Greetings Backers!
Time for another full status report. This one is mostly about shipping posters.
TL:DR:
We’re about half way through shipping out the posters that are being...
3
0
1
Howard and Sandra Tayler
23 days ago
Status Report: Locking orders and starting shipping
Greetings Backers!
We have some important deadlines this week and it is time for a full status report.
TL:DR:
I’ll be locking orders and charging cards THIS FRIDAY. Please d...
4
0
1
Howard and Sandra Tayler
about 1 month ago
Get Your Illustrated Maxims Now!
Greetings Backers!
A quick update for you today!
TL;DR: Downloads of the illustrated maxims 1-48 are now available to anyone who has filled out their survey. Please fill out y...
6
0
8
Howard and Sandra Tayler
about 1 month ago
Status Report: Surveys & Progress
Greetings Backers!
This is your first full status report on deliverables and progress.
TL:DR: Surveys have gone out. Most of the deliverables are ready for print, we just nee...
6
0
4
Howard and Sandra Tayler
about 1 month ago
Surveys Going Out This Week!
Greetings!
We're going to start sending out surveys this week. Please be on the watch for yours! The sooner people answer their surveys, the sooner I'll be able to have good co...
6
0
0
Howard and Sandra Tayler
2 months ago
Status Report: List of Deliverables and Production Plans
Greetings Backers!
It is time for your first full status report on this project!
TL;DR: We’re still in the waiting period between close of funding and opening the pledge manage...
Time for another full status report. This one is mostly about shipping posters.
TL:DR:
We’re about half way through shipping out the posters that are being mailed in tubes. Then we’ll have a pause while we wait for the Maxims books to be delivered from the printer. Your next status report will be the week of May 27-31.
We’ve still got 62 backers who haven’t filled out their surveys. If you’ve lost your link you can click here to login and finish your survey. I can’t ship your items until I know where to mail them!
Shipping in progress!
We’ve shipped out 811 orders. Many of those were “digital only” or orders that became “digital only” because physical items were combined with Mandatory Failure. We’ve also shipped out orders that were posters only, posters + pocket reference, and posters + M70 fobs.
This week we’re working on orders that contained both rolled posters and books. We’ll be sending out 277 posters in tubes over the next week. The books and other items will ship out once we have books in hand.
The remaining 688 packages will start shipping as soon as we have books.
If you have questions about the status of your particular package, I’m happy to answer them, just email [email protected].
If your order contained only posters, pocket reference, and M70 fobs then it is already in the mail.
Deliverable Progress
Seventy Maxims Reprint – At the printer! I was told “at least six weeks” That suggests we’ll have books either the last week of May or the first week of June.
Pocket Reference – DONE! Shipping in progress.
Blue Poster (1 column) – DONE! Shipping of posters-in-tubes happening now.
Brown Poster (2 column) – DONE! Shipping of posters-in-tubes happening now.
Illustrated Maxims digital images – DONE! You can collect these now by logging in via your Backerkit survey link.
Seventy Maxims PDF – DONE! You can collect yours by logging in via your Backerkit survey link. Survey must be complete.
Poster PDFs – DONE! You can collect these now by logging in via your Backerkit survey link.
Details
The shipping management on this project was far more complex than originally anticipated. Hopefully I managed to prevent too much confusion for all of you. We had a manual process of changing orders to combine shipping with Mandatory Failure. We’ve also got orders that will split shipping because rolled posters have to ship in tubes while books have to ship in boxes. Fortunately Backerkit’s fulfillment system is completely up to the task. Everything is going smoothly.
We’re keeping the shipping crew pretty small for this portion of the fulfillment process. It is just me, my warehouse manager Aidan, and one additional worker who gets called in when we have more than 75 packages to go out that day. There are 277 more packages to ship (posters in tubes) before we hit a pause and have to wait for the books to arrive. I expect a couple of weeks wait time. We’ll use those to do general warehouse clean up and to prep the Random Merch bundles and the Random Art Bundles. We’ve got some nice surprises to go into both.
The first task of prepping for poster shipping is to put caps on one end of all of the tubes.
