An update from Robin...
over 9 years ago – Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:32:39 PM

Hey all, Robin here again.  Michael and I are done with Gencon and heading back to the Washington D.C. area.  We're taking a few days of R&R in Western Pennsylvania (at a beautiful B&B) but we should be home soon.  Gencon was great but really tiring....so much going on, and I'm glad we were able to meet a few people while there.  In any case some updates.

• First, I want to apologize, because I think I could have done one thing a bit better in Backer Kit.  It relates to your books which are part of the reward levels.  The way I did it, they don't show up as items you are getting - but rest assured you are.  It's the question about signing that is the indicator.  Next time I do this, I'll know better how to use Backer Kit and won't have this problem.  In any case, I've seen some emails and messages asking if they are getting their book (or books for those levels that have both paperback and hardcovers) and the answer is yes!  No worries, on that front. So don't be worried if you don't see it listed - the question tells me what you are getting and how you want it signed.
  

• Second, we've added 38 people post Kickstarter (through Paypal).  That portal in will be closing when I lock down the Backer Kit -- so that I have counts and can start ordering stuff. Everyone who entered through Paypal has been added to Backer Kit (except one which I'll speak of in a minute). So you new people, please come on in and do your surveys so I know how much stuff I need.

• Daniel Voitpka, if you are seeing this...please drop an email to michael at [email protected].  Your address is bounding and we can't send you the digital stuff nor the invite to Backer Kit.  We do have your mailing address from Paypal, and we'll try to reach you that way.

• For those keeping track of such things....we are now up to $85,410!!  Crazy huh?  Thanks so much for all the generosity and support.

• Also, I know a number of people have been disappointed because they weren't able to get some of the limited items such as the original Crown Conspiracy, the key chains, and the hardcover editions of Blood of Thieves.  I'm almost positive I have more of each of those at home, but when I launched the Kickstarter I went "conservative" rather than doing a full count.  So here is what I'm going to do...On Friday 8/7/2015 at 12:00 noon EST. I'm going to increase the counts on those items which should make them available through Kickstarter again. I'm also going to move them to a "Limited Number" category so you can easily get at them.  Since everyone should know when those are going live, you'll each have an even chance of nabbing what you want.  So set your calendar if you were one of the people disappointed that we sold out of these items.

• 88% of the people have answered their surveys in Backer Kit.  If you are one of the 200 or so who still haven't signed into Backer Kit and filled out the survey, please do so. We need final counts on things so we can start ordering the posers, post cards, t-shirts and all the other goodies.

• I'm behind on picking beta testers...Gencon was not conducive to "work" at all. Hoping to get to that today.  I have picked out a few, but haven't notified anyone yet....so don't get concerned that you've not received an email from me about that.

Now, one last thing on a personal note.  When Michael asked me to add a Tip Jar for myself, I thought he was (a) crazy and (b) something that was totally unnecessary.  Well, I'm amazed once again by your generosity...as it is more than $800!  Holy cow.  I thought it would be $25 or so.  I'm not the type who spends things on myself...and I do want a physical reminder of both this project and you all for doing this.  I'll certainly post what I get.  One thing I KNOW I'm going to get is a lumio...which I'll post about at a later date.  I bought one for a friend who is getting married and love it...just thought it was a bit pricey for me to buy myself.  So that is definitely going to be one of the things.  I'm pretty sure they are back ordered - but when it comes in...I'll certainly show you it!

Michael just got up...and headed toward the porch with coffee so I'm going to sign-off now.  We'll  be talking to you more soon.

Just a reminder about more limited edition stuff coming available
over 9 years ago – Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:32:32 PM

Okay, so I dug under the bed and in my horrible closet and did find more of the original Crown Conspiracies (the ones with the blue 3-d artwork.  I also found some more keychains and I was able to order some more Blood of Thieves from the bookclub.  What that means is in about half an hour (noon EST) these once "sold out item" will be coming back.  Obviously there are still only limited quantities so act fast. 

To be honest, I didn't expect them to sell out - and so quickly - the first time around. Have no idea what will happen this second time.  But we'll see!  I've put them (and the limited edition of the Kickstarter book) all in one category: Limited Numbers so you can find all of them there.

In other news: 

• I've completed all my "global edits" to the book - these are things that I know Michael has problems with (their vs they're, it's and its) those kinds of things. This is the thing that takes me the longest amount of time and with that done I'm about 50% through.  I've also done my "regular edits" on chapter one and Michael has gone over them - we still have a few things to discuss but are in pretty good shape. I'm hoping to spend most of the day editing and get through the first 1/3 of the book with regular edits.  In any case, I'm either ahead or on schedule for the beta readers.

• Project total is now $85,945.76 - I think we'll top $86,000 ;-)
  

• Total Number of Backers is 1,793.  Haven't seen anyone come through Paypal recently so will be closing that off in about two weeks.
  

• 94% of the people have answered their surveys - if you are not one of them please do so as I can't get final tallies on t-shirts until you do!!

