Category report · 40.6K projects
Publishing on Kickstarter
Books, zines, comics, journalism. Small budgets, loyal communities, the highest Staff Pick rate.
n = 40.6K · 2009–2026 · last refreshed Apr 2026
Category report · 40.6K projects
Books, zines, comics, journalism. Small budgets, loyal communities, the highest Staff Pick rate.
n = 40.6K · 2009–2026 · last refreshed Apr 2026
Finding 01 · Goal analysis
Publishing projects with goals under $10K succeed at 41.4%. Projects asking $100K+ collapse to 10.6% — a 5.8× drop. The middle is the killing field: $30K–$100K closes at 18.6%.
Finding 02 · Goal analysis
61.3% of Publishing projects with goals under $1,000 close successfully — the highest success rate in the category. A green light to set tiny goals.
Look at what that ‘success’ contains. The median sub-$1K Publishing project pledges $504 with 15 backers. The campaign clears the bar because the bar is on the ground. The $1K–$10K bucket — similar audience size — pledges a median of $898.
Finding 03 · Geography
Of the eight largest Publishing-creator countries by volume, France sits at the top with a 52.2% success rate — 10.9pp above the category average of 41.3%. Geography proxies for the local ecosystem of suppliers, distributors, and audience networks that compound campaign credibility.
Finding 04 · Campaign mechanics
13.7K Publishingprojects (44% of the field) take Kickstarter’s 30-day suggestion and close at 42.7%. The 31–38 day band — only 3.5K projects — closes at 56.3%. Stretching to 46–60 days collapses to 27.9%— the category’s death trap.
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