By Zack Quaintance — I’ve been clear about this from the start, but this is my first Kickstarter comics campaign. As such, I’m super grateful for the success we’ve had. With nine days remaining in our campaign, we’ve had 225 total backers pledge $5,744 to make our comic a reality. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at, and while we’re working with established pros like colorist Ellie Wright and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, it’s remarkable for a first-time writer and an artist on his second KS project.

I’ve really appreciated how much of my audience from my writing about comics on Comics Bookcase has followed me to this new pursuit, interested as they are in what a comic written by me looks like. I’m equally grateful, however, for the thing I think bears the most responsibility for the success we’ve had — the advice I’ve gotten from generous creators who have used Kickstarter to generate successes of their own. Indeed, I don’t think any of this would have been possible without them.

Mentors are so important on Kickstarter.

In the run-up to my project launch, I spent weeks having online conversations with writer Charlie Stickney of White Ash/Scout Comics fame, writer Ryan Burke of Coronary fame, and writer Frankee White, who is a rising star responsible for a range of projects, including 20 Fists and the currently-live Kickstarter, Project: Starless Daydream. They took their time to answer my many (many) questions about shipping supplies, campaign page wording, mini-prints, and much more.

All of this brings me to today’s…

ACTIONABLE KICKSTARTER COMICS TIPS: Ask others for advice and help. Ask them early, ask them often, ask them again when you think you’ve got it all figured out. A thing I quickly came to realize about Kickstarter was that it’s very much a community, and, as such, the people who are part of it are ready and willing to help others.

The governing idea among the vast majority of folks I’ve met on Kickstarter is that we’re all in it together. That a rising tide lifts all boats, and one Kickstarter project’s success is a good thing for all the other projects working so hard to attract support and an audience. That’s not all to say that there are people waiting to put in the work for you. Obviously not. You still have to put that hard work in, but if you do, there will be a surplus of supportive folks waiting to help you take your efforts to a new, successful level.

Join us back on this blog tomorrow for a look at how to use social media to best promote your Kickstarter campaign.

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.