) It’ll look like this:

Once you’re on the campaign page, scroll down, because there’s lots of info to read (if you want), and a short video to watch (if you want).

The most important info is this:

Again, using this Kickstarter to acquire the ebook of Jules Cassidy, P.I. is a lot like pre-ordering it at one of the big e-seller sites. (Except you need to open a Kickstarter account if you don’t already have one.)

EXCEPT!

Oh, wait!

There is one more thing that you-the-reader will need to do after you back JULES, that’s different from pre-ordering an ebook on Amazon. It’s not hard to do, but it is VERY important.

After the JULES campaign officially ends around noon on Dec. 8^th, you’ll get a bunch of emails from Kickstarter and me, and one of those emails will be something called a “Backer Survey.”

But okay. That makes sense. You’re the backer, and this survey is for you to fill out, to give me, the JULES creator, the info I need to send you your (e)book(s) (aka your “reward”).

The backer survey will be a simple questionnaire, asking easy questions like: “What email address shall I use to send you your ebook of JULES via BookFunnel?” And (for those of you who want print books): “What’s your snail-mail shipping address?” And (ditto for those who want print): “How would you like your book signed—personalized or signature only?”

As you can see, that backer survey may be simple, but it’s important that you fill it out and send it back to me. You MUST (all caps, so yeah, I’m serious you guys!!) fill out this backer survey or I won’t be able to send you the ebook. (Kickstarter doesn’t share your email address with me!!)

So I’m asking everyone who backs JULES to please mark your calendars for Dec. 8^th with a big red “Don’t forget to look for the JCPI backer survey from Suz!!” Also? If your email from Kickstarter and me goes into your spam, you can always log into your Kickstarter account to find your backer survey for JULES. It will be in your Kickstarter account as soon as I send it out. (Again, which should be—say it with me now—December 8^th.)

One more thing about using the Kickstarter website. If you go to the JULES campaign main page, you’ll see the book’s cover art and a whole long word-thing I wrote about the book in the center of your screen.

Over the right of that page, you’ll see my little bio/face and beneath that, the word “Support.” (Kickstarter lingo alert!) Scrolling even further down, the next thing on the right that you’ll see is “Make a pledge without a reward.” Skip that.

You clearly want the ebook or a print book, so keep scrolling down that list on the right of your screen. You’ll hit a heading that says “Available rewards” and the first up is “Jules Cassidy, P.I. ebook.” There’s a green button that says “Pledge $8.” Click that to “pledge” your “support” and get this ebook “reward,” (AKA buy the ebook!)

Or you can scroll down further and see the other options, and select the green button under that “reward.” (Print books or zoom chats or print books with zoom chats…)

Eventually, if you choose the ebook “reward,” you’ll end up here:

And yeah, there’s something here called “add-on rewards,” see that header “Select optional add-ons.”

I’ve included every single one of my self-pubbed reissued backlist ebooks as potential add-ons for $3 an ebook. If you’re missing any of these titles, now’s a great time to pick them up at this super low, no-money-goes-to-Amazon price! (You’ll have the option on this page to scroll down through all twenty-something ebooks to see if there’s anything you want or need!) (Those ebook add-ons will come to you through BookFunnel, too.) But you also have the option to ignore the add-ons and just get JULES.

Now, everyone’s browser and laptop is just a little different, so if you don’t see the list of rewards on the right side of the JULES main page, there’s a second way to access a page with the rewards. Up toward the top of your screen is a menu of options: Campaign (which is the page you’re on), Rewards, Creator, FAQ, Updates, Comments, Community. See that, below?

Click on “Rewards” and you’ll end up here (below). As you can see, there’s a list of “Available rewards” on the left, with the reward for the ebook in the center. On this page, the add-ons are in a long list on the right hand side. You can either scroll down (endlessly because there are over twenty ebook add-ons), or you can click on the various rewards in that left-hand list. If you want to get the ebook, you’d click that green “Pledge $8” button!

Selecting that green “Pledge $8” button again brings you back to the same page that’s two images above.

So okay. Whew. That’s Kickstarter.

If you have any questions, here’s the Kickstarter FAQ page for backers: https://help.kickstarter.com/hc/en-us/sections/115001086134-Backing-a-project  Or you can zap me a message and I’ll do my best to help!

Now, onto the second potentially new technology for you to wrestle to the ground to get your copy of JULES:

BookFunnel.

BookFunnel is a free-to-the-reader ebook distribution website that's user-friendly. (They're extremely helpful if you have any questions or problems. And of course I'll be on hand to assist, too.) When I send you your ebook of Jules Cassidy, P.I. via BookFunnel, you'll be able to read it via your usual e-reader-of-choice including Apple Books, Kindle, and Nook, among others. If you've never used BookFunnel, it's pretty freakin' great. 

If you don’t have an account at BookFunnel, you might want to hop over and check it out, set one up—very basic. Email and password. Here’s how you’ll do it, and what it looks like:

And here’s an example of what your BookFunnel library will look like:

When you’re in your BookFunnel library, you’ll click on the book cover and you’ll be given choices and instructions for either downloading the ebook to your preferred ereader, or you can open the book and read it right there in the BookFunnel website, on your computer, if you like.

Again, BookFunnel is free for readers to use—I’ve found it very user-friendly on my end, too. Here’s a link: https://bookfunnel.com/help/ so you can find out more (and sign up for an account, if you want).

