Need an advance for your book? Get your future readers to fund you!

Need an advance for your book? Get your future readers to fund you!

Back in the days when publishers where the only gateway to publish a book, writers received an advance upon signing their publishing contract.

With the growing success of self-publishing, two things have happened. Advances from established publishers for unknown authors have shrunk, the plethora of new publishers do not offer advances and self-publishers, of course, not only do not receive advances but have to self-finance the time they take to write, the editing and formatting of their book and the book cover.

Luckily, thanks to the new concept of crowdfunding,  self-publishers can now reach out directly to potential readers to find the funds they need to finance their book.

For self-publishers unfamiliar with the concept of crowdfunding, please watch the video below the list.

Authr.com Founded in 2011, Authr is the oldest crowndfunding site for writers. It welcomes established and aspiring writers, so self-publishers are welcome. Unfortunately, they ask for a monthly $14.95 fee instead of a percentage of the funds raised, which indicates they do not rely entirely on potential authors chance to raise funds successfully and prefer a sure source of income at the author’s expenses.

Unbound  is a hybrid between a publisher and crowdfunding books. At this stage, they accept only selected submissions from unagented unpublished writers, but it might be worth a try, though might not be the easiest outlet for self-publishers.

Kickstarter  is a crowdfunding site for creative projects with a section for publishing books. Self-publishers welcome.

Sponsume  is a more generalist crowdfunding site that has a section for writing projects. Self-publishers welcome.

If you know of more crowdfunding sites for writers, especially if tehy cater for self-publishers, please share your findings in the comment section below.

What is crowdfunding?