Crowdfunding is good as long as you understand all that goes into it. Time and effort(dollars per manhour) are one things but the amount of money it takes for everything else can be a harsh reality for first timers who don't realize the money raised isn't all profit.(1/8)
First you have the actual printing cost of your comic which can be 2$-8$ a copy depending on its size and extras(variant covers, Foil, hologram, etc). You also have to pay out any additional contributors like inkers, colorists, and Letterers.(2/8)
You'll also have to have your book shipped from the printer to your home for distribution which can run into the hundreds or thousands depending on order. You'll need to overprint to account for loss or damage as well. (3/8)
Next you have your rewards which usually consists of prints, sketchbooks, trading cards, sketches, etc. This can be just as costly as the comic itself and take a lot of time to produce. Sketches are an additional time and effort cost.(4/8)
Then you have distribution which you have to do yourself or hire out a company that can do it for you. This is incredibly time consuming and often costs more than expected even with S&H fees built in. Loss and damage(a harsh reality) also costs a lot of time and money. 5/8)
Then we have the cost of time. Producing a video, setup and monitor of your campaign, responding to backer's inquiries, etc. the bigger your campaign gets, the more attention this stuff demands. It can literally be 24/7 for a large crowdfunding.(6/8)
Lastly is the harshest reality. The crowdfunding site you use will take 4-5% or more of your total funding. You are also bound to have chargebacks for denied credit cards. This can be in the 10s to 100s for a successful campaign. (7/8)
In the end you are looking at anywhere from 60-90% of your total take going to all the things listed previously. I'm sure I've missed some stuff and there's a lot of intangibles but realize having a crowdfunding hit isn't all it appears to be.(8/8)
