A Prismatic Retrospective
I decided to compile this record of my experience in creating, crowdfunding, and self-publishing my own Tarot deck in hopes that it may be helpful to other aspiring deck creators. It was a long, hard journey, but I learned some very valuable things along the way and the outcome made it all worthwhile.
Start by asking, “Why?”
This is an important step to take before deciding to move forward with such a large, life-consuming project. You need to make sure it’s worth the sacrifice of time and energy, that it’s important enough to you to come back to every day, and that you are willing to do what it takes to see it through. Like the beginning of the Fool’s journey, requires a leap of faith.
Are you doing it for clout, popularity, and money, or are you doing it because you're truly passionate about the project and those other things, if they happen, are just gravy?
I had to ask myself that a lot when I'd get too focused on marketing or worried about paying the bills. Those things are definitely important if you need help financing a deck, but it shouldn't be your core motivator. That will definitely come through in your work and it will end up being shallow and soulless. Tarot is all about energy, and it will reflect the energy you put into it.
For me, it was one of those things itching in the back of my mind for years. It wasn't just something I wanted to do, it was almost something I felt like I had to do. At the time, I had a few decks that I liked to use, but as an artist, I felt like my readings would be that much better if I used one of my own creation. I had attempted to start multiple times with different styles and themes, but I didn’t have that spark of inspiration or moment of clarity yet that would bring my vision into focus.
That came for me in about 2016 when I was in the midst of a depressive episode triggered by a combination of the oppressive heat of a Texas summer and some newly diagnosed health issues that would plague me for the rest of my life. I remember just sitting and staring at my computer, the worries swirling around my head, and the inability to move from that spot. Then I started writing to try to put into words what I was feeling.
Then those words turned into a vision. I realized I didn’t want to succumb to that empty nothingness. I wanted to escape into that colorful galaxy.
Then, get started.
Making art is like practicing magic. All you need to get started is a clear intention.
The design process is going to be unique to everyone. I work digitally in both 2d and 3d space. I like to have design rules in place to work with to make sure everything remains cohesive, so I started by creating a style guide. I chose the 6 colors I wanted to use throughout the deck, created the symbols, numbers, and other graphical elements, set up templates, and designed and created the 3D models that I would use for the figures and suits. Once all the pieces were there, I just had to start putting them together.
I created this blog to post about my progress and keep myself accountable for updates. I knew it was very likely that no one would be looking at it, but was a great way to measure my progress.
I put a lot of thought into the project before I got started, but honestly, I do my best work when I stop trying so hard and allow pure emotion to fuel me. That being said, I am prone to being a perfectionist and hyper-focusing on minute details, so it’s not like the images just flow from my mind to the digital canvas. It took a lot of hard work, research, self-editing, and compromise. It was the most difficult and frustrating at first because I could see what I wanted to create in my mind’s eye, but it seemed like my skills and knowledge were not there yet to make it happen. Sometimes you just have to start and hope you can catch up to your own ideals later, which is exactly what happened for me.
I created about half the cards before I realized how to make them look exactly how I wanted, so I made them all again. This was a huge setback of about a year, which was frustrating, but I knew it would be worth it in the end. The time I spent on the first draft was not wasted, however. I learned so much while creating those first cards about different forms of rendering, creating my own tools, color editing for printing, composition, and how to surpass my own perceived limitations.
Let yourself grow.
You can get a clearer picture of all these steps by going back in time to the early days of this blog.
Wear many hats.
Unless you can afford to hire help (I could not) you will have to wear many hats.
This is a non-exhaustive list of mine:
Artist
Designer
Writer
Social Media Manager
Product designer
Graphic designer
Accountant
Shipping and logistics
Inventory keeper
Buyer
Publicist
Editor
IT Support
Advertising
So yeah, it’s a lot of work.
Spread the word.