At first we were using a mallet to get them into place, but then we discovered that the caps are flexible enough that we can press them in using our thumbs. That sped up the process considerably. (The old tubes required a mallet.)
I didn’t get any pictures of the poster rolling because Aidan handled all of that on a day when I didn’t go to the warehouse at all. It is really lovely to be able to just assign work and have it happen when I’m not looking! (I spent my day working on Structuring Life to Support Creativity instead.)
Then we have a day where we put in packing slips, any other items, and put labels on the outside of the poster tubes.
A quirk of these particular labels and tubes is that if left to themselves, the labels will slowly disengage from the poster tubes. We’ve solved this problem with an application of packing tape along the edges of the labels. The packing tape has no problem sticking to the cardboard tubes.
Once everything is in place, we push caps into the ends of the tubes and they’re ready to be hauled to the post office for mailing. Hauled along with them are the regular store orders that Aidan packs at the regular shipping station.
We’ve already begun assembling boxes for the Random Merch bundles. We’ll get started on filling those as soon as we’ve got all the poster tubes into the mail.
Progress on all aspects of this project are nearing completion with the only question mark being exactly when the books will arrive. I am traveling during the first two weeks of June, so I’m REALLY hoping that we can get delivery of books before I take off. But if they do arrive while I’m gone, that is exactly what I’ve hired Aidan for, to manage my warehouse in my absence.
Thank you so much for backing our project! Your next update will be the week of May 27-31.
We have some important deadlines this week and it is time for a full status report.
TL:DR:
I’ll be locking orders and charging cards THIS FRIDAY. Please double check your order before then and make sure it is correct.
If you want your order combined and you have not gotten an email from me about that, please email [email protected] so I can get it handled before locking orders.
The pocket references are done. The posters are ordered. Seventy Maxims is at the printer. Your next full status report will be the week of May 6-10, but there may be small updates sooner than that.
Ready to Lock Orders
I’ll be locking orders and charging cards THIS FRIDAY, so now is a great time to double check your order and make sure everything is correct. If you wanted your Seventy Maxims order combined with a Mandatory Failure order and you have not gotten an email from me, please reach out to [email protected] by FRIDAY. I want to get all the combos managed before locking orders.
Shipping starts next week
I’ve ordered shipping supplies. The pocket references are in hand. I’ll probably have posters in hand by Friday or early next week. This means we can begin the process of shipping next week. We’ll start with Pocket references going by themselves followed by posters rolled in tubes. Then there will be a pause in shipping while we wait for books to arrive.
Deliverable Progress
Seventy Maxims Reprint – At the printer! I don’t yet have a completion schedule, but the last time I worked with this printer turnaround was about four weeks.
Pocket Reference – DONE! I have 2000 of these waiting to ship.
Blue Poster (1 column) – At the printer! I expect these to be done end of this week or early next week.
Brown Poster (2 column) – At the printer! I expect these to be done end of this week or early next week.
Illustrated Maxims digital images – DONE! You can collect these now by logging in via your Backerkit survey link.
Seventy Maxims PDF – DONE! This will be available once orders are locked and payments collected. Probably first thing next week.
Poster PDFs – DONE! These will be available once orders are locked and payments collected. Probably first thing next week.
Details
This project was designed to move quickly so that it could fit neatly with the shipping of Mandatory Failure and not cause any delays. I’m pleased to report we seem to be succeeding at that. For the most part the work was pretty straight forward.
I hope to do an update post with pictures of the posters and shipping process once we get started on that. Your next full status report will be the week of May 6-10.
Thank you so much for backing our project! Howard and Sandra Tayler
TL;DR: Downloads of the illustrated maxims 1-48 are now available to anyone who has filled out their survey. Please fill out yours! If you haven't received one, you can Click Here and login using the email address you pledged with. Your next full status report will be the week of April 15-19. Please fill out your survey! Thank you to everyone who has filled out their survey. I'm still waiting on 240 surveys. Getting accurate counts of how many things are ordered is very helpful in placing orders. I'm already confident how many books we'll need, but still need to calculate for posters folded, posters rolled, and the pocket reference.
