“Sudden Quiet” Trilogy Takes Off with Funding Support

Case Study

Joshua Veith, the Sudden Quiet trilogy

Joshua Veith is an author who embodies his written work. He lives it—as an educator, adventurer, outdoor enthusiast, and traveler to more than 30 countries—Veith personifies his core values of living in harmony with nature and being an Indigenous ally.

During the COVID pandemic, Veith put his energy into writing and considered it a subconscious coping strategy for the uncertainty and anxiety of the world at the time. He cites Ernest Hemingway and JRR Tolkien as his main literary influences, noting that he currently teaches a Tolkien appreciation class and has studied Hemingway's life extensively. Veith described the writing of the trilogy as a period of intense focus, where his alarm was set for 3:30 a.m. for over three years, never missing a day, which took a lot of commitment but was very fulfilling.

The Sudden Quiet trilogy titles include Island and Main, I; Dark Straits, II; and The Scouring, III, and are all set in northern Michigan. He observed that his writing subjects have allowed him to blend "nature mysticism" from older cultures, with modern science, which validates mystical experiences with hard data. The genres of science fiction, fantasy, dystopia, and horror all coalesce in this trilogy published with Mission Point Press.

Publishing the book is "just the beginning," says Veith, as the big challenge is book sales. He recognized that being a good author and a good salesman are often mutually exclusive, but his public-school teaching career made him comfortable with pitching to an audience.  

He was impressed with Mission Point Press who believed in his project and produces a high-quality product, which was worth the expense to him to ensure his book looked professional. He sees the hybrid model as an investment where book sales offset the cost, and this was a challenge he could accept through jumping into the unknown world of crowdfunding.

Veith has now become a popular fiction writer and hopes his work will outlast him. His first book, Island and Main, won the IAN Fiction Finalist award. The second book of the series, Dark Straits, won the 2025 IAN Fiction Action Award, and it was the BRAG Medallion Honoree for thriller books. 

His advice, “As an author, you'd better enjoy the journey—imagining, crafting, editing, pitching, selling—because there's no guarantee that a final ‘destination’ will ever be reached.” Here is Veith’s tried and true advice about funding a book project!

Crowdfunding Choices

The only platform I’m familiar with is Kickstarter, which is the platform of choice for creative projects. Their website is easy to navigate and includes lots of helpful resources for DIY authors like me. Kickstarter is all or nothing, which means that no money is collected from backers unless your campaign reaches its funding goal. If your fundraising falls short, then everyone keeps their pledges and you collect nothing. Kickstarter takes a 5% fee from successful campaigns.

Judging a Book by Its Cover

If you spend any money upfront, spend it on a quality cover design. Your cover is your handshake; it must grab the attention of potential backers and readers alike. I tried DIY cover designs using software like Canva, but honestly my own efforts paled in comparison to a professional graphic designers. You need a great cover not only for your Kickstarter page but also for your social media campaign. Your cover is your brand and it’s never too early to start building brand awareness.

Don't Draw it Out

Resist the temptation to have an extended campaign of a month or two. I took the advice of many and set a two-week window for my fundraising. Most pledges happened in the first few days, then there was a lull, then a final flurry of activity near the end. For my project, and for most, 14 days is plenty. There will definitely be a steep decline in interest after a week or two.

You're the Star

Include an energetic video. Your video should be a one-minute introduction of yourself as the author and of your project. Kickstarter places your video front and center of your campaign page and is your best chance to pitch your book. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok reward video plays with wider circulation so the longer you can engage a potential pledger, the better your algorithm will be.

Keep it Short and Sweet

Resist the temptation to over-explain your book. Once you start setting up your Kickstarter page you might be tempted—as the proud author—to include prose from your prologue or chapters, resist this! Visitors to your campaign aren’t interested in immersing themselves in your book at this point, they are more interested in you as a person so keep it light and snappy.  

Calculate a Goal

Set a Goldilocks goal: not too high, not too low. Every project is different, but every project will have to make this same calculation. If you set the goal too low you might run out of funds before your book is properly published, especially once Kickstarter takes its 5%. If you set the goal too high, you might not achieve it and then you’re left with nothing. You do not want to ask twice for donations, it’s embarrassing enough asking once!

Rewards for Donations

Set up rewards. Most campaigns offer a variety of levels for backers to choose from. Donate X amount and receive Y as a reward. My advice here is to keep it simple, you don’t want to get bogged down in offering/shipping too many rewards. For my campaign I offered three tiers only. A $50 pledge earned a signed copy of book 1, a $100 pledge earned books 1 and 2, a $150 pledge earned the trilogy. Remember all shipping costs will come out of your pledge-money so don’t over-promise.

Call Your Rich Uncle

If possible, acquire an anchor-investor or two. If you are lucky enough to have a friend or family member with a deeper pocket, it’s worth reaching out to them ahead of time to assess what level they could support you. When your campaign goes live, make sure your anchor-investor has the link and can donate first. It helps when potential backers can see that your campaign already is making progress. No one wants to back a losing horse.

Facebook Is Your Friend

If you’re not on Facebook, Instagram etc. you need to be! Again, I’m not a big social media user, but I bit the bullet and set up public author accounts on Facebook and Instagram several months before launching my Kickstarter and it really helped. Most of my pledges came from social media exposure. If you are running a two-week Kickstarter, then you need to be promoting your campaign daily on your social media sites, especially using Reels or Stories since those garner the most views and are best for the algorithm. Make sure you are tagging local bookstores, community groups and libraries in your posts. Again, you’re not just raising money, you’re also building your brand for future sales, every look counts! 

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