In just over 30 days from now, I plan to launch the Kickstarter to fund my first webcomic book collection - Poison Ivy Gulch Saddles Up. In fact, I've made it my goal to assemble the Kickstarter by Sunday night on May 15 and submit it for approval. If all goes well, that gives me about 2 weeks to promote the Kickstarter ahead of time.
I am fearful of not just the Kickstarter itself. It is also the perception of my work. You see - Poison Ivy Gulch almost didn't come to be.
I had genuine fear over even starting Poison Ivy Gulch. I feared that it would be ignored. I feared it would get bad attention and I'd become a joke like Tim Buckley or Tom Preston (look them up). I feared the Western was dead.
But maybe fear isn't a bad thing.
Someone told me a big lesson that was instrumental in making me go ahead with Poison Ivy Gulch. Do you know what that was?
Fear is a gift.
It tells us that there are stakes in what we're going after. If there was no fear, no uncertainty, then the thing you're setting out to do probably has little value.
I do value my work. I feel in my gut that I had a good idea. So I went ahead and did it. And while I haven't set the Internet ablaze like PVP Online or Penny Arcade, I've got my fans. Did you know that ever since my launch, Poison Ivy Gulch has consistently ranked in the top 500 rankings over on Top Webcomics? To put that in perspective, there are TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WEBCOMICS listed on Top Webcomics! That means my work has gotten enough votes of support over thousands of other works!
Fear isn't always bad. Fear protects us. Fear stops us from wolfing down too much junk food, dashing out into busy traffic and running on a greasy floor.
I am fearful of what people will think of my work. I am fearful of what people will say if my Kickstarter fails.
But I choose the danger no matter what happens. I choose to go ahead and succeed, even if it means risking failure.
I did it with Poison Ivy Gulch and I will do it with its Kickstarter.
Mark your calendars for Wed. June 1! We launch then!
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