This is what she had to say...
Willy of E-Junkie: What is your current project? And is there anything you would like our readers to know about it?
Jessica Cathryn Feinberg: My current project is "Fire Dragons & Other RareEmber Creatures."
It's a 100 page field guide to fire creatures, a deck of matching playing cards, and other related projects. It's the second book/deck in a series of five I am doing (Water, Fire, Earth, Air, and Clockwork).
Willy: Are there any writers or artist who have influenced your works, one way or another?
Jessica: For artists I would say Brian Froud, Tony DiTerlizzi and Rob Alexander. For writers... there's a lot! Charles deLint and Holly Black are probably the two biggest influences on my writing.
Willy: You have self-published your books, are there any suggestions you would give our readers who are looking at self-publishing for the first time?
Jessica: Publishing and self publishing have changed a lot the last few years. It used to be there was a defined boundary between these two things, but now this is much more blurred. Commonly new writers/artists make the mistake of thinking a publisher will do PR for them. This is not true unless you are already a well known writer, so publish or "self" published, you have to do your own PR or hire someone to do it. With Amazon's CreateSpace and other services like it they are striking a
happy medium between traditional and "self"
publishing. You can get all the services that a publisher would give you -
editing, design and even some PR. So to
me it isn't as much self publishing as hiring a company to publish for you vs. getting a publisher who will
advance you money. The big differences are that you have to pay up front
for the services (but you can crowdfund this if you need to), but then
you get much more control on the look, feel and schedule for your
book. You also make a much bigger cut per book. Full control equals full responsibility, so it's up to you to do a good job or hire the right
people. A good editor is really REALLY important (and sometimes even a
traditional publisher won't get you an editor you can work well with). So DO YOUR RESEARCH
and make sure the book
you are putting out is good quality.
Willy: Is there anything you would suggest people avoid when trying
to self-publish?
Jessica: Watch our for people selling you publishing packages. Sometimes they are charging you more than if you just went to a site like CreateSpace or Ingram Spark and did the work yourself. So be sure you fully check out your options before paying anyone anything.
Jessica: Watch our for people selling you publishing packages. Sometimes they are charging you more than if you just went to a site like CreateSpace or Ingram Spark and did the work yourself. So be sure you fully check out your options before paying anyone anything.
Willy: Beyond self-publishing and being a successful artist, you
have also had a number of successful KickStarter campaigns. Are there any suggestions you can give us
about what can make or break a campaign?
Jessica: You mention self-publishing, being an artist and Kickstarter as separate things, but for me these are all tied together. I'm a writer and an artist because I wanted to create books. Kickstarter and IngramSpark are the tools I use to fund creating and printing my books. There's a lot one can stay about crowdfunding, but again I think the biggest thing is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you are thinking of running a project on a site like Kickstarter try to find other similar projects that have funded and also those that have failed. Look at the format they use, what they are offering and do a LOT of research about PR. I do a combination of vending at events and online sales as well as a lot of Facebook PR, these helped me to build a fan base so that I have the fans to fund my books on Kickstarter. People often assume that there are shortcuts - that Kickstarter is a shortcut. It isn't. It's a tool and you have to know how to use it. Take your time, do research, do PR before, during and after projects, and work to build a fan base.
Jessica: You mention self-publishing, being an artist and Kickstarter as separate things, but for me these are all tied together. I'm a writer and an artist because I wanted to create books. Kickstarter and IngramSpark are the tools I use to fund creating and printing my books. There's a lot one can stay about crowdfunding, but again I think the biggest thing is to DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you are thinking of running a project on a site like Kickstarter try to find other similar projects that have funded and also those that have failed. Look at the format they use, what they are offering and do a LOT of research about PR. I do a combination of vending at events and online sales as well as a lot of Facebook PR, these helped me to build a fan base so that I have the fans to fund my books on Kickstarter. People often assume that there are shortcuts - that Kickstarter is a shortcut. It isn't. It's a tool and you have to know how to use it. Take your time, do research, do PR before, during and after projects, and work to build a fan base.
Willy: Can you give us any clues on what direction your are
thinking about moving in next?
Jessica: I'll be working on this series until next summer (I'm putting out all 5 books within a year). Then I'm planning a how to draw/paint book based on the teaching work I'm doing. My work is a mix of projects funded by kickstarter, online sales, sales in person at events and also teaching.
Jessica: I'll be working on this series until next summer (I'm putting out all 5 books within a year). Then I'm planning a how to draw/paint book based on the teaching work I'm doing. My work is a mix of projects funded by kickstarter, online sales, sales in person at events and also teaching.
Willy: Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?
Jessica: I think just that anyone CAN fund publishing their work if they do they research and work hard at it. If you really choose to do something in your life you will be able to, but you have to work hard, be driven and not give up even on bad days.
Jessica: I think just that anyone CAN fund publishing their work if they do they research and work hard at it. If you really choose to do something in your life you will be able to, but you have to work hard, be driven and not give up even on bad days.
Thanks Jessica for talking to E-Junkie and giving our readers your hard-earned advice. Any of our readers who choose to fund her KickStarter for at least $10 - and message Jessica to let her know you found out about through our blog - will
get a bonus, a sticker of a baby dragon.
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