Missed the campaign? No worries! The pre-order store is now open. You can grab Weird, Whimsy & Wonder and all the add-ons that were available during the campaign right here.
Seasonās greetings, everyone!
It is with immense pleasure that I can finally say this: the PDF beta of Weird, Whimsy & Wonder is out now, and you can access it today!
From the very start of the campaign, I promised you that the PDF would be available before Christmas, and I made a very conscious effort over the past two months, working pretty much nonstop, to make that happen.
Thereās a quote I once heard on the Design Doc podcast that stuck with me: thereās the first 90% of the projectā¦ and then the last 90%.
Getting something across the finish line takes a surprising amount of extra effort. But weāre almost thereāand yes, itās still before Christmas. Does that count? Do I get a pass? š¬
The book is complete in terms of content and fully usable today. So here we go.
Why a Beta?
While the text is complete, the layout is in place, and the book is absolutely playable and readable right now, there are still a few things that need an extra layer of polish.
Whatās still missing:
The table of contents
A couple of illustrations
The back cover
Bookmarks and hyperlinks
What still needs fixing:
Likely a few thousand embarrassing typos and copy-paste gremlins
Minor color tweaks and layout adjustments
At this point, Iām simply too close to the text to reliably catch those mistakes on my own. Thatās why Iām giving you access to the PDF now: so you can enjoy it, use it, andāif you spot anything oddāhelp me squash those bugs. This also lets us test the itch.io distribution flow early, which is a big plus (more on that below).
Whatās Next?
Iāll be slowing down a bit between Christmas and New Yearās (not stoppingājust breathing). Itās been an intense stretch. During that time, Iāll:
Finish the remaining illustrations
Collect your typo and layout feedback
Give the whole book a final revision pass
Then Iāll prepare and ship version 1.0 of the PDF, fully polished. Once thatās done, Iāll hand it off to Critical Kit, who will begin the printing process. I want to make sure they receive the cleanest, most refined version possibleāno permanent mistakes in ink, please.
While the book moves through production (which is largely out of my hands), Iāll shift my focus to the tables-only PDF, the interactive PDF and the web app versions.
How Do I Access the PDF?
Youāll find an exclusive link below to claim the PDF on itch.io. A couple of important notes:
You need to be logged into your itch.io account
You must use the same email address you used to back the project
(itch.io uses your email to verify accessāonce thatās done, the PDF is yours.)
This has been a wild, deeply rewarding journey. Iām incredibly proud of what weāve made together, and endlessly grateful for your support, enthusiasm, and patienceānot just for this project, but for my ongoing art and design journey as a whole.
I wish you all happy holidays. Enjoy this little Christmas gift (for those who celebrate). Hug your loved ones, stay cozy, and take care of yourselves.
If you spot any issues, feel free to reach out here, on Discord, or by emailāIāll be fixing things as quickly as I can.
