Dean Wesley Smith's Blog

Some Campaigns I Think Are Worth Backing Or Studying Or Both!

I do this every Friday when I have a few campaigns I think are worth putting here.

I will not say much negative about a campaign. If there is too much or it is going to fail, I won’t post it here.

And for those wondering where I get off judging Kickstarter Campaigns by fiction writers, I have now done 60 of them, every one funded and made money. My first campaign was in the very early days of Kickstarter. But if yoy are going to study campaigns that I have done, study the last year or so. I am continuing to learn.

And like some people browse and waste time on Facebook, I browse and waste time looking at campaigns on Kickstarter.

STILL GOING…THIS TIME AUTUMN: Cozy Contemporary Romance Novel by Kathryn Kaleigh

Second Chances • Small town romance • Heartwarming • Suspenseful • Romantic • First in a series

THIS ENDS ON FRIDAY!!  Back it quick. Kathy has done over 40 campaigns and they are always really, really well done. If you love romance of all types, Kathy might be one of the great undiscovered talents, so jump on board on this one. Great reading and a campaign to study on how small campaigns are done right.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kathrynkaleigh/this-time-autumn

—Something Kringle This Way Comes: Urban Fantasy Mystery Book by Rebecca M. Senese

Magic & mystery stalk Noel Kringle, Santa’s son, as he races to solve a series of murders and save the suspect: his mother!

Rebecca is a great writer and this is a fantastically fun series of stand-alone mysteries smashed into Santa’s son and that world. This is a good one by a great writer and worth backing and also study how she kept the tone of the campaign consistent which is sometimes very hard to do. A good one.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rfarpublishing/something-kringle-this-way-comes?/prelaunch&category_id=Q2F0ZWdvcnktNDc=

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Crown of Sea and Storm: Fantasy Romance Luxe Edition by Fiddlehead Press

A brand-new standalone epic romantasy with Little Mermaid vibes, a dash of Norse folktales, & just the right amount of swoony spice~

This campaign got a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter before it launched and it is doing great!! And the covers and art are great. This will be a great one to get behind, study it and back it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fiddleheadpress/crown-of-sea-and-storm?ref=79g5z5&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=will_you_wear_the_elemental_crown&utm_term=2026-04-18

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UPCOMING CAMPAIGNS I THINK ARE WORTH FOLLOWING…The Trouble With Nutcrackers: A Cozy Fantasy Mystery by E. R. Paskey

Once Upon a Time meets small town living in this whimsical cozy romantasy Christmas mystery featuring fairy tale characters & knitting!

Worth jumping on this one even though it won’t be out until July. One you don’t want to miss. Looks like fun.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erpaskey/the-trouble-with-nutcrackers-a-cozy-fantasy-mystery?ref=25grzq

—Fantastic Sisterhood: Five Contemporary Fantasy Novelettes by Kari Kilgore

Ordinary women venture into the extraordinary with a brand-new collection of fantastic escapes from award-winning author Kari Kilgore.

Five great fantasy novelettes by professional writer Kari Kilgore, all in one book. Plus a bunch of other fun stuff in this campaign. Worth taking a look and getting yourself onto the reminder list for when this launches. Going to be a really good campaign.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/karikilgore/fantastic-sisterhood?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Fantastic%20Sisterhood&total_hits=1

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Flame & Dagger: Epic Romantasy Limited Edition Early Release by Lisa Silverthorne

Enemies to Lovers, Prophecy, Apocalyptic Stakes, Brooding Hero, Elemental Magic, Secret Identity, Forced Marriage, Book 3 Curse & Crown.

Lisa is not only one of the best fantasy writers working today, but also one of the best artists and cover designers there is. Bookvault uses her covers with her permission on their web site to show how wonderful special books can be done.  You really, really want to check this promotion page out and get on the list of backers.  This will be a campaign to not miss when it launches.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lisasilverthorne/flame-and-dagger-epic-romantasy

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FIVE SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTIONS by Dean Wesley Smith

Fifty Science Fiction Short Stories in Five Brand New Collections by New York Times Bestselling Writer Dean Wesley Smith!

This is my 60th Kickstarter campaign and we already have a “Project We Love” from Kickstarter. Really cool. This the start of me getting out a bunch of my short stories finally. The base of this campaign is five science fiction 10-story collection. But there is a featured reward that you can get five more science fiction collections. And then in this, all the stretch goals will be brand new science fiction collections.

So if you take the featured reward and the project does all right, you could end up with 150 science fiction short stories from me in 15 original collections.