No one wants to feel alone when they are undertaking a big creative endeavor. You need people to be rooting for you at those times when things get hard and you feel like giving up. Personally, I believe art is meant to be shared and experienced and that its true meaning can only be expressed when it is.
So in addition to the blog, I created a social media presence to get the project to reach other people. I designed some branding and logos for the project and tried to post as often as I could.
Later in the process, it will be very helpful to have an established social media presence so that your project can get funded. If you already have a faithful audience you won’t have to worry as much.
I posted on:
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
Reddit
Tumblr
Instagram and Facebook were definitely the most useful and got me connected to the most people. I know it sounds corny, but I really did make a lot of friends along the way. The online tarot community is honestly so kind and supportive, at least in my experience. It's very refreshing and wonderful to be a part of.
It’s also worth noting that I had an established Etsy shop where I sell my jewelry, art, and other things. That audience helped as well, especially when it came to the post-Kickstarter days.
Make it real.
This is probably the part most people need help with. You’ve finished all the art and you’re ready to print, but what’s the best way to go about doing that?
I started by shopping around for the perfect printer.
There are a lot out there, but here are a few I looked into that you can check out:
Make Playing Cards Affordable, no minimum quantity, some customization options, but ultimately not the quality I wanted.
Shuffled Ink Decent customization options, USA or China Printing depending on specialty option. 500 minimum order quantity.
Print Ninja Many customization options, print in China, 500 minimum order quantity. Great customer service. Kickstarter support and extra overrun. They also print books so if you want a fancy companion guide they can do that, too!
Both Shuffled Ink and Print Ninja sent me nice sample packs, including full decks they had printed. I was torn between the two for a while but ultimately went with Print Ninja because of their customer support and the fact that they offer extra overrun and advertising for Kickstarter projects. They were very communicative and helpful, went over all my options, answered my questions, and drew up many different quotes for me. My account manager’s name was Grace and she was awesome throughout the entire process. The downside of course was the cost. I spent years on this project and I wasn’t willing to compromise quality for something low cost I could afford on my own, so I turned to crowd-funding.
Get that funding.
When I decided to use Kickstarter I did a lot of math and research to make sure I wasn’t getting in over my head. I got a lot of unsolicited advice from people who had bad experiences with the platform, but my experience was very positive because I went in knowing exactly what to expect.
Here are my tips for a successful Kickstarter:*
Embrace the power of the spreadsheet. There are going to be a lot of numbers involved whether you like it or not. I used google sheets for ease of use and access.
Do the math, twice. Once you get a final quote from the printer of your choice, don’t forget to add on the 5% Kickstarter fee, and the 5% card processing fee to the total you’ll need for funding. Add on the amount you want to make per deck, otherwise known as markup, then calculate the cost per deck based on that. Don’t undervalue your work to keep prices down!
Shipping. This is where a lot of people make mistakes. I included the estimated cost of domestic shipping to the price of the deck so I could offer “free” shipping. In my case, it was about $10. I rounded up from the $7-9 ish dollars it would actually be. I highly recommend using pirate ship to save money and calculate your shipping prices. Don’t forget, if you charge shipping on top of the reward tier price that gets added onto your funding total. This is why I decided to include most of the price of shipping in the cost of the decks, it really just simplified things.
International Shipping. For international orders, I charged an additional $15 to cover the $20-25 they would actually cost. After the campaign was over, I made sure to set aside the estimated amount I would need for shipping months later. (Amount of decks sold x 10 + International decks sold x 25) It ended up being around $5000.
Other expenses. You’ll need things like boxes, bubble wrap, tape, etc. Add the total estimated cost of office supplies to your minimum funding goal. I also bought a Rollo printer to make shipping labels cheap and easy.
Chose a minimum funding goal that you can actually reach and reach quickly. You may have a million ideas on how to make your project super awesome but start with the basics first so you can get funded. The quicker you can get funded the better your project will look to potential backers. In my case, I had to compromise on some of the nicer card and box upgrades to keep my minimum goal down. I figured it would be better to be able to print the deck at all even without all the bells and whistles, but I was lucky enough to be able to make them exactly how I wanted to in the end.
