Thank you so much, readers, for taking the time yesterday to share your thoughts on my children’s book project! I was (happily) overwhelmed at the amount of feedback, particularly in the optional comments section, which nearly everyone filled out, so again, thank you! (Didn’t get a chance to take the survey? You can do so here.) Today, I’d like to share the survey results and start sketching out some ideas for moving forward, so…let’s get started!

What You Want in the Book

The first question asked for the ideal ratio of storybook pages to tutorial pages.

• 60% of you wanted mostly story with a tutorial or two (75% story, 25% tutorials)
• 30% of you wanted a happy mix of half and half (50% story, 50% tutorials)
• And only 10% of you wanted less story and more tutorials (25% story, 75% tutorials)

I’ll admit that I was very surprised by these answers. One of my main fears about the book was that no one would be willing to pay for just a story, so without the tutorials thrown in, interest would be minimal. Apparently, I was just flat-out wrong on that one!

And now, a word from our sponsor…

Question two dealt with advertising/product placement and whether or not that would be a welcome addition or an annoying intrusion.

• 20% of you said bring on the ads! If you see something you like, you want to know where to buy it.
• 40% of you said the ads would be annoying.
• Another 40% of you were on the fence–as long as the ads weren’t front and center, they might be okay.

In the comments section, many of you mentioned that you would love to see information on where to buy pieces in the back of the book, or somewhere similarly tucked away, so that seems like a smart choice that will cater to everyone.

What’s it worth to you?

Using pricing calculators on a few popular self-publishing websites, I offered a few different price points. Here’s what you had to say:

• 40% of you were interested in buying a 20 page book for $15.95.
• The rest of you were interested in any of the available options, ranging up to $19.95 for a 30 page book.

Kick starting the project

Question four asked you whether you would be willing to pledge an amount, not to exceed $20, in exchange for a copy of the book. This would be done using Kickstarter, and I’ll give a brief run down of the process after I share your responses, because a few of you were curious as to how pledging works.

• 55% of you said that you would be happy to pledge an amount (yay!).
• 45% of you said maybe.

Either you’re a very polite bunch or the book project is charmed, because no one answered “no” to this one! As for Kickstarter, one of the main reasons why I’m excited to use this service is that I first learned about it as a “pledger.” One of my favorite indie publishers, Microcosm Publishing, was putting out a book called How and Why: A Do-It-Yourself Guide, and I pledged $20 to help see the book to publication.

From the book’s project page (which you can still visit here), I could easily see the project deadline and the different pledge amounts available and what I would receive at each level (i.e. a copy of the book; the book plus a sticker pack; the book and the warm, fuzzy feeling I get from helping other artists; etc.). Payment information is handled by Amazon.com, and in my case, I already had an account, so I merely had to select which card I wanted to use to make my pledge. If you don’t have an account, you’ll be asked to enter in standard billing info.

At this point, nothing is charged to the card. In the case of the book I helped fund, the total amount was successfully met by the deadline, so at that point, I received an email asking for payment confirmation and my card was charged. I also received an email from the project creator, Microcosm Publishing, requesting my mailing info. Roughly a month later, I received my copy of the book and the aforementioned warm, fuzzy feelings of helping someone reach their creative goal. If the amount had not been raised by the deadline, my pledge would have canceled and my card never charged.

To answer a few other questions posed by survey takers, no, Kickstarter does not own any part of the project. From their own terms statement: “Absolutely not. Project creators keep 100% ownership of their work.” If the goal is not met by the deadline, Kickstarter and Amazon get zilch, since no money changed hands. Should the goal succeed, I will be giving roughly 10% of the proceeds to Kickstarter and Amazon. For the initial small run of books, that would amount to roughly $30, something that I’m comfortable with paying given the ease of using the service and the peace of mind for my potential backers associated with the monitored pledging process.

Your standout ideas

The comment section was where things really got fun. From the looks of things, all of you are very excited about this project, which is awesome–so am I! Many of you raised concerns about whether or not I would be able to fit both story and tutorial content in one relatively short book, and a few of you shared super creative ideas for getting around this problem. For example, someone suggested that I include a code in the back of the book which can then be entered in my website for a free download of the tutorial(s). Fantastic! I would likely have to include a certificate when I mail out the books, each with a unique code, just to ensure that everyone who buys the book gets their tutorial, but fifty other people who might snag the code by other means don’t, but I love the idea!

In addition to most of you wanting additional information for purchasing items in the book, as long as it wasn’t front and center, a few of you also expressed interest in purchasing limited edition pieces that were used in the actual creation of the book, a nifty idea that I never would have thought of.

Now what?

The survey results took up a bit more blog real estate than I had anticipated, so tomorrow, I’ll share my thoughts for an initial steps to-do list, including ideas for creating the mouse dolls that I’ll be using in the book. In the meantime, if you have any comments in response to the survey responses and the ideas posed by your fellow readers, lets hear ‘em! Your feedback has really helped in fleshing out a clearer structure for the book, and I have a much better handle on what type of content you’re most interested in, so keep the ideas flowing.