One of the things that Backerkit Crowdfunding brings to projects is a level of flexibility. Creators get to work directly with several contacts on the BK Crowdfunding team, and campaigns can be adjusted as they go, especially during this preliminary Beta-test phase.

Case in point: I always do my planning based on customers doing ahistorically low uptake on anything but the base pledge. So where I planned on something like $58 per pledge (and the “surplus” funds that I would use to write checks for development costs associated with that)…reality has come in closer to $88. While there are “Cost of Goods Sold” that eat out of that (If you buy a boxed set, I have to buy one from SJGames), any and all profits from such a “plus-up” go into a pool from which I can pay my artists, writers, and the like. In short, cover the costs of the project.

But one of the side-effects of the pledges coming in hot is that the number of backers I need to cover development and printing costs is lower. In fact, it’s a LOT lower than my initial estimates.

I asked Backerkit if it would be possible to change the goal…and while they’re not making this a system-level feature of the platform, they’re willing to accommodate us on this!

Funding Level Now $24,000

So, in one fell swoop, we’re that much closer to funding. The analysis of the project – only available now that my knowledge of the “mix” of things folks are interested is informed by data and not guesswork – shows that I can cover the costs with just under $24,000 in funding rather than my initial estimate of $29K

Stretch Goal…Yeah, that’s now $48,000 also

I’d set the original goal at 200% funding, not a particular dollar amount. The mix also impacts the point where I can give away the right number of copies of a 100-page hardcover, and the math works out such that yes, the new mix is within a few hundred dollars of “still 200%, but that 200% is $10,000 lower than it used to be.”

So…if we hit $48,000 – which would currently occur at about 550 backers, give or take a few – then yeah, everyone who goes in for the Nightmare Fuel physical books in any pledge will get a copy of the hardcover omnibus.

Yeah, this one.

Add-on Alert: Cartoon Covers

I’ve been asked by a bunch of folks to make the printed books available as add-ons with the “placeholder” silly covers.

This won’t be a problem. I’ll put them in Backerkit as “goals,” meaning if we get orders for a modest amount – 15 to 25 is usually a good number for each hub – I’ll place and fill the orders along with the rest of the project. Pricing is probably similar to print-only retail: call it $20 each for Serpents and Bugs (retail will be $23 and $22 unless page counts increase), and $15 for Garden of Evil.

This might be flexible, in that if folks really want these and want all three…I’m sure I can do a package deal.

Also no reason I can’t make poster prints available for less than the full book if folks want to display the fun alternate covers without having to buy content twice!

Let’s take this up in the comments, and see what people are interested in seeing.