So follow the link and click the watch button to be informed when this baby launches. And read my introduction on how this all came about. So much fun to see so many of my short stories finally see the light of publishing day after all these years.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a26/five-science-fiction-collections?ref=5tysz4

AND BECAUSE THIS IS MY BLOG… I can show you this nifty video Kris made for the Kickstarter..

 

I Am Slowly Winning the Battle…

I think I have most of my short stories that I want to move into the future on my spreadsheet now. Maybe I will find another thirty or so, but for now I am happy. A whole bunch of stories are just dropping into deep storage. And at the moment I am not reprinting any of my early short sales that I sold to different markets because I wrote them on a typewriter and I see no reason to bother with them. (Yes, I know how to scan, but again, no point at this time.)

Only exception is my story that was in Writer’s of the Future Volume #1 back 42 years ago. They were kind enough to send me an electronic copy of that story. Not on my main spread sheet yet, but I will include it in a fantasy collection at some point this summer. Maybe even make it a title story. It stands up really well.

So at the moment working to redo and reformat the nonfiction books and get them out and do all the collections for the coming Kickstarter. This week I start into the Vellum learning curve. Done one already, now just want to pick up speed and learn more details. Should be fun.

But as of tonight I have 25 collections together with covers and all my stories organized that left at one point or another my writing computer. In a few weeks I will go through that writing computer which is where I will more than likely find a bunch more.

When all is said and done, I should have somewhere close to 50 collections with 10 stories each.

I think my creative brain might be satisfied enough with the progress I have made so far that I might join Kris’s Summer Challenge Seminar myself. But I will start very, very slowly.

Something Different…

We have challenges available that anyone can sign into, and we have done some focused seminars over the last year or so. They were great fun and the challenges are open to anyone at any time, to start at any time.

And we really had no desire to do another seminar like the ones before. So other than regular workshops, a couple advanced craft workshops, and the really fun short Kickstarter workshops, we had no other plans.

But Kris was looking for something to help her stay focused on her writing this summer. Really, really focused. And a couple years ago, some challenges she had offered had really helped her. But this summer she tells me she is working on a really difficult project and wants to stay ultra-focused for three months.

So we got talking about offering a challenge through this time of great forgetting, but then decided that we could also add a couple of motivation videos every week. We would plan them together, I would record them. Videos to help anyone signed up keep writing and publishing through this time of great forgetting.

And then we will add in a monthly webinar, three of them during the time of the challenge, making it into a strange form of seminar. Start May 18th and end August 16th.

This is not a challenge against Kris.

You are only challenging yourself, and getting weekly motivation videos and a monthly webinar. At the start you will tell us how many FICTION words you plan to write per week and then report in every Monday. We suggest you keep the amount low because if you miss a week, you have to buy back in for half price.

Your report does not have to be about your week, just the number of fiction words you wrote and maybe how far above your challenge number you were.

And Kris will tell you her goal and  every week Kris will talk about her progress and how she is doing to those in the seminar. (That alone will be a major learning experience.)

So you get to challenge yourself, get weekly motivation videos, monthly webinar, and watch how Kris is doing up close every week. Three months of progress for yourself and staying focused through the time of great forgetting.

THE BASICS

1… Three months long, starting May 18th, ending August 16th.

2… You must send us before we start the amount of fiction words you want to write EVERY week during those three months. (Keep the total low, but not under 250 words per day, 1,750 words per week is minimum.) Goal starts over every week, not cumulative.

3… Original Fiction Only… No nonfiction or rewrites.

4… LIMITED to 25 writers.

5… $300 price but $250 early bird sign-up until May 10th late.

6… If you miss on a week, you can jump back in for $150.00

7… No subscriptions or credits on this because for this to work you must have skin in the game.

8… To sign up, send the $250 fee to PayPal to the email address dean@wmgpublishingstore.com

I will get you on the list. Again limited to the first 25 writers signing up. Webinars will be recorded in case you can’t make it on a month.

This is going to be great fun and even though I am focused on the publishing side totally, I might jump into this as well, start ramping back up my writing, and report my progress to everyone.

Questions, write me.

Got Busy Tonight On Building Collections…

Just didn’t give myself time to write a decent blog, so here is the information again on my coming Kickstarter on the 5th.

FIVE SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTIONS by Dean Wesley Smith

Fifty Science Fiction Short Stories in Five Brand New Collections by New York Times Bestselling Writer Dean Wesley Smith!

