Lunapark Crowdfunding FAQ

UPDATE: Our Kickstarter campaign is live now - you can find out more and become a backer on Kickstarter.com

Since we announced that we’ll be crowdfunding Lunapark, the sixth title in the Gereon Rath series by Volker Kutcher (which inspired the fabulous Sky Atlantic show Babylon Berlin) we’ve had a few questions – about the book, about the process and about what will be on offer. Ahead of the go-live date of 11^th October, here are answers to the questions we hear most often. Got more? Please do let us know!

I am not familiar at all with crowdfunding or Kickstarter. Does this mean Lunapark will definitely happen, or is there still a bit of uncertainty?

It means that this is our chance to make it happen, publisher and readers together! Think of it as pre-ordering the book. If enough people pre-order, we can go ahead with the translation. Unfortunately we won’t know for certain until the campaign is over, but it’s closer now than it’s ever been!

When you say you hope to publish in 2023, does that mean Volker's next novel has already been translated and it just needs to be printed and distributed?

Not yet – but we’ve lined up Niall Sellar, the series translator, to get started on the translation as soon as we know we can go ahead.

How do I pledge?

When the project page goes live on the 11^th of October, you will be able to click ‘Back this project.’ You will then be invited to enter your pledge amount and select a reward. Then, enter your payment information to complete the checkout process.

I’ve pre-ordered books before only to have them be delayed by years! I’m worried the same will happen with Lunapark.

Lunapark is completely written and ready to be translated, a process which is very different from waiting for an author to create a new book. The brilliant series translator, Niall Sellar, is standing by and itching to get on the case!

If the series is successful, why do you need to crowdfund the next title?

These books are chunky. That makes them very expensive to produce, with high translation costs, expensive proofreading and typesetting requirements, ever-increasing print bills, and more. We usually have to pay for these things before a single copy has been ordered, which we simply can’t do after two years of our sales being affected by the pandemic.

We will, however, still be absorbing a significant percentage of the expense, and are aiming to crowdfund around half the costs.

I’m not sure I want to back the Kickstarter but I’m excited for the book! Can I buy it when it’s released?

If the Kickstarter campaign is unsuccessful, we will not be able to continue publishing the series. If you know you’d like to read more of the series the best thing you can do is back the campaign and help us encourage fellow fans to get involved.

Can I pre-order Lunapark as an eBook?

Absolutely! There is an eBook option in the Kickstarter, and it will be compatible with Kindle and other eReaders.

I’m outside the UK. Can I back the project? What will the postage be for the book?

Overseas backers are very welcome! We love that this series is popular internationally. While some of the ‘rewards’ will only be available to UK backers, Lunapark and the Gereon Rath short stories will be available outside the UK in paperback for an additional £10 shipping fee, or digitally at no added cost.

The link isn’t working / I don’t have an account / I don’t know how to log in.

Kickstarter has a lot of resources to help people using it for the first time. Their FAQ for backers is here https://help.kickstarter.com/hc/en-us/categories/115000499033-Backer-questions

When is my card charged?

If our project is successfully funded, your card will be charged on the campaign’s closing date, along with all the other backers of this project. If a project isn't successfully funded, no one pays anything.

What if I want to change my pledge?

You can change or cancel your pledge anytime before the campaign’s closing date.

If this project is funded, how do I get my book?

When your reward is ready, Sandstone Press will send you a survey via email to request any info needed to deliver your reward (mailing address etc).