Stretch goals. Once you get your minimum funding goal figured out, you’ll probably want to create some stretch goals. These can be upgraded cards, boxes, guidebooks, or accessories. I did all of the above. Just add the cost of each to your minimum funding amount in compounding increments. It’s a good idea to start small. If your project really starts blowing up you can always add more later.
When in doubt, round up! It’s better to have a little wiggle room than just enough to finance your deck. Extra funds can go towards behind-the-scenes stuff like better packaging.
Add-ons. I did add-ons the hard way, but Kickstarter has it built-in now. If you want to offer add-ons make sure you charge enough for them to cover the extra expenses.
*Please note I’m not an expert, professional, or accountant, this is just what worked for me. I’m not going to give any tax advice, but paying my own quarterly taxes and writing off expenses is something I already did as a freelancer and small business owner, so it was really no different from the norm for me.
Promotional Tips
Get your project set up and ready to go early so you can share the link with people to pre-register. Do a countdown or post reminders to get people hyped up!
It really helps to have a decent online following first. Mine wasn’t that impressive…I think like 500 people. But that was about all I needed.
Use targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram. These are pretty affordable and you sometimes get free credits to use.
Use hashtags that you think will reach your audience. Look at other successful creators and the tags they use. Create a unique hashtag for your project that people can follow.
Create appealing graphics that show off your project in the best light. I didn’t have a video, but that probably would have helped. If you can get a working prototype to show off ahead of time that’s always a good idea. I was able to create digital renders that looked real enough for mine.
Write some advertising copy. What’s the elevator pitch for your deck? Why are you so passionate about it? Why should other people care? What makes it special and unique?
Don’t stop promoting after launch. A lot of people told me I’d get most of my funding on the first day and the last day, which was mostly true, but my graph never flatlined like I expected it to because I kept promoting it in different places every day. You can see my graph below.
Don’t overpromote and be obnoxious, though. Follow the rules of wherever you’re posting and be respectful. This is especially true of Reddit and Facebook groups. Acting pushy or desperate is not a good look.
Reach out to people who expressed interest in your deck and create more personal connections. You aren’t a corporation, don’t act like one. Like I said before, I made a lot of friends on this journey who supported me the whole way. Make time to get to know the people who are supporting your work. Tarot especially is so personal. I love being able to just chat with people about the deck now and see them post about it.
Be honest and straightforward. If there are delays people will be much happier knowing than being kept in the dark. Your backers want updates, but don’t spam them. Post about your progress and goals to build a relationship with them. This should continue after your project is funded, especially if fulfillment takes a long time as mine did.
This is the final graph of my funding throughout the Kickstarter.
A lot of people ask me if I would use Kickstarter again, and my answer is—absolutely.
Add-on.
I ended up creating much more than a deck, and as a result the Prism Tarot became more of a cohesive line of products than just a singular entity. Here are some of the other products I created and offered.
Pins - Manufactured by Zap Creatives. Backing cards are from Vistaprint.
Stickers - Manufactured by Zap Creatives, but I wouldn’t recommend using them for this purpose. There were many sheets that were unusable and they refused to refund or replace them.
Pouch - Manufactured by Deepking Labels.
Spread/Altar Cloth - Manufactured by Bags of Love.
Deck Wraps - Hand sewn by Marah Villaverde. She was a backer of the campaign who reached out to me with the idea of creating deck wraps with my galaxy paintings on them. I am so glad she did because they came out awesome!
Jewelry - This is pretty unique to me because I am a jewelry designer and I actually designed these pieces while I was creating the deck because I was inspired by it.
Prepare for printing.
You would think after the art is done and the Kickstarter is fully funded the hard part is over, right? But that’s not really the case. This is where the real hard work begins.
