Crowdfunding the way of the Future for Whangarei Author
A Whangarei writer has resorted to crowdfunding in an effort to pique the interest of mainstream publishers .
Michael Botur has recently started a Boosted campaign to raise $ 3000 towards self-publishing his latest novel , Moneyland .
Botur says he hopes the crowdfunding will help develop a fan base and demonstrate the level of interest in the book both locally and on a national scale .
“ My ideal goal would be for a large publisher to see my fan base and to want to publish the book .”
The father of two from Tikipunga is now onto his forth novel since graduating with a journalism qualification in 2014 .
He says Moneyland has had a number of offers from traditional publishers , however most of these involved a costly up-front payment with no promise of anything in return .
“ The lesson there is that writers should be less dependent on the old 20th century publishing model ,” he says . “ We should empower ourselves with scary but exciting new models , like crowdfunding and indie publishing .”
Moneyland is a fiction piece aimed at young adults . Based in the future , the plot involves a group of teenagers lured into a bio-dome by the promise of a large sum of cash .
However , it ’ s quickly proven that cash doesn ’ t have much value in a world where the main characters are struggling to survive . The dome allows for no contact with the outside world and has been placed over an urban area with very little opportunity to grow produce .
“ The book touches on a range of important themes going on in today ’ s society ,” says Botur . “ One of those is capitalism and questioning the value we put on everyday items .”
Botur currently works as a contract writer , working for various publications as both a journalist and a communications expert .
He says by crowdfunding locally , he hopes to develop a sense of ownership surrounding the book .
“ One dollar means so little to most people ,” he says . “ But to me it means you ’ re interested in reading the book , in showing your support . To me , it means I ’ m one step closer to my goal .”
To contribute to Michael Botur ’ s Boosted campaign please visit www . boosted . org . nz / projects / moneyland .