Wonderfunders Co-Founder James Lynch Interview

Crowdfunding is playing an integral part in the independent comics scene. Projects that would never get the support of a bigger publisher are now a possibility along with the dreams of anyone who ever sat in their room, doodling or typing away at the adventures of their own characters. Heck, it’s even playing a role in the game plans of established companies. It’s a great way for fans to interact and be a part of something they love. There are a couple of well-known platforms to crowdfund on. If choosing these platforms, the full sum of donations does not go to the team behind the campaign, as there are fees tacked on. There is a shining light in the crowdfunding see, however, in the form of Wonderfunders. The community with a focus on teamwork and making connections offers free crowdfunding and other services to its members. Co-founder James Lynch chatted with me to drop some knowledge and hopefully entice fledgling creators to become part of and help make something great.Can you tell us about how Wonderfunders got started?Sure. Many folks are aware of the Facebook group Connecting Comic Book Writers and Artists. Myself, Phil Woodward, and Robert Garret were members. Back in June of 2011 Phil, Robert and I were talking about crowdfunding and how expensive it was to use. We decided to try and figure out a way to offer crowdfunding at no cost to indie comics creatorsWe had a brainstorming session. I came up with the name Wonderfunders. After the three of us decided that was the best name I bought the domain and formed the FB groupAnd anyone can join up?Yes, but we prefer people actively involved in creating sequential art. We are not really a fanboy site.What are some of the services Wonderfunders provides to its members?Well, we offer free classifieds, a free to use funding platform, an industry directory, Escrow services to take the risk out of collaboration, a files area with educational content and contract templates, a forum, Jams, monthly general membership open mic sessions, collaborative team building, and whatever else presents itself as beneficial to the membership. We hope to offer group insurance and other benefits to our membership at some point. Membership is free by the way. We also offer through jam participation the opportunity to get published creditsWe provide free unlimited gallery storage space as well.What kind of projects has the group produced so far?On the web we have completed “Captain Curmudgeon And The Cheese of Retribution” and have now published 2 Anthologies with the third one almost ready. I am very proud that between the first two anthologies we have contributors from 5 continents.Anthony Ball has been instrumental in the production of the anthologies.What kind of stories are available in the anthologies?The only real answer would be “a variety.” There is one overriding similarity. PG-13 is the cap.The currently running Dream Team Project seems like a dream come true to aspiring creators. Can you tell us the basics and how it came about?I have to thank Mindy Lopkin for that. I had decided to help someone who had been asking the whole internet community for help getting his project off the ground. I enlisted the aid of some other folks to produce a page, they produced the work for less than they would have charged as a favor to me. The general consensus among the talented people I brought in was that the writer i was trying to help was unprepared to take advantage of the help arranged. Mindy suggested that in future that help should be awarded to those who were ready to prove that they were deserving. To figure out who was most deserving would be tricky! In the end The Wonderfunders Steering Committee, a panel of advisors that is constantly changing, approved the contest concept.Tell us about the team you’ve assembled so far. We can skip the writer, because that guy is a hack, and you can tell him I said that.Well other than the writer we have Steven “Sash” Scott. Sash is a powerhouse penciller, and a reliable and prolific supporter of Wonderfunders. I should mention that all phases of the contest have been anonymously decided. Our inker is Jason Sylvester, who recently made the best seller list in Canada as the illustrator of “You Know You Are From Saskatchewan if.” Our Colorist is Arthur Gibson, creator of the web comic “Sticks and Stone” which ironically is in black and White, and our lettering search will end on December 15th when submissions are due.So what is the gameplan for the release of the finished book?The next phase of the process is to bring the five completed pages produced by the contest to the funding platform to raise funds to complete the book and print it. I am personally guaranteeing the prizes to the participants, but any funding we can raise will help expedite the process.So far the cost to Wonderfunders for the Dream Team Search has been $860 with about $2,620.00 left to spend to bring the winning team’s dream to fruition. So far we have sold 14 copies of either Wonderfunders Anthology Volume 1 or 2. Net intake after costs is 1.56 per issue or 21.84 total. I am proud to help subsidize the effort, but I am not too proud to ask our little community and the extended community for that matter for help. If anyone wants to help us they can buy and promote the Wonderfunders Anthologies which are available on Indyplanet and help bring the first of our community’s big projects to life.You all have also been working on a calendar project. Will that be completed in time for holiday shoppers looking to contribute to the group?We are running out of time on that, but I am doing what I can. Because we work by donation for both submitted work and operating