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Happy Monday!
So…with only 15 pages (approximately) left to go…I’m getting ready to put the Dreamland Chronicles Book 5 up on Kickstarter!
How many of you enjoyed pre-ordering through Kickstarter?
Would you do it again?
I greatly enjoyed it…and would love to know if you all did too. And if you had any thoughts for this next book. Anything you’d like me to do differently.
Thanks
Scott
1) I will totally do it again.
2) Me thinks you should do slightly higher dollar amounts for the same prizes you did before (with an option to just get an autographed Book 5 for those of us that got the other 4 books last time), so that you actually make some money off of all the labor and love you’re putting into this. I can’t imagine that you actually made money off of all of those extras you were giving away (but, I couldn’t resist giving enough to get all 4 books for so cheaply, either!).
3) The way you did it before in regards to the personalized sketch art in the covers was pretty cool (though I recognize you spent a lot of time doing that, it is a VERY nice personal touch for those of us getting “limited edition” first prints).
Aww, I love panel 2. At least she got a letter, she looks a bit comforted by that.
I`m going to back book 5 if you start a Kickstarter Scott, I wish I had done it for book 4 too. I have an account there now so no excuse to let it slip my mind again. 🙂
Cool!
But disappointing. Highly disappointing, but I hope it foreshadows something awesome.
My heart is going out to Felicity right now. That’s sad.
I’ve been wanting to order myself copies of the books for a while now. But, alas, I am broke. *shakes fist at student loans*
I agree! It’s sad to see them unable to connect in Dreamland, but I also hope it foreshadows something very cool! A Felicity / Nicole reunion would totally make my day, week, month, year. LOL.
Absolutely count me in for Kickstarter & I promise not to wait until the last second. 😉
Dear Scott,
I’ll certainly buy the vol. 5 via Kickstart or directly.
However, you have to expect a much lower volume as many people that bought the whole serie last time now have it, and the few people ordering a second copy of the whole set or (as the last round is only 6 month past) new readers will certainly not make up for the loss… . so I fear we won’t reach the same amount as last time, and last time had not such a huge margin.
You may make a back of the envelope calculation assuming that every buyer of last time will buy volume 5 alone (say 5% buy again the whole serie) and add some new customers (say again a conservative 5%) and see if you come somewhere near the necessary volume. Because it would be a pity to start the action and fail it. If you see you’re very much off, perhaps bundling vol 5&6 later (and having more time to gain new customers / be again at christmas season) has more chances of succes.
Best Regards from Switzerland!
I’ll buy Vol 5 however it becomes available! 🙂 As someone who has been buying the series book by book though, I have to agree with lacavin up there. The funds you get will be lower for the lack of people still needing to purchase the full set. Then again, if the full set purchases weren’t 100% tallied towards the Kickstarter amount, then you’re golden! 🙂
I certainly would purchased Vol. 5 through Kickstarter. My wife and I love the story, and will keep buying them until the collection is complete!
Thank you all!
Great advice!
So…should I do the limited sketch cover again? That seemed to be well received (though a LOT of work for me).
She handles the Bahta Alikchi with such care, yet one thing is evident on her face: it still isn’t Nicole!
I find out tomorrow if I have a job or not (my first in a very long time) and if so, then I can definitely support Kickstarter this time around instead of waiting for my birthday. Would it be extra for a regular cover and an autograph and a sketch inside the book like you did with my copy of Book 4?
letter reads “look behind you 🙂 “
Awww. 🙁
Kickstarter, Lulu, I would buy Vol. 5 anyways.
Limited covers? Maybe. It seems like an awful lot of work, and I can imagine it makes the covers somewhat vulnerable. You could think about inserts with custom drawings/paintings for the first 25 ordered, and art-quality paper screenprints insetred for the next 100 to keep it manageable or something?
If only..that would be soo cool. A bit cruel though. Not like Nicole.
It may be impossible for Nicole to go to dreamland, but would it be possible for Felicity to meet Nicole in the awaken world?
