Surveys sent, pre-order store is live!
over 6 years ago
– Mon, Oct 14, 2019 at 08:48:49 PM
The surveys are sent, both via here and Backerkit!
Do you need to do both? No, not necessarily, but at least make sure you do the Backerkit ones for sure though.
Why did two sets go out?
Because Backerkit didn't get back to quickly enough, and I didn't want to NOT make tangible progress today.
LET'S DO THIS.
Cover Art Update, Moving Ahead With Printing
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Oct 12, 2019 at 11:42:46 PM
Supporters of The Graverobber's Sword,
When the project first succeeded, I promised to be as transparent as I could be and to post updates as often as I could. I don't know how many of you actually read those updates, but if you have you'll know that the last few updates have unfortunately all shared a common theme - a reoccurring delay that was something outside of my direct control, specifically in regards to waiting on the cover art.
Unfortunately, the art featured on the campaign will not be being completed, and Sam is no longer a part of the project (book? campaign? you know what I mean).
As I said on the original campaign and in the updates since, I put the delivery timeline as being November as - and I hope you'll forgive some crass language, because the 'fuck' word definitely appears in this book - a buffer, a safety measure that effectively generated it's own 'holy shit, everything has gone wrong' point. As this week marks the mid-way point through October, I'm just not comfortable waiting any longer (while creeping ever closer to that 'holy shit' point) before going ahead with production.
The publisher will be providing a cover, one that I expect I will have no real control over and that I expect will be eventually replaced. Ironically, that very likely makes these first print runs into the definition of Kickstarter exclusives, just not at all in a way that I intended.
Once cover art is eventually acquired, I'll make sure all backers receive updated ebooks (it might even happen automatically) and try to work out a wholesale purchase arrangement for books that have the new covers. I wan't to stress that I can't promise it will be something I can do, only that I will do my best to come up with something to make getting a replacement a little easier for those of you who would like to do so.
I'll be speaking with my Backerkit person (rep? agent? sales associate who reached out) on Monday, and will post another update then. Daily updates will start from that night until the day your copy leaves my desk after being signed/written in and gets mailed to you.
In the mean time, I want to thank you all for your continued patience, and please allow me to once again apologize that it's taken this long to get to this point. If you have any questions, feel free to either ask them here or reach out to me directly on social media to do so. Either way, I'll be sure to respond to everyone.
Have a great (Canadian Thanksgiving) weekend,
Jesse.
P.s., I was not kidding about the 'fuck' word being in the book, it's really in there. Sorry Gramma.
Still Waiting D:
over 6 years ago
– Sat, Sep 21, 2019 at 08:57:38 PM
I wish I had something else, ANYTHING ELSE to post, but...
...I'm still waiting on the Artwork from Sam.
I have spoken to her, and communicated how much I need an update or a timeline, but she has been dealing with a variety of other commitments and some health issues. Believe me when I say I'm MORE EAGER than all of you to get it in, but as of now there's not much I can do besides be patient.
My only real alternative would be to pull the payment via Paypal and commission a new artist, but I can't help but feel like that wouldn't actually speed anything up AND would be pretty directly harmful to Sam in a lot of ways, and I just don't want to do that if I can avoid it at all.
I've kept Ash from Tablo up to date with these developments, and he has unerringly advised waiting for the cover art before releasing the ebooks, because otherwise doing so would make it available to the general public without a cover - if that happens, I can pretty much kiss any kind of traction or appeal it might have to folks outside the Kickstarter goodbye... and since I'm hoping to be able to use this book to launch my career as an author in earnest, that is just not a good plan.
Backer Kit has similar requirements, in that they need me to have images associated with the pledge tiers and add-ons... Fortunately, I can just use placeholder images for those.
I'm tryin', folks, I'm tryin' D:
In the future, I'm going to START with getting the cover art done before I do anything else in order to avoid a situation like this, because this is awful and I am SO SORRY AND ALSO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED PATIENCE.
Backerkit surveys being finalized
over 6 years ago
– Fri, Sep 13, 2019 at 02:26:31 AM
Good news, I was able to touch base with Sam!
...Bad news, the cover isn't finished. I've asked for an ETA for the art work's completion. In the meantime, I've gotten everything set up on Backerkit, and am now in the 'Request Set Up Review' stage which can take up to two business days to be completed.
Additionally, I've asked Tablo if it's possible to send out ebooks without cover art. I don't know if it's possible, but I hope it is so I can get these books out to you all.
Once the digital copies finally go out, I'll be creating a Discord channel for the inevitable instance where someone finds typos that got missed.
I'm eternally grateful for the patience everyone has had with this project so far. It's been a huge learning experience, and I'm hopeful that we can get this done without too many more bumps in the road.
Surveys should go out early next week as long as Backerkit reviews it and deems it satisfactory!
Finally, an update!
over 6 years ago
– Thu, Sep 05, 2019 at 11:02:26 PM
...And the update is that I don't have anything to update!
Today was the original estimated delivery date for the cover art, but I haven't received it as of just yet. I've messaged Sam for an update, and have full confidence that it will be worth the wait :D
As soon as the art comes in, I can start pressing big red buttons and things can get rolling!
...Until then, it's pretty much just more anxious thumb twiddling, unfortunately.
