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Publishing Map

Crowdfunding · Books

How do you crowdfund a book?

On Kickstarter, pledges are collected only if the project reaches its goal, and a funded US project pays a 5 percent fee plus payment processing. Indiegogo's fees page, last updated October 13, 2026, states a 5 percent platform fee and processing of 3 percent plus 0.20 in the project currency, and says you pay nothing, including processing, if the project does not reach its goal. Neither page states a success rate for books. Kickstarter's line that projects lasting 30 days or fewer have its highest success rates does not give a percentage, a sample, or a method.

Publishing Map's take

On Kickstarter, pledges are collected only if the project reaches its goal, and a funded US project pays a 5% fee plus payment processing of 3% + $0.30 per pledge. Indiegogo states a 5% platform fee and processing of 3% plus 0.20 in the project currency, and says you pay nothing, including processing, if the project does not reach its goal.

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The short answer

  1. Kickstarter uses all-or-nothing funding. If the goal is missed, funds are not collected and no money changes hands. If the project is funded, the US fees page charges Kickstarter's 5 percent fee plus payment processing.[460][461][463]
  2. The same US fees page states processing of 3 percent plus $0.30 per pledge, and a micropledge fee of 5 percent plus $0.08 per pledge under $10. The introduction also says processing is between 3 percent and 5 percent. If funding is not successful, there are no fees.[460]
  3. A Kickstarter funding period can last from one to 60 days. You cannot change the funding goal after launch. The page's 30-day success sentence does not state a rate.[461]
  4. Indiegogo's upgrade page, also last updated October 13, 2026, says Flexible Funding is no longer available for new campaigns. The platform migrated on October 16th 2025. A live flexible campaign during the migration was converted to Fixed Funding.[464]
  5. Kickstarter lists Publishing as a category. Rewards must be new, and the project must create something new. A charity portion may be up to 10 percent if disclosed at submission. Publishizer was not checked for this answer.[462]

01

What fees and funding rule does Kickstarter state?

Checked 17 October 2026. Kickstarter's US fees page says that if a project is successfully funded, fees are collected from the funding total: Kickstarter's 5 percent fee, and payment processing fees between 3 percent and 5 percent. If funding is not successful, there are no fees. The Kickstarter fee line is 5 percent of total funds raised. The payment processing line is 3 percent plus $0.30 per pledge. Pledges under $10 have a discounted micropledge fee of 5 percent plus $0.08 per pledge. This answer quotes both the between 3 percent and 5 percent introduction and the 3 percent plus $0.30 line. It does not average them. The funding handbook says Kickstarter uses an all-or-nothing model. If the project does not reach its goal, funds do not get collected, and no money changes hands. The goal should be the minimum needed to make what was promised and fulfill all rewards. The funding period can last anywhere from one to 60 days. The page says that, statistically, projects lasting 30 days or fewer have its highest success rates. It does not state a percentage, a sample size, a date range, or a method, so this answer does not turn that sentence into a success rate. You cannot change the funding goal once you have launched. If the project is funded, the handbook repeats that Kickstarter applies a 5 percent fee and that there are also additional fees for payment processors. The handbook's example of $5,000 against a $50,000 film is an illustration of all-or-nothing risk. It is not a book statistic. Stretch goals are optional incentives after the goal is reached. The page says they can work for some projects and can also be challenging. It does not state a book-shaped stretch goal.[460][461]

  • No fees means the project was not successfully funded. A funded project pays the 5 percent fee plus processing.
  • The 30-day sentence is Kickstarter's. It is not a measured book-campaign rate.

02

What fees and funding rule does Indiegogo state now?

Indiegogo's fees article, last updated October 13, 2026, says that if the project does not reach its goal, you will not pay anything, including payment processing fees. The platform fee is 5 percent of the collected amount. Payment processing is 3 percent of each payment plus a fixed fee of 0.20 in the project currency per transaction, for example $0.20 for USD or 0.20 euro for EUR. The page's example: if the project raises $10,000, Indiegogo deducts a fee of $500 and a payment processing fee of $320, assuming 100 transactions, and the payout is $9,180. Pledge manager fees have no setup or subscription fee. Indiegogo charges 5 percent of each successfully collected payment, plus a payment processing fee of 3 percent and a fixed fee of 0.20 in the project currency per transaction. The platform-upgrade article, last updated the same day, says that on October 16th 2025 Indiegogo migrated to a platform powered by Gamefound technology. Flexible Funding is no longer available for new campaigns. A live Flexible Funding campaign during the migration was converted to Fixed Funding, and the goal was adjusted based on funds raised at the time of migration. Once a campaign is live, the end date cannot be changed. The fee line on that page is a flat 5 percent platform fee plus payment processing of 3 percent plus $0.20 or 0.20 euro per transaction. Backers are no longer asked to tip Indiegogo. Optional tips go to the creator. Campaigns that were live before October 16th continue on Stripe. Campaigns created after the upgrade onboard with Adyen. Perks are now called Rewards. InDemand is now called Late Pledge. New campaigns must pass a two-step compliance review: a platform compliance review and a financial Know Your Customer check. For campaigns launched after October 16th, reward prices must be listed as net amounts, excluding taxes. An older description of keeping money after a missed goal belongs to Flexible Funding, which this upgrade page says is not available for new campaigns. This answer does not treat that older model as the current rule for a new campaign. Express Crowdfunding was not on the upgrade page checked here, so it is not described.[463][464]

  • The $10,000 example assumes 100 transactions. It is Indiegogo's example, not a typical book campaign.
  • Fixed Funding for new campaigns is the upgrade page's rule. A missed goal means no platform fee and no processing fee, on the fees page.

03

What project rules does Kickstarter publish for a publishing campaign?

Kickstarter's rules page, checked 17 October 2026, lists Publishing among the categories, with Art, Comics, Crafts, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film and Video, Food, Games, Journalism, Music, Photography, Technology, and Theater. Every project must create something new to share with others. All rewards must be new and unique. All rewards must have been produced or designed by the project or one of its collaborators. As long as there is human creativity and human involvement, the use of AI is permitted. A separate rule says excessive AI use is prohibited when a project has little to no human thought or human involvement in the creation or execution of the goal. Creators should explain how AI is used. Information must be honest. Projects must contain only materials the creator has rights to use. A portion, up to 10 percent, of campaign funds may be donated to charity if that is disclosed at submission. Creators may also donate reward items. The prohibited list includes contests, raffles, or gambling games, equity, and drugs and related paraphernalia. The page lists more prohibited items than this answer repeats. It does not state a book-success percentage, a required pledge price, or a required page count for a manuscript reward.[462]

  • A publishing project still has to create something new. The category name is not an exemption from the reward rules.
  • The charity cap is up to 10 percent, and it has to be disclosed at submission.

04

What do these pages leave unknown?

They do not state how often a book campaign succeeds, how many backers a book needs, or a typical pledge. Kickstarter's 30-day sentence has no percentage and no method. The film dollar figures on the funding page are not book figures. Indiegogo's $9,180 payout is one worked example with an assumed 100 transactions. Publishizer was not checked, so no Publishizer fee or rule is stated. A KDP pre-order is a different tool and is not a crowdfunding fee. Whether a given reward counts as new, or whether a given use of AI counts as excessive, is not decided by these quotations. Tax on a funded project is not calculated here. Kickstarter says every project's tax situation is different and does not print a rate on the funding page.[460][461][462][463][464]

  • Read the live fee table for the country of the project. The Kickstarter processing figures quoted here are the United States page.

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