Pre-orders available If you're getting this update because you're a follower and you'd like to become a backer, you can place a preorder now! https://70-maxims.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders If you have a friend who missed the project, they can still be part of it!
Seventy Maxims book sent to printer I uploaded files to our book printer yesterday. I also mailed them a copy of the existing book so that they can match the reprint to what we had before. I expect at least two weeks of back-and-forth plus paper ordering before the printer can give me a timeline on when books will be done.
Maxim / Mandatory Failure combos in progress I'm working my way through combining orders. I hope to have all of the combos I know about done by the end of this week. I'll also be sending out an email to people who requested combination but who don't seem to have Mandatory Failure order.
Illustrated Maxims now available! The images for Maxims 1-48 as they were created for calendars are available for download to any backer who has filled out their survey. The system should send you an email with a download link, but if it doesn't you can just use the survey link from your email. Because of file sizes I had to create four downloads. It was fun to revisit these images. (Yes Howard would like to finish illustrating all 70 maxims, but he can't even think about doing that until he delivers on the Mandatory Failure project. )
Those are the updates for now. Your next full status report will be the week of April 15-19. Thanks for backing our project! Howard and Sandra Tayler
This is your first full status report on deliverables and progress.
TL:DR: Surveys have gone out. Most of the deliverables are ready for print, we just need to get counts and then orders will be placed. Your next update will be the week of April 15-19.
Your survey has been sent. If you haven’t received it, please reach out to [email protected]. Details about the survey can be found in this Update. For orders that are being combined, I’ll get started on that process at the end of this week or the beginning of next week.
Two Poster Designs!
My apologies that the survey asks you to pick a poster type before providing you with images of your options. That is definitely my mistake. There are two designs for posters.
Blue Single Column 12x36 inches
Brown Two Column 16x20 inches
If you want to swap your poster pick after seeing these images, you can use the same survey link to go in and change your choices any time before I lock your order.
You will also be asked to decide whether you want your poster rolled or folded. Rolled posters are shipped in a tube and require some additional shipping expense. Folded posters will be creased and included in your package at no extra charge.
Please note that the survey does have a typo referring to oBlue poster. That is a typo, not a different poster design.
If anything about the survey is confusing, I’m happy to clarify! Email [email protected] and I’ll answer any questions you have about the survey.
Deliverables
Physical
Seventy Maxims print book: Typos are fixed, the book is ready for print!
Seventy Maxims Posters: Both poster designs are finalized and copy edited. I’ve gotten bids I like from the printer and I’ll submit and order as soon as we have a solid count from the surveys.
Pocket Reference: Fully designed and copy edited. This will go to print as soon as I have a solid count.
Digital
Seventy Maxims PDF: This is ready to go. I’ll start distribution next week after I’ve gotten a handle on combining orders.
Poster PDF: These are ready to go. I’ll get them distributed next week.
Illustrated Maxims digital images: I need to do some image editing to make sure that they’re all put into the same format. I should be able to get these distributed next week as well.
This project is deliberately designed to be quickly turned around and delivered. By the next update I should have expected delivery dates for the books, posters, and pocket reference.
Details about our process in creating the book, posters, and pocket reference are in the Backer’s Only section below. Your next update will be the week of April 15-19.
We're going to start sending out surveys this week. Please be on the watch for yours! The sooner people answer their surveys, the sooner I'll be able to have good counts and submit orders to the printer.
Since we're offering the option to combine items from this order with a pledge made for the Mandatory Failure project, I have some special information and instructions.
1. If you don’t want your order combined (or you don't have a Mandatory Failure order), then you’re done as soon as you’ve filled out your survey. Your card will be charged in the next few weeks and your order will ship as soon as all the items in it are ready.
2. If you got the free pocket reference for pledging the first 48 hours it should already be listed in your order.
3. Each pledge level is going to calculate shipping as if you are getting a separate package. Cards will not be charged until April to give me time to manually update shipping and combine orders. Because of the unique add-on and shipping options (posters rolled, posters folded, combination options), setting up shipping costs was very complex. If you think that you're being overcharged for shipping, email [email protected] and I will double check your order. But please be patient it may take me a week to respond.