That's all for now.  Be back soon when we have more to report.

First Peek at Royce and Hadrian Concepts for Graphic Adaptation
over 9 years ago – Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:32:28 PM

Hey all,
Movement is occurring on the The Jester Adaptation. We are going to be using artist Adam Schartup.He's done the script, which I still have to review but at first glance it is in really good shape. Here's an artist conceptualization of  Royce and Hadrian. We asked for a few minor changes but I think these will work out well.

For those who signed up for Beta Testing...
over 9 years ago – Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:32:26 PM

Hey all, Robin here again.  It's 3:26 AM and I've finally got the beta tester notifications completed.  

Competition for this beta was fierce. We had more than 970 people answer one of the two surveys, and after removing duplicates and accounting for people who had scheduling conflicts, I had to select from 890 applicants. It was hard turning people down, so I’m running my largest beta ever…55 participants!! Still, even with that large number, it means I could only accommodate 6% of all people who applied. 

Everyone who answered the survey (and who didn't bow out because of conflicts) has been notified. To process so many notifications I had to use Mail Chimp for some of them. Having used this tool in the past, I know it's not uncommon for the message to go to a spam folder, or for those that use gmail, the promotions folder.

So, the best thing to do is to check your email for a message with the following characteristics:

• From: [email protected]
• Subject: Notification regarding The Death of Dulgath Beta

If you look around and can't find your notification, feel free to send an email to [email protected] and I'll look you up to see which list you are on.

As for the delivery of the manuscript. I'm still on schedule for August 17th.

IMPORTANT UPDATE!! BackerKit Lockdown approaching
over 9 years ago – Wed, Aug 12, 2015 at 12:32:16 PM

Hey all,
Robin here again, I suspect a fair number of the updates are going to come from me as there is a lot of logistical things to deal with.  

People have done a great job getting their surveys in, thank you for that!  We still have a few stragglers, but the vast majority of people have distributed their extra dollars, given me their shipping addresses, and answered questions about things such as signing options for books, and whether they want signed postcards and bookmarks.

So, with that out of the way, we are about to enter the next phase of the project: BackerKit Lockdown!  When this happens, several things occur:

• You won't be able to make changes to your survey (except for address information). Nor will you be able to add/subtract any of the bonus products. Like t-shirts and posters.
  
• If you bought items that were above your pledge level, you're credit cards will be charged.

With the BackerKit locked down, I'll know exact quantities and can stat ordering merchandise. For people in the US, their non-book stuff can be sent ahead of the books (since they will use media mail which can ONLY contain books.

Also, I can start sending out the digital perks that are already finished - like the wallpapers and short stories.  

As you can see, locking down is an important step as we move forward.  But, you still have one more week (to either adjust your survey or fill it out if you've not completed it). 

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I'm locking down on 8/18/2015 at 9:00 AM EDT!

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Now some incentive for those people who haven't completed their surveys...I want to tell you what happens if you don't fill them out.

Well, I'll do them for you...and since I'm working on limited information, you may miss out on some cool perks of the Kickstarter.  For instance:

•  If you are a digital backer, you can't get the signed bookmarks or postcards because, well, I don't know where to send them ;-)
  
• Also, you won't have your name included in the book because I don't know if you want to be anonymous or not.  Without your input, I'm going to err on the side of caution.
• And you won't be entered into the drawings for Tuckerization, audio books, or the special limited edition of Rhune.
• But most importantly, you'll miss out on the ability to order the cool additional stuff like posters, t-shirts and the like. Some items (like t-shirts) are being ordered in exact quantities, and if I don't know you want one, well I can't do another printing for quantities of one.

Last point, if you pledged extra during the Kickstarter, and didn't fill you your survey, that means I have no idea what you wanted to buy with that extra money.  In this case, I'm going to refund the extra to you rather than trying to chase people down and handling exception shipments. Trying to send out stuff to 1,800 people is already a monumental task, and doing "one-offs" is just really, really hard.  

So, long story short...please, please please fill out your survey right away. In you are having problems with Backer Kit, send a message - I'm looking at them as well as Michael. I can even do the survey for you. We can get on the phone, skype, or a google hangout and I can walk through the process as if I were you and get your record to the "Survey answered" stage.

Oh, that reminds me.  A few people are in the incomplete stage, almost all of which because you failed to put in your address. You might have thought it wasn't necessary because you have digital rewards, but again, the ones I've seen in this state also requested postcards and bookmarks and I can't send those without this information. 

If you are worried because your address will change soon, no worries. Even after lockdown the addresses can be altered.

Well I think that is all I can think of regarding the lockdown. Again, thanks for the amazing support and for being so timely in doing your surveys.

Once we are locked, I'll let you know what the most popular items were and we'll also have a final tally for contributions.  Armed with that information , I'll give another special prize to the one that "came closest."  For those who might still be tracking such information we are currently at: $87,755.26.

Thanks again all, I'm excited to start getting stuff into your hands, and that can only happen after the lockdown.