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Just a little transition page! Good timing for me to have a simpler page this week, since I am pretty dang tired out from all the last-minute excitement of the Kickstarter project. It was a huge success – 808 backers for a total of $36444 (over 240% of the original $15000 I asked for).
I’m loopy with gratitude. It will take a good long while for those funds to translate from operating funds into any serious income, but being able to publish three books without major financial risk is quite a gift for a small businessperson like yours truly. And I’m excited for what it means for volume two of Family Man.
I’m grateful to Kickstarter for providing a clever, fun and intuitive platform. While I don’t think it’s the perfect system for every project, this has been a great experience for me and a wonderful way to play with longtime readers and attract some new ones, as well. And now I’m very much enjoying the newfound peace and quiet of my post-project inbox, and taking great pleasure in all the fiddly art and pre-press work that I have left before it turns into a whole bunch of books.
All the progress I make on that front will be restricted to backers of the project from here until I start getting physical proofs, but before the project finished I did post a single rough version of the first page from the new Bite Me! short story that will be appearing in the anniversary-edition (PDF and print). Posted below for your perusal and enjoyment!
It’s been desperately fun to revisit these characters, and the process of putting the grey washes down digitally – while figuring out how to retain the very hand-done character of the original – delights me.
A number of people have written to me expressing dismay that they didn’t come across the project until after it had closed. Don’t worry! I’ll be selling copies of the books produced for quite some time, and they’ll go on sale to the general public towards the end of October; the extras (prints, patches, bookplates etc) are the only things exclusive to project backers. I’ll let you all know when the new books are available for purchase!
I’ll see you all next week – when we find out what Ariana is waking up to…
What a busy week it’s been! Here’s a quick round-up of all the excitement.
And, over in the Land of the Kickstarter, we’ve cracked $23.5k (less than $1500 to go until fox patches!) and an amazing 511 backers. That is beyond spectacular.
I’m also finishing up design work for the Outfoxed print edition. One of the things I’m happiest about is a repeating pattern that will appear on the inside covers. It’s a whole panoply of laundry from the story!
You can download a desktop wallpaper of this pattern by visiting the Kickstarter version of this post.
And, lastly (for now), I’m putting together the spreads for the Danse Macabre 2.0 book! That means I get to write nasty little revenge ditties like this one. I live in Portland, so this one was especially satisfying.
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Okay, gang, I promise that this is the last page of rabbit gore for awhile.
MEANWHILE, over on the Dylan Meconis Library Kickstarter, the news continues to be awesome. We’ve got 18 days left to go and we’re climbing towards $22k! That means we busted past 20k, so everybody who’s getting a copy of Danse Macabre 2.0 will also be getting a set of Skullhouettes prints. This is one of my favorite designs, and I am VERY excited to be able to give it to more of my readers!
Next up, when we reach $25k, I’ll be making an embroidered patch for Outfoxed, and there are even more things I look forward to doing beyond that. Most of all, I am looking forward to spending so much of this year working on, you know, my own work, and not having to knuckle down through months of paying off a big print bill and wincing every time I print out a shipping label.
Thank you to everybody who’s contributed so far (and thank you for the patience and the cheering-on from those of you who aren’t able to this time around.) Check in on Kickstarter for more updates!
Hello, all – for the last several months I’ve been scheming away on My Next Big Thing. (Or, you know, my Concurrent Big Thing, since my graphic novel Family Man continues apace as I accumulate new pages for Volume II.)
You might’ve noticed that I’ve been sold out of Bite Me! books for awhile. As in, over a year. I’ve gotten so many e-mails and messages asking about it, and it’s driven me crazy every time I’ve had to reply “they’ll be back again soon! When I can make them better quality! And add stuff! And the elves return to Middle Earth!”
You might also have noticed that there hasn’t been a print edition of Outfoxed yet. Most of the comments on it I sum up to “This is great! Where can I buy a copy?” Up until now the answer has been nowhere.
And, if you were one of the people who wanted to buy an original piece from my Danse Macabre 2.0 illustration series but missed out or couldn’t afford it, you’ve asked me when I was going to do a collection or issue prints.
Well, I have some relevant and exciting news for all of you, because I’ve decided it’s finally time to open up pre-orders and fund a print run!
Of all three books! Through Kickstarter!
Here, let me explain, via video. (It’s only four minutes, and there are jokes.)
I’m excited, gang. I’ve become a much better at this stuff – the practical side of bookmaking – since I last made a book, and I’ve become astronomically better at it since I first made a book. I know how to make a book more quickly, at higher quality, at a lower cost, and get it to you with greater speed. Perhaps most importantly, I know who to ask for help rather than trying to do everything by myself.
But I can dream up the fanciest stuff on earth to no avail – ultimately it all depends on you folks, my lovely and distinguished readers. I don’t want to make things you’re not interested in.
So, if you’re interested in owning a copy of any of these three projects – please consider contributing! The success (or failure) of this campaign will have a big impact on how I print my work in the future. (The future of Family Man volumes will hinge, at least in part, on how well this project does.) Creator-owned self-pub is absolutely the most effective way I can turn my work into income.
Thanks in advance, all!
Tiny paintings! These are the ooooonly ones left from nearly twenty that I made for sale at conventions this year. They’re all 2.5×3.5” (artist trading card size) watercolor originals.
Wouldn’t one of them look nice on your desk? For under $20? Yes. Yes is the answer. They’re in my Etsy store now!