This blog is for those 18 and older.

Friday, August 25, 2023

WOO HOO…IT’S A RODEO!

 

Hey, gang.  How the hell are ya? Well, I certainly hope everyone out there is living their best life, having fun, and making life work for ya.  😊

Okay, so I’m gonna just cut to the chase here. The Butterscotch Martini Girls are working their proverbial (not actual) arses off promoting this big Cowboy Crush Kickstarter campaign we have going on. Trust me, it ain’t easy to keep a monster like this moving! 



Why? You ask.  

Well, let me ‘splain it to you, Lucy! The average number of tiers generally offered in a Kickstarter (according to internet sources) is 5.  We have 12!  And ours are so jam-packed with stuff that it’s spillin’ out the sides. That makes this a pretty large campaign with a lot of moving parts.   

Then…out of 62,255 Kickstarter publishing campaigns, only about 37% of them ever reached full funding. Yikes!  Glad we didn’t read that before we funded.  LOL 

So…bottom line…this is a complicated campaign with lots of rewards to find, prep, price, offer, order, create (in some cases), receive, assemble (in some cases), package, and ship. Then in between all of that, we have to build graphics, keep the campaign site updated, and…oh yeah…promote. 

And…we only gave ourselves 31 days to do it in…because we didn’t feel challenged enough.  LOL  (That was a joke…it really was just sheer stupidity on my part.)

All that said…we have a large and complicated campaign with lots of rewards to source, and (with any luck at all) a wagon load of products to acquire and ship after the fat lady sings and the Butterscotch Martini Girls drink. 

Where are we now?  Oh, I am sooo glad you asked. 

We are a couple hundred dollars over fully funded.  YAY! 

But what does that really mean? 

Well, what it means is that the project is no longer in “tentative” status.  It has met its minimum budget and will now become a reality. The question is…how much of a reality? 

Huh? 

Oops…sorry.  Didn’t mean to Kickstarter double-speak at ya. 

The term “funded” is sort of like a measuring stick that draws this invisible waterline around the project that says if you don’t go over this line, the project shuts down and no one pays a thing…basically, cancelled with no harm, no foul.  On the other hand, once a project hits this waterline, it is all systems “GO”…when the project closes, credit cards will be charged, product will be ordered and shipped, and eventually all backers will receive the goods identified in the tier they backed, along with any add-on items they may have purchased. It is literally the point of no-return. 

From the project sponsor’s perspective, the “funded” waterline is simply the bare minimum mark that must be achieved in order to provide the offered products without losing money. It is pretty much the break-even point. 

So…as I’m sure you have recognized by now…the objective is to EXCEED the “goal” by as much as you possibly can. Because this is the way we make money from all the work we put in and from the fabulous stories and merchandise we pulled together to make this project happen. 

Now that you understand the meaning of the Kickstarter “goal,” it should stand to reason that you now understand why we may be continuing to email and post to social media and (forgive me) blog sites more often about this campaign.  A helluva lot of work has gone into this project and we would not be doing our stories any justice if we didn’t work our (again) proverbial arses off to make it as successful as possible.  Successful projects are what enables us to do what we do and continue to provide our readers with stories they love for years to come.  If our businesses fail, we have failed our readers. 

It's as simple as that!                  

So be sure you head on over to the Cowboy Crush Kickstarter campaign and help us do justice to these stories and to the platform. If you find one of our tiers is something you cannot live without, we would be delighted to have you back it. 

And while you are there, check out the other publishing campaigns that are active, and back some of those as well because those authors are doing exactly the same thing we are—working hard to keep their businesses healthy so that wonderful stories continue to be told year after year. 

Yes, our project has achieved the first milestone and “funded”, but that’s just the beginning.  There are still miles to go and only 20 more days to do it in. So…back us, talk about us, share our social media posts…every little bit helps. And don’t forget that Christmas trees will be in the malls by…hmmm…next week, maybe. So put one (or ten) of these tiers on your Christmas list and watch the campaign page for some updates to come out over the next couple of weeks outlining some new offerings. 

What’s coming up, you ask? 

Well, I’m currently working with a vendor to design a box sleeve for the paperback
set.  It’s going to be gorgeous and if we get enough backers at the paperback level, we will be able to add some stretch goals for upgrades.  Uh-huh, uh-huh! 

And…I just finished a mock-up of the dust jacket that will be available with the hard cover version…which is going to be stunning, especially if you get it in the upgraded color version with the 5 original color cover images inserted into the book. 

Oh…anyone interested in vellum inserts?  We have some really gorgeous ones on the drawing board right now and are figuring out how to set them up as stretch goals. 

All that and the basics too?  Yep…all that along with HOT Cowboys, savvy heroines, shot glasses, martini glasses, flasks, coloring pages, a cowboy bear, and more HOT Cowboys.  And I haven’t even mentioned the stickers, coasters, add-on novels, printed bookmarks, leather bookmarks, book buddies in display cases…and have I mentioned HOT Cowboys?  Oh…and can you say, “Martini Recipes?” 

So…back a tier and sit back and watch for the new announcements to start rolling out. ‘Cuz this campaign is just fixin’ to get good.  

Well, that’s my story, exciting and expectant, and I’m stickin’ to it. Hang on tight now ‘cuz we’re gonna run this pony for all he’s worth—let’s Rock this Rodeo!

Yeah, Baby!

Love ya,  


Check it out here...

COWBOY CRUSH KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN


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