4. Combining orders will be handled manually, if you request combination of your orders I will send you and email with details specific to your order.
Later this week I'll post a full status report with updates and progress pictures on the book reprint and design work for both posters and the pocket reference.
Thank you so much for backing our project! Howard and Sandra Tayler
It is time for your first full status report on this project!
TL;DR: We’re still in the waiting period between close of funding and opening the pledge manager. We expect to send out surveys during the last week of March, which is when you’ll be able to select your specific items and see how much your shipping cost will be. We will have detailed instructions in our next update. The next full status report for this project will be the week of March 25-29 which will bring it into alignment with the next status report for Mandatory Failure.
This project is a bit unique for us because it functions in many ways as an add-on to the Mandatory Failure project. One of the next big steps is to create the survey and set up the pledge manager. Both of those tasks are very high on Sandra’s list of things to do. We hope to send out surveys by the end of March. Once they are ready, we’ll have specific instructions for how to either combine your Seventy Maxims order with your Mandatory Failure order or to keep them shipping separately.
For our own project tracking purposes (and to keep us from multiple spreadsheet craziness) We’ve added the 70 Maxims deliverables to our Mandatory Failure Deliverable spreadsheet.
All of the deliverables on the Seventy Maxims portion of the mega-project should go very quickly and they won’t slow down the fulfillment of Mandatory Failure since we designed them to mostly impact Sandra’s workload rather than Howard’s.
Deliverable Progress
Seventy Maxims Reprint – To complete this, Sandra needs to update the InDesign file and do an additional copy edit. Once those are done and once funds are deposited this book can go to print
Pocket Reference – Sandra needs to create an Indesign Layout file, run a copy edit, do a test print and then these can be printed.
Poster 1 (1 column) – We’re in the test print stage for this poster. A final copy edit and this will be ready for final printing as soon as we have a quantity.
Poster 2 (2 column) – We’re in the test print stage for this poster. A final copy edit and this will be ready for final printing as soon as we have a quantity.
Illustrated Maxims digital images – Sandra needs to edit the images so they are consistently sized and named. Then they’ll be ready for distribution once the surveys are complete.
Details
Welcome to the "details" section where I tell you the story of our progress rather than the bare bones status reports.
For the week since this project closed, we’ve mostly been resting and getting our bearings. Running crowdfunding is stressful even when we’re trying to keep the project very simple and low key. There are always unexpected turns of events. For example, during our funding run Backerkit enabled their “overtime mode” where as long as people keep pledging the project doesn’t close. Our project was extended for an hour and a half beyond its official close time because people kept showing up for us. Howard commemorated the experience with a comic
Today we picked up test prints of the posters and bonus story pages. Test prints are often the first moment a project feels real because it is finally tangible.
It is also when we discover errors that weren’t apparent in digital. As one person pointed out in our Discord server, one of these posters has “the” in its title, the other doesn’t. We’ll make that consistent before either poster goes to print.
Other things that happened this week: Howard did a school visit with a great group of creative writing students at a local high school. He loved doing it, but preparing and recovering both took more time than we wanted. Sandra helped launch the annual fundraiser for Locus Magazine. She’s been contracted by them to help with logistics on their campaign. So our week of “down time” was really a week of “focused effort on other projects” instead. The good news is that we’ve finally given ourselves a month of Apple TV and so we’re spending the next several evenings experiencing Ted Lasso for the first time. (And, yes we’ve also gone through both Monarch and Foundation while we’re subscribed.)
Next week is looking calm by comparison and I’m hoping we can finalize some designs so we’re ready to send things off to print as soon as we have funds in hand.
That's our updates for now. Your next update will be the week of March 25-29. Thank you so much for backing our project!