Here’s a blog post from a fellow writer, called A Readers Guide to BookFunnel: https://gladysstrickland.com/a-readers-guide-to-bookfunnel/ that I found very helpful in explaining how easy it is to move ebooks from your BookFunnel library to your ereader.

Congratulations if you’ve made it this far in this newsletter. Whew, I’m exhausted!! Bravo to you for staying with this. Isn’t it fun to learn new things?(cough, cough…)

Here’s a step-by-step review of how it’ll all go down, if you decide, yes, you want an early ebook copy of JULES at a lower, non-Amazon price:

A) You’ll go over to Kickstarter, create an account, and hit that green “Pledge $8” button and follow the instructions to order the ebook. (Thank you!)

B) I’ll send you a message via Kickstarter that shows up in your email inbox (for whichever email address you used for your Kickstarter account, so be sure to use one that you check regularly!), thanking you and reminding you about the upcoming backer survey, coming on December 8^th.

C) You’ll go over to BookFunnel and create a free account with your name and your email address. (Or not. You can absolutely wait to set up your BookFunnel account until after I send you the ebook. It’ll work either way!)

D) December 8^th will arrive, (yay!) and you’ll receive an email from me via Kickstarter that says “Here’s your backer survey—fill it out ASAP and I’ll send you your ebook of Jules Cassidy, P.I. plus any other reward you selected.”

E) You’ll fill out the backer survey with the very same email address you used to open your BookFunnel account and send it back to me. (Instructions on how to return it to me will be right there in the email!! We’ll be communicating through Kickstarter!)

F) While you wait impatiently, I’ll download a huge list of backer email addresses from Kickstarter that includes the email address you gave me in your backer survey (FYI, this is a list I will never share and will only use to deliver your JULES rewards), and input that info into BookFunnel’s ebook delivery service. With the push of a button, the ebook of JULES will go into every backer’s BookFunnel account library and will be waiting there for you.

G) I’ll send another email to you via Kickstarter saying, “Hey, JULES is waiting for you in your BookFunnel library!”

H) You’ll hop on over to BookFunnel, log into your account (or create an account with the email address you gave me in your backer survey), and follow BookFunnel’s easy instructions for how to send JULES to your Kindle or Nook or Kobo reader. Or you can read JULES right there on BookFunnel’s website, if you want!

I) If you chose a print book as your JULES Kickstarter reward, you’ll get the ebook to tide you over, because now we’ve all gotta wait until after the holidays for the hardcover and trade paperback editions to arrive at my house from the print-on-demand people. In late January or February, I’ll sign your book, package it up via flat-rate priority mailer, and ship it off to the snail mail address you gave me when you filled out your backer survey. (I’ll keep you updated via Kickstarter emails, letting you know when the books arrive and when they ship!)

J) (For JULES. That worked out nicely!) You’ll drop me an email or a Kickstarter message (optional, of course!) asking when the next book featuring Jules Cassidy will be out, because yeah, it’ll be clear when you read the book that there’s gonna be more.

So there it is.

Yes, it’s new and different. But hey, if it works as easily as I think it will, this is probably how I’m going to be releasing books from now on.

Here’s that link again: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/suzannebrockmann/jules-cassidy-pi

And for those readers who simply cannot with the new-and-differentness, the ebook of JULES will be available at Nook, Kobo, Apple, Amazon, and Google Play sometime around the end of January. And there will be print-on-demand editions available around that time, too. 

And for those of you who really want to get into the weeds with me:

Why Use Kickstarter?

I’ve chosen Kickstarter for a number of reasons—in order to get JULES to readers quickly, at a reasonable price, and while also avoiding using Amazon for its initial release. (Many of my readers are boycotting Amazon, and I wholeheartedly respect that!!)

Kickstarter takes a much smaller bite of the ebook price, which means less money goes to big corporations who support fascism. (For example: for an $8 ebook, Kickstarter’s cut is 48 cents while Amazon grabs $2.40. That’s not insignificant!!) With Kickstarter, more money goes to the author. We’re the ultimate mom-and-pop small business when we self-publish.

And as for Amazon’s (and many other large corporations’) support of fascism, well. If you’re like me, you don’t support that bullshit, especially for things you can purchase elsewhere. Me, I’m careful to support businesses (like Flags for Good, for example!) who are clearly and openly on the side of freedom and democracy.

And then there’s timing. I’d hoped to finish writing JULES by the end of the summer but my Long Covid said #Nope. Instead, I finished writing this extremely lengthy book at the threshold to the holiday season. (Yay?!) But that’s a rough time of year to attempt to upload a new book to the ebookseller sites. (Apple is honest at least. They send out a “good luck, suckers!” email in October outlining the holiday delays for uploading new ebooks to their Apple Books site.) In short, I decided to skip that chaos by releasing JULES via Kickstarter. 

All right. That was waaaay too lengthy, but I hope it was informative and useful for those of you who really want JULES but were hesitant to use Kickstarter and BookFunnel. (And if you still don’t want to, that’s okay. I still love you.)

Thank you, as always, for your time and attention, and your support!

Please never stop fighting for our freedom, for our democracy, for equality, equity, peace, love, hope, and for the rights of ALL of our neighbors both here and around the world,
Suz