Tony Brasunas

After revising my manuscript for ten years, working with a professional literary agent for two years, and exploring every high and low of the various publishing industries in the United States, here in 2013 I’ve discovered that the perfect way to publish Double Happiness is independently with a Kickstarter.com campaign.

Why? For me, there are four main reasons: Adventure, Timing, Creative Control, and Community.

1. Adventure – At its heart, my book, Double Happiness is a tale of adventure, and Kickstarter brings adventure to the whole process of publishing a book. It’s a risk to put my dreams out there on some web page and hope for the best. It might not work! I don’t know who I’m going to find — or be found by — out there. I know only that I have a vision and a path, and that I have the means to walk that path. It was taking exactly this kind of risk that led to the journeys and discoveries Double Happiness is written to share.

2. Timing – With the big publishing houses, I’ve learned that books generally do not come out for at least a year after the author signs and closes the big deal. Often it takes even longer, depending on where your book is on the house’s priority list, and how it fits in with their marketing plans and goals. Exceptions are made for exceptionally time-sensitive books (your book on the Super Bowl, for instance, in mid-January, or your biography of a political candidate in the midst of a campaign), but Double Happiness would not fit in that category. If I use Kickstarter and independently publish the book, I get to determine the ideal time for the book to come out, even if that ideal time is right away.

3. Creative Control – Sometimes professional editors in Manhattan know exactly what you are trying to say — or what you should be trying to say. Sometimes they don’t have a clue, or should just leave well enough alone. This can cut both ways, of course, and at certain points in the writing process editors can provide very helpful insights. Double Happiness has been meticulously edited by myself and several professional editors, but because it’s an unusual and highly personal book — with maps and epigraphs, and with an epilogue and prologue set in contrasting time periods — being able to make the final decisions on what goes in and what stays out of the manuscript is very appealing to me. I get to deliver to my readers a beautiful book, a flawlessly-edited book, and above all, the book I deeply longed to write.

4. Community – Through Kickstarter, the book begins and is brought into the world as a collective project and as part of a shared experience with the readers themselves. This promises to be a magical part of the whole journey to publication. I hope everyone who’s ever traveled or hoped to travel jumps on board!

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? I sense it’s going to work for me. But it might not. And of course if you’ve just completed your manuscript, your mileage may vary considerably. Your particularly desires, ambitions, and creative predilections may indicate finding an agent and selling your manuscript to a publishing house is your best path.

For me, Kickstarter feels perfect. I can’t wait to go live and launch it!

When will that be? I’m working on the video and rewards for the campaign now, and they’re nearly done. I will launch my Kickstarter publication campaign this month! To get an email note when we launch, subscribe to this blog or go to facebook.com/DoubleHappy and click to “Like” the page. I do hope you’ll explore my Kickstarter campaign when it begins, and if you fancy, get on board, join the community, contribute to the campaign, and help publish Double Happiness!