Be The First To Read ‘Janapar’ By Supporting The Kickstarter Campaign

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One of the reasons that my blog has been quiet in recent weeks is because of a mammoth push forward with my big writing project. The book of Janapar is now in its penultimate draft form, and I’m putting together a team to take the publishing process to completion.

I’m really excited to announce that I’m opening this up to your involvement through a brand new Kickstarter UK campaign, which launches today!

But rather than pen yet more words (trust me, I’ve written enough recently), I’ve recorded you a video appeal:

(Click here if you’re having trouble seeing this video.)

If you’ve been following the story of Janapar, you can be the first to get hold of the finished book by backing the campaign. It will be running for three weeks, after which the opportunity for early access will close until the official book launch in January.

There are several ‘reward’ levels, starting at £5 for an electronic edition of the book, right up to £1,500 — for which I’ve foolishly promised to cycle and camp to your door, bringing the story to your home, in the middle of winter — even if you live at the wrong end of the country. (It remains to be seen whether anybody will take me up on that one!)

But a more typical pledge would be £25, for which you’ll first receive a DVD of ‘Janapar’ before Christmas, followed in January by a physical copy of the book itself — hot off the press.

This is an experiment in the new and democratic form of artistic patronage known as ‘crowdfunding’, and it’s as much about me making a commitment to completing a project as it is a funding campaign.

Pledge now on the project’s Kickstarter page! And, while you’re there, do share the project via the social media links. Success depends on spreading the word, and your help will be invaluable in this respect.

Thank you!

I’ll be back soon with campaign updates, as well as resuming my cycle-touring-related programming. I’ve also got a new and exciting trip coming up. But the rest of this year is really all about launching the Janapar project. More details soon…

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8 responses to “Be The First To Read ‘Janapar’ By Supporting The Kickstarter Campaign”

  1. […] year I took a gamble on crowdfunding my first book project. After three weeks of planning and preparation, I clicked the ‘launch’ button early one morning […]

  2. Hi Tom, great idea. Glad to be able to contribute towards one of your goals after your blog helped inspire our own long bike trip (currently in Colombia riding Alaska-Patagonia). Look forward to the film too — although that might have to wait till we get home! Best of luck with the rest of the campaign…

  3. Cristina Marin avatar
    Cristina Marin

    I will. Thank you Tom for replying!

  4. Cristina Marin avatar
    Cristina Marin

    I really like your video. I am also working at publishing my first book ever and hopefully Kickstarter will do the trick for me. I have a nice manuscript in my room and a lot of expectations. If I got this far I can’t look back. I like the fact your book is inspired from life experience. I’ll be watching how it goes for you on Kick and hope you’ll get more than 100%.

    1. Thanks Cristina. It’s a good idea to make a heartfelt video. People really pick up on whether or not you’re speaking naturally on camera. I suppose I have the advantage of plenty of practice at that! Do drop me a line when your project goes online…

  5. Good luck wiith the campaign. Can’t wait to read the end product!

  6. Hi Tom,

    Nice ideas. I hope to help in the campaign. Just a question: is the movie going to be launched in formats other than DVD? I was hoping that a download (HD, ideally) would also be an option.

    1. A download will indeed be available!

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