I tried from the beginning to create my artwork at the right size and within the proper gamut for printing, but there were some edits I had to make before I sent it off to the presses. Final edits and double, triple, quadruple checking that everything is where it needs to be takes time.
I also had to design the box after I paid the printer because they created a custom template for me to use, which again took some time.
One of my stretch goals was a guidebook. I never formatted a book before so this was certainly a learning experience for me. That with the task of actually writing, illustrating, and editing it, it took a much longer time than I anticipated.
Prepare to wait.
There were definitely some unexpected creative delays at this point that set off my timeline by about two months.
There were other delays due to Covid and the winter holidays that were outside of my control, but it could have been worse. The whole process, from the beginning of the Kickstarter through fulfillment took about 6 months; 1 month for the campaign, 1 month to prep the files, 1 month for printing, 2 months for shipping to me, and 1 month for shipping to customers.
During the 2 months that I was waiting for the decks to arrive, I got everything else I needed, like add-ons and boxes, ready to go so I could start shipping them out to backers asap. I also started selling pre-orders on Etsy, which was great but also got me into a little trouble. After I reached over 100 open orders they decided to limit my visibility in search, which hurt my business and my only real source of income at the time. Luckily, that didn’t last long, but it did force me to prioritize those orders.
Reach fulfillment.
Depending on how busy you are or how many backers you got you can choose to fulfill orders yourself or use a service. I decided to go it alone because a. DIY is kind of my motto and b. I wanted to personalize the decks by signing and numbering all of them. Also, every order was pretty different due to various add-ons and requests, so I figured I would be the best person to keep track of all that since I already had been doing so throughout the campaign.
When the decks finally arrived at my doorstep it took me about 20 days to ship them all out. Between the campaign and Etsy, I had about 520 orders to ship. I packed and shipped 36 per day because it was mostly just me and any more than that would have been too much, and I also didn’t want to overwhelm the post office. If not for covid, I probably would have had more help and gotten it done faster, but such is life.
I ordered 600 decks, but actually received 661 with the overrun that my printer provided. Out of those, 75 of the boxes were damaged so I decided to offer those at a discount on my Etsy shop. I found very few other issues aside from a few misprinted guidebooks. I had paid for some uncut sheets of the deck to have as a keepsake, but unfortunately the printer forgot to make them and refunded me.
Accept some disappointments.
Aside from not getting my uncut sheets and some delays I was mostly very happy with the whole process. The thing I am most disappointed about is not being able to throw a release party and interact with customers in person. Before Covid, I was part of a group called Austin Witches Circle and I sold my goods at their markets. I was hoping to be able to sell my decks there as well. I do wish I got the funding to do a larger print run because they are almost gone already. Maybe someday I can do another.
Celebrate your achievement!
This was honestly the greatest artistic achievement of my life so far. To have my work be so well received by so many people is a dream come true. I got so many well wishes and kind words from perfect strangers which was unexpected, overwhelming, and made my heart so full.
This project was very personal to me and the fact that it has resonated with so many other people is amazing and makes me feel much less alone in this world. Art is a tool for connection, after all. I was surprised by how many people thanked me for creating the deck, because it is definitely I who should be thanking all of you for helping me bring it to life.
Thank the ones who got you there.
A huge thank you to all my backers, followers and supporters. An extra big thank you to my Parents, Tiffany, Christopher, Samantha, Joni, Andrew, Mako, Joseph, Amber, Sabrina, and Marah. <3
Reflect and move forward.
I set out to make a deck that I could really connect with, but honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be as powerful as it is. It has been a game-changer for my intuition and readings, as well as for my connection to myself and my ancestors. I read with so much more confidence and clarity when I’m using it. I brought a world inside my head to life in vivid color and now that it’s part of my outer world, I feel lighter and more focused on the future.
I may continue to add to this post if I think of anything else to share about the journey. If you have any questions that I haven’t answered here, feel free to reach out on social media.
