Sunday, December 06, 2009
A+E, In this Issue...

Kick-start my art

In a tough economy, artists are finding creative ways to finance and distribute their projects

By H.M. Cauley

It may be hard to tell just by looking at the jammed shelves at big bookstores around town, but the economy has taken a bite out of the publishing world. Big companies that once offered multi-book contracts have less money to spend, and are less willing to take a chance on writers whose last names aren’t King, Grisham or Brown.

So when his publisher chose not to renew his book contract, David Fulmer did what he does best: He got creative. The Ormewood Park resident, who has been a full-time author for nine years, recently offered public shares in his seventh novel, due in March.

For $125, friends, family members or anyone else who wants to make a modest investment can be part of Five Stones Press, the company Fulmer set up to handle the publishing, marketing and distribution of his next work, a mystery titled “The Fall.” 

“There are publishers in New York who haven’t bought anything new in a year or more,” says Fulmer. “I had good momentum with my books—they got great reviews, I was nominated for awards—but they’re not pop fiction, and the sales weren’t stellar. But I need to have a book out every year, and I didn’t want to wait.”

Then Fulmer heard a news story about a singer-songwriter who solicited donations for a CD and raised $20,000. Armed with a proven track record and the momentum of six well-received books, Fulmer imagined doing the same thing.

“I think the old New York model [of publishing] is going to have to change radically,” says Fulmer, who teaches and freelances to make up for lost book revenue.

Writers aren’t the only ones looking for ways to reinvent their marketplaces. The economy has artists, filmmakers, singers and designers racking their brains for ways to make a living—or just complete a project—in a world where the old systems of production and marketing are fading, if not already gone.

For East Atlanta filmmaker and former Sunday Paper film critic Mike Malloy, that meant turning to the Internet to find investors for his movie “EUROCRIME!” Malloy went to Kickstarter.com, an online funding platform. The site, which charges a small fee, gave him 90 days to raise $10,000 in pledges to finish his documentary about European crime films from the 1970s.

Malloy has received interest in the film from cable channels, broadcasters and DVD labels, but before he can sign a deal, companies want to see the finished product. Yet there’s little in the way of development funds to underwrite a project.

“Everybody is so cautious,” he says. “There’s very little money flying around. No one wants to take a gamble. They want to see something that’s 100 percent done. It’s up to me to finish it and put it on the block. I’m doing what I can while running up massive, crippling credit-card debt.”

According to the Web site’s guidelines, if the funding goal isn’t met, the artist doesn’t get a penny. “Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing affair,” Malloy says. “If you don’t hit your goal, you forfeit everything.” But he’s encouraged by the reaction he’s received.

“I’ve been amazed at how far we’ve been carried just by fan goodwill,” he says. Indeed, by last week Malloy had amassed pledges for $11,925—exceeding his goal.

Feature film director Brent Conley has written a script for his next project, “Pulse of the Indigo,” but realizes the chances of having a company shell out $1 million for a movie with an unknown director are not just slim, they’re nonexistent. The Marietta resident also turned to Kickstarter to get his project underway.

“Traditionally, you’d have a lot of backing from a studio or producers who find the money for you,” says Conley. “If you’re really big, you can sell a script and they’ll finance it. But since that’s not going to happen, I thought Kickstarter was a better alternative for finding financing. And I liked that they don’t just take anything: You have to be invited to put something up. There is a screening process.”

Conley’s goal is to raise $22,500. He’s also spreading the word about his project through MySpace and Facebook; there’s no budget for a Web site or trailer. And he admits that even $22,500 isn’t near the total he’ll need to finish the film.

“Trying to shoot feature-length on a budget of $22,500 is ridiculous,” he says. “A Hollywood movie would spend that much on catering. Everyone involved on this is working for free out of passion.”

Author Ned White is also feeling the creative pinch. Even thought the Decatur writer has a hard-working agent, and had his first book picked up by a major publisher three days after they saw it, he’s now going the self-publishing route on CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon.

“Traditional publishing is changing, and they’re risking less on mid-list literary fiction—they’re really looking for the next blockbuster,” says White, who has kept his day job writing video scripts and trade show presentations. “About a year ago, I did some research on self-publishing and decided to go with CreateSpace because there are no costs up-front and the percentage they take from sales is quite small.”

The CreateSpace system only produces books when they’re purchased, so there’s no initial expense to print thousands of copies that may never sell. White did hire a book designer and graphic designer to work on the inside and cover, but so far, the initial investment has been modest. It’s worth the small outlay to get his young adult novel, “Calling Out Your Name,” in print.

“I don’t see a stigma attached to self-publishing—I’d rather have a book out there than sitting on my computer,” he says. “It’s not about vanity. It’s about getting published. And I might end up doing a little bit better financially.”

Ironically, both Malloy and Fulmer are getting more buzz about their projects’ unconventional financing schemes than the works themselves. 

“The book won’t come out until next March, and yet there is already a great deal of interest in that angle,” says Fulmer with a laugh. “I think people are realizing it’s a good time to look at new possibilities.” SP