This is my 60th Kickstarter campaign and it just got approved and we already have a “Project We Love” from Kickstarter. Really cool. This the start of me getting out a bunch of my short stories finally. The base of this campaign is five science fiction 10-story collection. But there is a featured reward that you can get five more science fiction collections. And then in this, all the stretch goals will be brand new science fiction collections.

So if you take the featured reward and the project does all right, you could end up with 150 science fiction short stories from me in 15 original collections.

So follow the link and click the watch button to be informed when this baby launches. And read my introduction on how this all came about. So much fun to see so many of my short stories finally see the light of publishing day after all these years.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a26/five-science-fiction-collections?ref=5tysz4

It’s That Time Again…

The time when a bunch of other things take writer’s attentions, all seemingly more important, and the writing and publishing just sort of get forgotten.

This is not a problem for professional writers, but for those coming in and striving to build a publishing business, this time can just make months vanish. And sometimes even professional writers need a focus to get through.

Kris and I have been talking about this for a few weeks now, and she has come up with a really fun idea I will talk a about here in a few days when all the details are worked out. I think it will really help a lot of writers get through these coming months at full steam. And she really wants to extra focus during this time as well.

So this post is a reminder to many of you that the Time of Great Forgetting is coming. Being aware that these few months do exist and the forgetting is real is a major first step in fighting it and not getting to September wondering what happened to your writing and all the great goals you had at the start of the year.

Still On Target…

My challenge, at its core, is to clean up and get all my short fiction into print so I can get back writing without wondering “What was the point?”

I have now put together 26 different 10-story collections. 260 different stories. It has been great fun and I have done covers for all of them. More than likely I have that many more to go before I get everything into print, but that I find exciting.

To start getting these books out, I am doing a collections Kickstarter in May. Focus on science fiction. 5 collections are the main ones, with five more that can be gotten at a large discount as a featured selection. And then there will be five stretch goals with a brand new science fiction collection for each stretch goal. So possible in this campaign to get 150 of my short stories, some written just recently and never published, some published in Smith’s Monthly, and a very few published over the years in magazines.

So here is information about the Kickstarter campaign and how to get a lot of my science fiction stories.

FIVE SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTIONS by Dean Wesley Smith

Fifty Science Fiction Short Stories in Five Brand New Collections by New York Times Bestselling Writer Dean Wesley Smith!

This is my 60th Kickstarter campaign and it just got approved and we already have a “Project We Love” from Kickstarter. Really cool. This the start of me getting out a bunch of my short stories finally. The base of this campaign is five science fiction 10-story collection. But there is a featured reward that you can get five more science fiction collections. And then in this, all the stretch goals will be brand new science fiction collections.

So if you take the featured reward and the project does all right, you could end up with 150 science fiction short stories from me in 15 original collections.

So follow the link and click the watch button to be informed when this baby launches. And read my introduction on how this all came about. So much fun to see so many of my short stories finally see the light of publishing day after all these years.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a26/five-science-fiction-collections?ref=5tysz4

 

Watching People…

Since I sometimes don’t get out of the condo for entire days, I took the opportunity to go with Kris tonight to the Strip.

That’s right, the Strip on a Saturday night. Not a place I would normally ever think of going, but Kris had a concert in Caesar’s Palace and I offered to drive her and explore Caesar’s Palace, one of the only major casinos I had never been in, even back in my team card days.

So since it was a really nice evening, we parked at the Wyn and walked. Lots and lots of people around 7pm. Very crowded. (In fact the rumor of how Vegas is dying is just laughable.)

Kris headed into her concert and I spent about a mile of walking exploring the casino and the huge shopping area, then headed for the food court  to grab a snack and just work on some stuff. Turns out I mostly just watched people.

The locals who were pros (or  just there for some reason) stood out like a sore thumb and there were very few of us. And the tourists were so occupied with whatever they were doing, they never noticed. It’s like they were walking around in bubbles.

I loved the fact that the population there on a Saturday night at Caesar’s was completely multi-ethic. And slanted mostly young.

So many of the tourists would never make good characters. Just not believable. And let me give you a grandpa “get off my lawn” comment. If you are young and can wear the really skimpy skirts and tops, please do so, but if you are not so young or not so skinny, please cover up. Again, not sights that were character material.

But since I don’t sit in airports anymore, it has been a long time since I just sat and watched people, mostly younger people. And as a writer, the few hours tonight were fantastic fun. And unlike airports where it is possible to tell a person’s job or income level and so much more, In a major Las Vegas casino on a Saturday night, just not possible.

But still great fun for old writer me…

(Plus I got over 12,000 steps, six miles. And I got out of the condo and away from this computer.)

