Commentary

Kick(start)ed In The Gut

As a five-time Worstselling Author, I have known my share of humiliations.

I have performed readings for rows and rows of empty card chairs. I have sat in a bookstore signing, next to a life-size cardboard cutout of myself, equipped with stacks of my opus and a boxful of virgin Sharpies, unautographing for three solid hours.

Once, appearing on "Good Morning, Kansas City," my segment was cut to 90 seconds because the previous guest -- a urologist demonstrating a penile vacuum pump -- went long. There's probably a metaphor in there somewhere. You find it; I’m still busy cringing.

At a gigantic Barnes & Noble, I once was given prime real estate at the top of the escalator. That time I did not go unmolested. For the entirety of my two-hour slot, I directed curious shoppers to children’s literature and the restrooms. This was in my hometown. (It wasn't a total loss. I got free coffee and a good deal on The Deptford Trilogy.)

The point being that I have known my share of rejection. I have felt the steady dull ache of Indifference. Oh yes, I have been remaindered. But nothing prepared me for this:

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Kickstarter.

That's the crowdfunding site, where venture capital has been democratized and entrepreneurs can take their hopes and dreams directly to the people. Sequoia Capital and Bank of America are all well and good, but to pitch on Kickstarter is to be evaluated not by some rich Silicon Valley kingmaker in a work shirt and chinos, but by your peers. Your peeps. Your very marketplace.

So I totally have a project going there, and never mind what. It's a media thing that, if funded, will perhaps do big things for things that need big things done for them. My partner and I have launched it on Kickstarter to raise a modest sum of money, but also to coalesce a community of likeminded people -- people who agree that the thing we are proposing has the enduring cultural value that they wish to share with the world.

The exercise, in other words, is far less project than mission. There is some reputational and career capital at stake, sure -- but mainly heart and soul. It’s our contribution. Our brainchild. Our baby. But here’s the thing: Evidently 8 billion people -- less 32 --  think we have an ugly baby. After 3 days of public display, the entire world has donated $2,420.

First of all, to the 32, thank you, deeply. You have been generous and affirming. We are endlessly grateful. We are also, however, slightly short of our goal. $36,080 short, to be exact.

Book authors know the experience of compulsively clicking on Amazon to monitor sales ranking. I’ve done it myself, notwithstanding the essential pathos of the exercise. But for pure, excruciating humility, I submit there is nothing quite like returning hour after hour to a Kickstarter page and see the total unmoved. You log on to see the numbers escalate wildly like those billboards of the national debt.

What you see instead is Planck’s Constant.

Is the idea that stupid? Am I that unattractive? Are the heroic 32 that wrong?

Should I have worn a necktie? Is it my breath?

Once again, rejection is no stranger to me. I’ve had my country song rejected in Nashville, my screenplay rejected in Hollywood, my astronaut application rejected by NASA. I once pitched New York Magazine on a story about the cultural history of lox. It was rejected. The reason? “Too New York Magazine.” But a simple yes or no -- okay, a simple no -- leaves some room for rationalization and even righteous sour grapes.

But Kickstarter is a capital marketplace, and by definition, how it values your idea is how much, to the penny, it is worth. You know that scene from "Groundhog Day" where Chris Elliott is put up for bid at a bachelor auction and goes for the reserve price of 25 cents? I feel his pain. Of course, his agony lasted only 2 ½ minutes. I have another 27 days to go.

10 comments about "Kick(start)ed In The Gut".
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  1. Patty Nolan from Nolan Creative Services, October 13, 2014 at 9:03 a.m.

    I don't always agree with Bob, but always agree with how he says it.
    Bob-- you had me at Deptford Trilogy. I'm now a sponsor.

  2. Ruth Barrett from EarthSayers.tv, October 13, 2014 at 1:41 p.m.

    Thanks, Bob. I don't have the guts to add up the 'rejected my work moments' even to myself much less write about them because, after all, as they say, it's nothing personal. Or is it?

  3. Dan Evans from Saelig Company Inc, October 13, 2014 at 1:44 p.m.

    Your mission needs to somehow include development of the millionth new 3D printer concept.

  4. Andrew Boer from MovableMedia, October 13, 2014 at 2:07 p.m.

    You are pretty imprecise for a journalist: Kickstarter isn't democratized venture capital. Venture capital is a business model in which investors venture their capital in order to earn a return. Angellist is democratized venture capital.
    Kickstarter is one of two things: 1) crowdsourced charity or 2) pre-sales, where consumers who would pay for something (if it existed) can help make sure that it will exist.

  5. Zendelle Bouchard from New England Yesterdays, October 13, 2014 at 2:31 p.m.

    Maybe they can't find you. I went to Kickstarter and searched for "bob garfield" and they told me you didn't exist. I was able to find you only by looking at what was new in the Journalism category.

  6. David Mcmath from Intermark Group, October 13, 2014 at 3:01 p.m.

    Thanks! This is the most entertaining Garfield at Large you've written in a long time. I wish the Kickstarter page was as interesting. The idea is juicy but video is dry. I will spread the word to people I know who would be interested and keep my fingers crossed that they find the idea more compelling than the delivery. Good luck.

  7. Barbara Lippert from mediapost.com, October 13, 2014 at 6:25 p.m.

    Greatest ad for your Kickstarter ever. Include the link?

  8. John Rich from Moxie USA, October 16, 2014 at 9:43 p.m.

    As they say, "Humiliation is mother of invention" (or something along those lines.) Anyway, your not best seller The Chaos Scenario was transformative for me. In 2009 after 20 years in advertising I thought I was pretty much alone in seeing the impending unraveling of the mass media, mass advertising system but The Chaos Scenario podcast and book kept me off of the ledge. Sure, it took 5 years but pretty well everything predicted is well underway. So a tip of the chapeau from moi and you have one more supporter for The Genius Dialogues (you're up to $4,092 btw.)

    Cheers,

    John Rich

  9. Bob Garfield from MediaPost, October 16, 2014 at 10:07 p.m.

    Thanks, John.
    And to all of you...even to my own personal online troll. Keep complaining; it proves I'm still drawing breath.

    And, Zendelle, the search function seems to be working now. Thanks for the heads-up.

  10. Harry Smith from NNN, October 17, 2014 at 9:29 a.m.

    I was tempted to go to Kickstarter and ask for money to develop an online loans company such asPayday UK, but I suspect that no one would want to fund a Short Term Loans lender.

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