Fund this Amazing Author Kickstarter!

Kickstarter + Bestselling Authors = Exciting

I don’t use the word giddy often, but in this case it works. I’m absolutely giddy about an anthology of short stories written by some of the biggest names in publishing.

Forget that it’s set in a world that I helped create (although I have to admit that’s pretty amazing), the best thing about the anthology is that 100% of the profits will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Kids Need to Read. Check out the roster:

• Brandon Mull | NY Times Bestselling Author, Fablehaven
• Aprilynne Pike | NY Times Bestselling Author, Wings
• Frank Beddor | NY Times Bestselling Author, Looking Glass Wars
• Michael Spradlin | NY Times Bestselling Author, Youngest Templar
• Dean Lorey | Co-Executive Producer, Arrested Development
• Shannon Messenger | Let the Sky Fall, Keeper of the Lost Cities
• Tom Leveen | Party, manicpixiedreamgirl, Sick
• Joseph Nassise | International Bestselling Author, Templar Chronicles
• Matt Forbeck | Leverage: The Con Job based on the TNT television series
• Janette Rallison | My Fair Godmother, Slayers
  
  

Why I’m Self-Publishing Both the Anthology and My Next Novel

I’ve been lucky enough to publish nine books through Scholastic, Little Brown, and Thomas Nelson. I hope to work with them again one day, but I’m going to self-publish the Grey Griffins anthology. I’m also going to self-publish my next novel (Grey Griffins: Night of Dragons).

THE SEARCH FOR DRAGONS (Cover)
by Scott Altmann 

Why? The industry has drastically changed since my first book was published in 2007 and its time for me to change as well. Besides, by self-publishing the anthology, we’ll be able to donate 70% of the cover price to the charities instead of 17.5%, which is what we’d earn if it went through a traditional publisher.

The Drawback with Self-Publishing

Each short story in the Grey Griffins anthology will be professionally edited. It will also have its own cover painted by the incredibly talented Scott Altmann (http://www.scottaltmann.com/). The final product will look every bit as good as what the major publishing houses produce, but there’s a drawback. When you publish your own books you have to come up with the money to pay the artists and the editors. That’s why I’m turning to Kickstarter.

Natalia and Brooke by Simone Kesterton (Characters from Night of Dragons)

Crowdsourcing with Kickstarter

Running a Kickstarter campaign gives readers the chance to pre-order the book and I’ll be able to invest the money into making an amazing product.

I know what it means to have a tight budget, so I made sure the pledge levels started at $1. There are some fun rewards, too, like custom Grey Griffins short stories, collectible character trading cards and sketches from the cover artist. For the writers out there, we’re offering the chance for a query letter review, a partial manuscript review, and even a Skype brainstorm session where I’ll help you come up with ideas for your story.

You can help fund the Kickstarter campaign here.

Ice Dragon

You Can Even Get Your Story Published in the Grey Griffins Anthology

Because I also have a passion for helping new writers break into the industry I thought the best way to do that with this project was to give someone a chance to get a short story published in the anthology. Your story will end up in the same book with all those New York Times bestselling authors. If it sounds like something you’re interested in, you can find the submission guidelines here.

Thank you

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for your consideration to back the Kickstarter campaign. I’m going to need your help to make this project a reality, and I know that together we can do something incredible!

Bio: Jon Samuel Lewis is an American writer best known for the acclaimed Grey Griffins series published by Scholastic’s Orchard Books. After selling nearly a million copies in the original trilogy, Lewis and his writing partner, Derek Benz teamed with Little Brown to publish the Grey Griffins Clockwork Chronicles. He is also the author of CHAOS Novels, a young adult urban science fiction series published by Thomas Nelson and has written for DC Comics. Lewis is also a marketing executive and content strategist who works with Fortune 500 companies on their digital marketing strategies.

Twitter: @jonslewis | Facebook | Blog