Some Campaigns I Think Are Worth Backing Or Studying Or Both!

I do this every Friday when I have a few campaigns I think are worth putting here.

I will not say much negative about a campaign. If there is too much or it is going to fail, I won’t post it here.

And for those wondering where I get off judging Kickstarter Campaigns by fiction writers, I have now done 60 of them, every one funded and made money. My first campaign was in the very early days of Kickstarter. But if yoy are going to study campaigns that I have done, study the last year or so. I am continuing to learn.

And like some people browse and waste time on Facebook, I browse and waste time looking at campaigns on Kickstarter.

New This Week…THIS TIME AUTUMN: Cozy Contemporary Romance Novel by Kathryn Kaleigh

Second Chances • Small town romance • Heartwarming • Suspenseful • Romantic • First in a series

Kathy has done over 40 campaigns and they are always really, really well done. If you love romance of all types, Kathy might be one of the great undiscovered talents, so jump on board on this one. Great reading and a campaign to study on how small campaigns are done right.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kathrynkaleigh/this-time-autumn

—Something Kringle This Way Comes: Urban Fantasy Mystery Book by Rebecca M. Senese

Magic & mystery stalk Noel Kringle, Santa’s son, as he races to solve a series of murders and save the suspect: his mother!

Rebecca is a great writer and this is a fantastically fun series of stand-alone mysteries smashed into Santa’s son and that world. This is a good one by a great writer and worth backing and also study how she kept the tone of the campaign consistent which is sometimes very hard to do. A good one.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rfarpublishing/something-kringle-this-way-comes?/prelaunch&category_id=Q2F0ZWdvcnktNDc=

 

The Portal Wars Saga – The Pirate Hunt – Book Nine by James E. Wisher

A dark epic fantasy novel filled with magic, pirates, and political intrigue for fans of action-packed fantasy adventure series…

This is a small Kickstarter that has funded at far too high an ask, especially for a book nine in a series. He does it right, however by offering all the previous books.

And unlike many campaigns these days, he keeps it simple and doesn’t toss in the kitchen sink and everything else he can think of.

The only mistake I see is that he brands himself and his covers as a new writer and even tells us he is a new writer, so really undercuts buyer confidence when he should be doing the opposite. So this one is worth taking a look at and backing it if you like that kind of fiction.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jamesewisher/the-pirate-hunt

 

Unbroken: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy by Peter Orullian

An anthology of SF&F stories from Brandon Sanderson & Peter Orullian, Christopher Paolini, Seanan McGuire, Matt Dinniman and many more.

Wow, this is a big one. Gone past a million, almost 7,000 backers, and still got 32 days left. And this is Peter’s first campaign, but that is very deceptive. He has the great help with a lot of stuff by Kickstarter vets Shawn Speakman and also Michael J. Sullivan who has done a ton of great campaigns through his own company.

On something this big, there are about a billion details to deal with. And this will get bigger. My guess is that it will level around 1.4 million.

And the authors in this huge anthology are top notch, so it should be some great reading. Back it, folks, and study this one, not because you ever want to do one this size, but at some of the details.

And then as an exercise, think of the costs. This had a $50,000 goal I am sure was flashed past in minutes. But think about that number. More than likely a base number for authors and a bunch of great artists costs. Base number.

And almost all of this campaign is physical products. All with costs. All with slight profit margins (I hope they all have profit margins).

Now the shipping costs seem to be done right, which is great. And the promise on how they are packaging each book is great (expensive off that profit margin).  So there are going to be (when this is done) close to 10,000 backers, most wanting physical products.

Pause here… Just think about that. You got a place to store that many multiple books all arriving by the truck loads or semi-tracker loads and how many people is it going to take to carefully pack and ship them? And what will be the cost of all that?

With Sullivan and Speakman, I assume most of this was worked out already, but for those of you who think it would be cool to do this kind of monster project, think of the details.

And Kickstarter takes about 8% with credit card fees right off the top, and there will be another 2% in other costs, so before anything can even get started if this goes to 1.4 million, there will be $140,000.00 just gone.  And don’t even think about the taxes. Feds and State…

So this will be an an anthology of the year in sf and fantasy, I have no doubt, and should win a few rewards. And I am betting knowing some of the authors either personally or by reputation, this will be a fantastic read.  I highly suggest anyone with a love of fantasy back this project. It’s a big one, but it has a good crew, so it should all work out and you will have some great reading and from the looks of it from the art, a beautiful book.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/unbroken/unbroken-new-tales-by-masters-of-fantasy

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UPCOMING CAMPAIGNS I THINK ARE WORTH FOLLOWING…

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FIVE SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTIONS by Dean Wesley Smith

Fifty Science Fiction Short Stories in Five Brand New Collections by New York Times Bestselling Writer Dean Wesley Smith!

