Earlier this month children’s author Kate Milford set up a Kickstarter page to raise $6,500 to self-publish 300 copies of a paperback edition of her novella The Kairos Mechanism (Arcana #1) with McNally Jackson Books in New York City. The new book will accompany the September release of Milford's second children’s fantasy, The Broken Lands, which is being traditionally published by Clarion Books, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
"I want to experiment with self-publishing as a way to promote and enhance traditional releases by providing extra content to readers in the form of complete, related tales. I also want to use resources that support independent bookstores," wrote the Brooklyn author to describe her self-publishing project on Kickstarter. To date, Milford has raised nearly $3,300 and has 47 days to go to reach her goal. She plans to design and print the book at McNally Jackson, using the store’s self-publishing team and its Espresso Book Machine. The novella will also be available to other bookstores in the Espresso network, and a digital edition can be downloaded through Google Play. In addition, Milford is planning a special digital edition illustrated by 10 teen readers, which will be available on a pay-what-you like basis through her Web site.
The Kairos Mechanism is set in the crossroads town of Arcane, Miss., in September, 1913, and features characters from Milford’s first book, The Boneshaker. It also ties into events in The Broken Lands. Artist Andrea Offermann, who did the covers and interiors of both of Milford’s earlier books, will provide the illustration for the cover of The Kairos Mechanism. The self-published book will be released at the launch for The Broken Lands at McNally Jackson on September 6.