I guess a lot of readers have been pondering that in the back of their heads. I have no clue as to how, but it would be uber-cool. I wonder if she would change in a more “human” appearance, or stay a cat-girl and be considered an exceptionally well-done cosplay, or a walking promo for “Thundercats ” 😆
I will definitely be there when (if) you get kickstarter going on the next book. I do agree though that you need to make options available that consider the fact that many of us do not need or want to again purchase the whole set and also that you were incredibly generous last time with all the extra goodies! Not complaining, but you so need to make some profit off this! Last time I ended up with the regular vol 4 book with inside sketch, the sword necklace, a card set, and the extra Cameron and Secret Agent Grandparents books. A great deal and it really let me enjoy some of the other non-DL books you have. I would suggest that some of your options might include purchasing bundles of your other non-DL books even. I see 4 others I don’t have on your website, if you did some sort of package where I could buy some existing books along with the DL pre-order I’d probably do that. Not sure how difficult it would be but if you let us chose the books we wanted (with different price distinctions for choosing from DL or non-DL books) that would seem ideal. The same for the figurines too, I’m interested in the figures, but I can’t afford/don’t necessarily want all four.
Giving you a more specific example of what I’d most like to consider, a preorder deal with the signed book (not the LE cover, just your sig/sketch on the inside cover) a choice of 1, 2, 3, or 4 of your non-DL books and a choice of 1, 2, or 3 of the figures. Depending on the package cost I’d potentially purchase quite a bit and I know it’d be worth it. But again, I know having a lot of package options can make things difficult for you too, so just throwing some ideas out there for you.
Is it just me or does she sound a little spiteful?
Thank you guys. This is really helpful!
LOL!
I wish I would have thought of that!
where’s kiwi?
I, for one, hope that Felicity can’t come to the “waking world”. It would be far too dangerous for her here.
Think about it: Felicity’s insatiable curiosity would make it nigh impossible to keep her cooped up inside. And sure, once she got outside, most people would assume she was just wearing a very clever costume. Alex and Dan might well encourage this, by taking her out to a Convention of some sort. Good thinking, but fundamentally flawed.
At a convention, the attention of every male present (and many females as well) would be instantly captured as Felicity walked by. After she passed, their eyes would certainly be drawn to her … um, tail. And then, they would notice the way her tail moves: the inimitable, sinuous movements of a cat’s tail that cannot be faked, no matter how clever the costume. Or perhaps, if they think to cover the tail, her ears will give her away … or her facial features, or her walk … something will spark the knowledge in hundreds, if not thousands, of avid fanboys (and girls) that they are in the presence of a real, live, CATGIRL.
There are several possible endings to this scenario, and none are particularly pretty. Felicity gets swarmed under and trampled by rabid fanpersons. Felicity panics in the face of the oncoming horde and attacks, drawing the wrath of the authorities. Felicity flees and returns to Dreamland, never to return to the waking world and harboring a subconscious resentment against any/all humans because of her frightening ordeal; her relationships with her friends suffer as a long term result. Alex comes to her defense and gets himself arrested; the sword necklace is confiscated and stored in an evidence locker, and it is years – if ever – before Alex can return to Dreamland. The list goes on …
Avoiding Cons would only delay the inevitable. Felicity would surely be spotted, for all the same reasons stated above; she would be photographed – probably with a cell-phone – and maybe videoed. The pictures/videos would be uploaded and go viral, and eventually a flash mob of catgirl-lovers would be ready and waiting to pounce at her next sighting.
So, yeah, while her separation from Nichole is certainly painful for Felicity, I don’t think a visit to the waking world is the answer. Have patience, Felicity, and have Faith. Alex won’t give up.
More sad, than spiteful. As in, she resents that it isn’t Nicole, knowing full well Alex has done the best he could. I think, in that situation, I’d expect anyone saying thank you in Felicity’s position to sound a bit dry/hollow at that moment as well. Think about it, after all you’ve been through, there’s a chance that you might see this old friend of yours again, your childhood buddy, only to have it snatched away from you like that.
Without wanting to get too personal, I lost some friends very close to me when I was around the same age as Felicity was when she last saw Nicole. I don’t even want to imagine how it would feel if I were to believe I’d genuinely see them again only to be told “No, sorry, that’s not going to be possible after all. But, they wrote you a letter…”
Anyway you cut it, that’s going to hurt like hell. In fact, that she even said thanks speaks volumes for how hard she’s trying to deal with this as well as possible. I’m sure many people/characters would simply run away crying their eyes out, simply wanting to be alone for a while. To say it’s a lot to take in is an understatement.
But if anyone can pull through an emotional blow like this one, it’s Felicity. 🙂
Alex is doing a great job in these last few panels too, he even LOOKS like royalty somehow (proper royalty, not the modern equivalent), but really, HUG HER ALREADY!!!!!!! O_O
And suddenly, a small, orange, striped kitten came into existence under a tree on the campus grounds
behind Felicity’s head?