This is my 60th Kickstarter campaign and it just got approved and we already have a “Project We Love” from Kickstarter. Really cool. This the start of me getting out a bunch of my short stories finally. The base of this campaign is five science fiction 10-story collection. But there is a featured reward that you can get five more science fiction collections. And then in this, all the stretch goals will be brand new science fiction collections.

So if you take the featured reward and the project does all right, you could end up with 150 science fiction short stories from me in 15 original collections.

So follow the link and click the watch button to be informed when this baby launches. And read my introduction on how this all came about. So much fun to see so many of my short stories finally see the light of publishing day after all these years.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/a26/five-science-fiction-collections?ref=5tysz4

 

—Crown of Sea and Storm: Fantasy Romance Luxe Edition by Fiddlehead Press

A brand-new standalone epic romantasy with Little Mermaid vibes, a dash of Norse folktales, & just the right amount of swoony spice~

This campaign got a “Project We Love” by Kickstarter before it launched and it has a lot of followers already, so it will do stunning. And the covers and art are great. This will be a great one to get behind now, and then back it and study it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fiddleheadpress/crown-of-sea-and-storm?ref=79g5z5&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=will_you_wear_the_elemental_crown&utm_term=2026-04-18

—

The Trouble With Nutcrackers: A Cozy Fantasy Mystery by E. R. Paskey

Once Upon a Time meets small town living in this whimsical cozy romantasy Christmas mystery featuring fairy tale characters & knitting!

Worth jumping on this one even though it won’t be out until July. One you don’t want to miss. Looks like fun.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/erpaskey/the-trouble-with-nutcrackers-a-cozy-fantasy-mystery?ref=25grzq

—Fantastic Sisterhood: Five Contemporary Fantasy Novelettes by Kari Kilgore

Ordinary women venture into the extraordinary with a brand-new collection of fantastic escapes from award-winning author Kari Kilgore.

Five great fantasy novelettes by professional writer Kari Kilgore, all in one book. Plus a bunch of other fun stuff in this campaign. Worth taking a look and getting yourself onto the reminder list for when this launches. Going to be a really good campaign.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/karikilgore/fantastic-sisterhood?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=Fantastic%20Sisterhood&total_hits=1

—

Flame & Dagger: Epic Romantasy Limited Edition Early Release by Lisa Silverthorne

Enemies to Lovers, Prophecy, Apocalyptic Stakes, Brooding Hero, Elemental Magic, Secret Identity, Forced Marriage, Book 3 Curse & Crown.

Lisa is not only one of the best fantasy writers working today, but also one of the best artists and cover designers there is. Bookvault uses her covers with her permission on their web site to show how wonderful special books can be done.  You really, really want to check this promotion page out and get on the list of backers.  This will be a campaign to not miss when it launches.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lisasilverthorne/flame-and-dagger-epic-romantasy

 

A Short Filler Blog Tonight…

I am working on my short story collections and putting the science fiction ones into a new Kickstarter.

I am doing the 10-story collections by general genre, science fiction, mystery, and fantasy. And in the new Kickstarter there will be 15 science fiction collections. That is 150 short stories.

To say I am having fun would be a giant understatement, which is why I don’t want to spend the time this evening writing something long.

So back tomorrow night with Kickstarter Friday and a fun fiction campaign going on right now that is about to pass over the million mark. Stay tuned, will talk about it tomorrow night and why I am very worried about the great writers and folks involved that they might not make much money. It is a great campaign with a ton of great writers. Worth backing.

But for those of you who think making a million on Kickstarter makes you rich, well, I will explain why not tomorrow night.

14 Exclusive Books and a Class!

This is through Storybundle.com/writing and is amazing. Kris put it all together and there are some great books there with great information from 14 very successful authors. And the class about Writing in Turbulent Times comes along with it. Minimum $30 for the 14 books and the class.

And both Kris and I have a book in the group. Mine is called WRITING WITH THE WALTESE FALCON. Walter was my cat that I wrote a lot of books with. These are three books about writing three different novels. I detail out the writing of each book, one in ten days, one in seven, and another in five days while traveling. A lot of information in this book.

But, of course the lazy and stupid will think I did it with AI, even though I wrote the books over 10 years ago.

Get this book and the other 13 books plus the class at Storybundle.com/writing

Best deal of the year by a long ways.