198% Funded!! (What Comes Next?)
6 months ago
– Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 06:19:35 PM
IN SHORT
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WE FUNDED! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
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We hit every single goal we set, then an extra artist pay raise we added at the last minute. Wow!
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Right now backers are being charged for their pledges.
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Backers will be charged for shipping approx. four weeks before fulfillment. This is also likely when surveys will be sent out to collect necessary information such as mailing addresses, though the surveys may come sooner.
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Our current goal for fulfillment is "Summer 2024", so expect to be charged for shipping in June at the earliest. Backers in Canada will have a $5 USD shipping discount, all other backers living outside the United States will have a $10 USD shipping discount.
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Enjoyed the Black God's Kiss game we played in Friday's livestream? You can learn more, and pre-order it, here: https://blackgodskiss.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
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Enjoyed Fen Walker's live dungeon synth set in Friday's livestream? You can find more of his music here: https://fenwalker.bandcamp.com
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All backers are cordially invited to join our New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord server through this link: https://discord.gg/qSrsxqVhwZ
- Though we'll be much quieter for a little while, if you'd like more regular updates and other fun info, we can be followed on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
IN DETAIL
It's been a little over 48 hours and I'm still processing this turn of events!
Nat Web's gonna get the New Edge battle axe logo tattoo!
We raised enough for FIVE author raises and FIVE artist raises!
Hardcovers will have beautiful endsheets!
Both bonus stories were unlocked, to say nothing of Double Art and the International Shipping Discount!
If I keep writing in this manner I may single-handedly make exclamation marks! Lose! All! Meaning!
But dang, that's just how I feel right now. Well, that and
tired. This thing was a lot of work, though clearly worth it. And it's awoken new desires in me as a publisher - I've already got my eye on someone to play live music in next year's crowdfund...
Folks, I had so much FUN doing this, and it seems like you did too! This makes me glad because as seriously as we take the quality of what we make, it's important that NESS be a wonderful time for all concerned.
If there's two links from "IN SHORT" I'd like to repeat here it's:
The great people behind BGK were instrumental in us being able to publish the first new Jirel story in 85 years, and were great pals when it come to helping get the word out about the new issues.
Part of what I love about doing the publishing thing is the opportunities it creates to connect with really cool people, and the Black God's Kiss crew are just the coolest!
Speaking of making connections, the other link I'm extra keen on is an invite to:
- The New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord, a great online hang-out that I'd love to see your digital faces in, a fun spot to chat about the magazine, Sword & Sorcery in general, and otherwise connect with your fellow readers, writers, artists, and more.
It's also a breeding ground for goofs like, as you may have heard Nat and I relate in our crowdfund finale livestream, how Meatball Subs Are The Only Real Sandwich, and I only time I get to eat one is when we've finished funding another publication.
Reader, you better believe this sucker tasted good when I picked it up on Saturday:
Can we make meatball subs the official sandwich of Sword & Sorcery? Perhaps with enough sword emojis...
Alright, that's all from me for now. Please make sure to read through IN SHORT for the practical details of what's happening with charging backers for pledges, charging for shipping, our rough schedule and more.
As stated in a recent update, we have made fantastic progress on the writing for these issues, and the very first interior illustration sketches have started to show up in my inbox. Barring catastrophe, our post-crowdfund turnaround will be several
months shorter than last year's!
In fact, we'll probably be crowdfunding our
FIRST EVER BOOK a little before we get copies of the magazine from our printer. Feels wild, so wild, to begin expanding New Edge Sword & Sorcery into a modest publishing company and it would never happen without
BACKERS LIKE YOU.Keep your swords sharp, and your sorcery numinous!
Sincerely,
Final 48 Hours, Magazine Production Report, Bonus Story Unlocked, and more!
6 months ago
– Thu, Mar 14, 2024 at 08:16:48 AM
Yup, the campaign ends at 11am EST this Saturday, and you've all just unlocked our second artist raise!
Thank you so much! Fingers crossed we can get another author raise, maybe even another artist raise after that, before the curtain falls on our 2024 crowdfund.
We've also just unlocked the bonus story, "Hunter", to go in one of this year's issues! As I write this we're only two Facebook shares of the campaign from unlocking the other story, "Something Oath-Like", so please consider
hitting that share button.
Heck, it'd be really fun if we could get some new ink on Nat!
Meanwhile, production progress is strong! Below, with names cropped out, is our Excel table for tracking manuscripts (top) and illustrations (bottom):
Finally, DON'T FORGET
Backers are not charged for pledges until just after the campaign ends, and they won't be charged for shipping until several months from now, when we're about four weeks away from shipping the issues to you all. This splits your purchase into two, widely spaced payments rather than one all-together.
Our current goal for shipping out our issues is "Summer 2024", so hopefully around the end of July, maybe earlier if we really make good time, some time in August if there are hiccups.
Alright, onward and upward! Hope we see you at tomorrow night's "7pm est -???" livestream crowdfund finale.
SECRET HARDCOVER UPGRADE...REVEALED!
6 months ago
– Mon, Mar 11, 2024 at 07:36:30 AM
Hardcovers are great! They...
- Are durable.
- Have lay-flat, saddle-stich binding.
- Come with bookmark ribbons, a different color for each issue.
- Have unique cover designs, different from the softcover & digital formats.
and
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New in 2024, they contain gorgeous endsheet art!
What's an "endsheet"? It's the absolute inside of the cover plus the very first, and - in the back - very last, pages.
For example:
We are currently working with Babe & Oak, illustrator & surface pattern designer, to create an original "toss surface pattern" design which will be used in the endsheets of issues 3&4, and all future hardcover issues.
A toss surface pattern design is a layout in which the motifs are arranged in a scattered, but balanced way. For example:
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Our design concept will be Sword & Sorcery themed, naturally, with swirling battle-axes, snakes, and sorcery!
Elements of the design will be customized for each issue, changing colors to match the two-color pairing within the issue's logo. This means you can expect to see white & red in issue three's endsheets while issue four's endsheets will feature purple & yellow.
One last thing to know about hardcover issues - they are printed in very limited quantities! Last year's issue one is sold out, and there's only 17 copies left of issue #2 in hardcover. Due to the costs involved,
once an issue is sold out it is gone for good.
So this crowdfunding campaign is the best time to secure a copy!
If you haven't already, please consider pledging for, or upgrading to, hardcovers so you can enjoy all they have to offer - including our upcoming, gorgeous new endsheet design.