Can’t wait!…. please do sketch covers again!
And charge a little more this time. The only “problem” i had with the sketch cover is that I didn’t want to read it and mess up the cover. How about 50-75 bucks for the sketch cover and you get a regular autographed edition to read too as a single package. I think that’s what most who joined in last time really want, a sketch cover edition and a regular one to read.
Yes, absolutely I will support another Kickstarter. 🙂
Nnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! D:
AHHH! This is a disaster! POOR FELICITY! WAHHHH! :C
Um… I am noticing some thing weird is up with the site now. It is 11:43 pm Eastern Standard time. The site is a black void and seems glitchy around the page. I don’t know if any one else is seeing some thing similar, but yeah.
Hey guys…
Page will be up in the morning. Re-rendering a glitch I found.
Strangely enough, all I can think of at the moment is
“What would happen if Kiwi crawled into the Bahkta Alikhi whatever thingy?”
She’s small enough….a potential loophole? I wonder if anyone there has thought of it…..
I thought at some point it has been said that only parchment and the bag itself can pass between worlds… I may be wrong though.
Helium Pheonix- +1 to your post!!! Glad I’m not the only one who’s thought of that. You’re just bold enough to voice it. 😉
Scott- if you do choose to do the limited art covers again, at least this time, you have more time before Christmas if you wanted to try and get them out by then (I believe last time you tossed this around, you started the Kickstarter in August and then were trying to get stuff out by Thanksgiving to ensure Christmas delivery).
However, for publishing volume’s sake (and time’s sake for that matter), I do agree with the person that suggested selling 5 and 6 as two separate books, but at the same time to generate more sales interest. Much as I’d hate to wait that long to have them in real print, at the same time I can always come back to the website and look (and click ads to help pay your bills). Me thinks this would net you more profit in the end game (since less money would be paid out for shipping, I think).
For those with the concerns on the sketch covers, is it possible to give those a jacket that the sketch is on (and that way the jacket and can be “set aside” when a person wants to read it, as opposed to shipping two books)?
Sorry, accidentally tabbed to “Post Comment” and posted when I hit enter.
To finish my previous post, or would it be cheaper just to send two books?
😆 Indeed. Live-catgirl+rabid fanboys=End of reality as we know it.. I guess even a bunch of burly security personnel couldn’t prevent a stampede.
Or:
A cute redhead with green eyes, and a charming demeanor walks through the campus gate with supple, cat-like movements, sparking an immediate infatuation in all male students (and some females too). She looks around her in wonderment, slight smiles flashing in her eyes, and curling the corners of her mouth.
Suddenly Nicole notices the girl, and, -like a ghost enveloping the elegant, slender figure walking towards her-, there is something else. No..It couldn’t ???
She doesn’t get the chance to find her composure as the redhead sprints towards her, jumping her with amazing agility&precision. (sparking all kinds of assumptions in Nicole’s co-students.. 😛 ) covering Nicole in hugs, causing several boys to burst into tears :LOL: Hilarity and chaos ensues.
I will definitely support Book 5 thru Kickstarter!
As for the sketched covers… Might I suggest raising the price on that bar. That is alot of work to do.
There’s my thoughts and $.02 worth mate!
Cheers!
That does make it a bit problematic to send letters: if that’s how it works, modern paper gets left behind. Heck, even the ink on the parchment gets left behind! They’ve been reading ink-less scratches!
I would reckon the ink on the parchment gets transported as well. 😀 I honestly can’t remember the page where it says this. Maybe someone can help me out….?
Def will buy vol 5 however it is produced. Agree though with comments above. Will be more difficult to do all the incentives you did last time. I love my personallised covers etc but a lot of work and I would assume you don’t have huge stores of all the cards and extras you included before (quite like some of the figures if you have some). One problem with Kickstarter is the stress we all went through watching & hoping that enough pledges would come in!
Dont worry Scott … we will be back later today or tomorrow … whenever the next one is done
No, we wish you had thought of that. Felicity’s suffered so much, we’re going to have to call her Tristicity!
Alex doesn’t look very concerned in the last panel.
What is Kickstarter?
“Dear Felicity, apparently the firewall on my brain won’t let me run the Dreamland client software. Trying to deal with tech support. Here, have some catnip on me.”
I’m sure Kiwi’s giving her a hug; she just hasn’t noticed.