Thank you so much for your amazing support! We're excited to get to reprint this book, make the posters, and create the pocket reference. We're also super surprised at the results of the birthday gift add-on. We thought "maybe we'll be able to go out for a nice dinner" but you all have funded something much larger. We'll stick to the promise of that money just being something for Howard. We just need to pause and think carefully about what that should be.
We're going to take the next week to breathe and take care of some back end stuff. We'll be back by the end of next week with a full status report and plan of action including information on combining orders and timelines.
Thank you all so much! (Now we're off to go do birthday things.) Howard and Sandra
We’re in the final day of funding for this project, so now—RIGHT NOW—is an excellent time to review your pledge and make sure you’re getting everything you want.
We hit and surpassed our hoped for number of 1234 backers, so all backers are getting the illustrated images for Maxims 1-48.
We’ve finalized the first poster design, and the test prints look amazing.
It measures 16”x20”, and the current design is ideal for posting straight onto the wall, or matting and framing. The border may be obscured by mass-market plastic poster frames, however.
The second poster is formatted much differently, and we haven’t run test-prints yet. Here’s the current design:
This will be a 12”x36” print, which is kind of an odd size, but it serves the single-column presentation quite well.
We still need to do some final proofing on both of these (Howard just noticed that “back up” should be “backup” in the text for Maxim 41) so don’t panic if you see errors. In fact, feel free to email us!
Oh, and don’t forget: you can choose the “Digital Only” version of the poster, which will let you print it locally, saving you a bunch of money on shipping.
Fun fact: Howard’s birthday makes its once-every-four-years appearance this Thursday, February 29th. Sandra scheduled this project right across that day, and despite Howard’s assurances that he’s fine having “handle the wrap-up of a project” on his special day, Sandra feels bad about the calendar collision.
You can help assuage Sandra’s guilt, if you’re so inclined, by helping fund a birthday gift. Sandra has created a “Howard’s Birthday Gift” add-on, and 100% of the proceeds from that line item will get spent on fun birthday stuff rather than businessy, bottom-line things. And by way of accountability, we’ll tell you what he got!
Howard insists this isn’t necessary, but he also very pointedly did not say “don’t do this.”
Thank you for your support as we run toward the finish line on this project
Thank you all SO MUCH for the generous gift-giving. Our current plan (subject to refinement) is for the business to chip in a few hundred dollars, and then to acquire an Intel I7 Surface Pro 9 with a 1TB SSD and 16GB of RAM.
This would replace my Surface Pro 7 (128GB SSD, 8GB RAM). The small drive size slows me down because it regularly has to pull files from the cloud, and the low RAM slows me down when I'm working with big files. And since it doesn't really have the "oomph" to run Photoshop, I can't even DO some of my critical tasks on it.
I realize that "work faster" won't seem like it fulfils the requirements of "fun birthday gift," but hear me out: the Surface Pro is part of my zero gravity recliner workstation, which is a critical piece of my Long Covid compensation kit. Every time I have to get out of that chair I end up tired and frustrated. Upgrading the Surface Pro will let me stay in the zone longer, and the beefier machine will let me run Photoshop and Clip Studio simultaneously, which will be a huge workflow improvement.
I love making things, and something that lets me sit comfortably for longer while making MORE things is pretty much the best birthday gift I can imagine.
Anyway, that's the plan.
We've got a new stretch goal! If we reach 1234 backers before funding closes, each of you will get a set of 48 images that can be used as desktop backgrounds. These images were originally created by Howard for calendars in the years 2012-2015 and they feature maxims 1-48.
In order to reach this goal, we’re going to need your help to spread the word. Poke your Schlock Reading friends and make sure they’ve got their copy of Seventy Maxims and/or the pocket reference. Even pledging at the “Just Watching” level will get them these images.
Thank you again for supporting our project, we’re excited to be getting this book back into print!
Howard and Sandra Tayler
A quick FAQ about this goal:
Why 1234 backers? It is a fun number. We like fun numbers.
Will you finish illustrating the maxims so we can have all 70? That is unfortunately outside the scope of this project. We can't put more work on Howard's plate and that is a big chunk of work. So for now you can get the 48 that already exist. Doing more would have to be a separate project.
