Funding and Endorsements
Funding for Your Project
Fundraising ease can depend on the time of year. The most ideal fundraising time is usually just before Thanksgiving through the January, when people start thinking of those who are less fortunate than themselves, and when family members tend to gather. If you aren’t ready to publish at that time, don’t worry. Any time is good for giving.
Book Ads
If you have friends or family, they can help spread the word about your book, or publicize it in your community through email groups, clubs, local newsletters or bulletin boards. Offer dedication spots in the front or back of your book for a set fee, such as $360 for a whole page, $180 for a half-page, or break it down even further, depending on the chosen size of your book.
Dedications and Memorials
Much like advertising in event programs, you can offer chances for people to fund your book by making dedications or memorials to their loved ones in exchange for a donation toward your book project.
These type of ads are commonly offered for community programs or fundraising dinners. Ideally, stress the fact and remind them how a book dedication lasts forever, and when added to a book, it lasts far longer than an one-time advertising spot in a program for an event that usually gets discarded over time, and few people will even remember.
Getting Endorsements
Do you have a work that can be recommended by someone notable in the field of your subject? If so, send the person a copy of your manuscript and let them give it an endorsement. This is a wonderful thing for jumpstarting your book promotion! Just like a favorable book review, it helps others see the value in your book, and can start a snowball effect. One good review begets another and another…
An endorsement should ideally be procured before your book ever goes to print, as it becomes a part of it. If you have already gotten a copyright, and/or submitted your work to the copyright office, it can still be added to the beginning or end of the book. Since it does not affect any major part of your own work, you will not have to re-submit it for copyright as a second edition.
How Do I Go About Getting An Endorsement?
Get the contact information of the person you are interested in getting the endorsement from. Either send a physical manuscript or email a pdf to them. Ideally, you should send out a few, as it doesn’t hurt to get more than one. The more the better! Once you have sent your work, they should send you a letter back with their approval, often on their own letterhead. It may be in typed or handwritten, physical paper or email saved as a pdf. This will be a page in the book, generally, in the beginning, preceding everything else. If you are lucky enough to acquire more than one, put the most revered or knowledgeable person first.
Keep in mind that some people do not give endorsements as a personal policy. If this happens, do not take it personally or become offended. It is not uncommon and is applicable to anyone, not just you. If you know of someone who is an expert in your subject matter, try getting an endorsement from them as well. It never hurts to try.