Y’all did it! Everyone filled out their survey on time, so the whole group will get a 25% off coupon that can be used on anything on my online store. The coupon will be available when I’m in the fulfilment stage of the campaign and will be good for one year from the date of distribution. Go check out www.thejsliving.com/shop to see what kind of goodies you’ll be able to buy!
In other news, let’s talk Short Story Polls (last one!) and Fulfillment Updates
Short Story Poll:
I just posted one more short story poll!
As we get closer to the fulfillment stage, it’s time for me to write the short story I owe you. Since I want to keep crafting the stories that you’re interested in hearing, I wanted to give everyone one last chance to participate in the short story poll. I’m so thankful to have found this community, and I want to continue earning your trust as I move forward on more and more projects.
The last poll for the short story closes in one week, or seven days,so make sure your voice is heard by voting. I can’t wait to see the results!
Fulfillment Updates
Everything, with the exception of the book, has been ordered!
And, if all goes well, I’ll be able to ship rewards out in early June. But, that depends on how soon I receive everything, and when I can get proof copies of the book.
Our sensitivity reader finished reading, and everything looks good. I’ll be putting in for the LCCN sometime this month, and assigning the ISBN right after. That said, obviously, the mid-May deadline is a no go, so the only local pick up I might be able to offer is Dreaming Dirty in Maryland, which will be in Baltimore, Maryland on June 13 at the Lord Baltimore Hotel and, if I’m lucky, Dreamcon, which will be in Houston Texas from July 10-12 at the George R. Brown Convention Center (though I still haven’t heard back from them).
But, as always, I’ll keep you updated.
Once again, I apologize for these delays, and thank you soooo much for your patience and understanding!
I can’t recall if I’ve mentioned this, but I have chronic fatigue, and it tends to mess with my publishing deadlines. I try my best to stay on track, but it doesn’t always work out. And, while a two month delay isn’t as bad as, say, two years, I still feel awful that it’s taking me this long. I’m going to try to do better in the future by doubling (or, maybe even tripling) the amount of time I think I need to complete a project so I’m not running behind. So, again, thank you!
One last reminder before I go: If you find yourself attending Dreaming Dirty in Maryland, you can choose Local Pickup as the shipping address and fill out J.S. Living’s Local Pickup Form to obtain your order without paying shipping fees. If I’m accepted to Dreamcon, I’ll add it in as an option. But I will be removing Imaginarium as I just don’t have faith that the book will be complete in time for you to pick it up there.
Remember, if you choose this option, you are responsible for picking up your order; and if you miss the event, you will have to contact me to arrange alternative shipping options. Only choose Local Pickup if you’ve already secured your ticket, and/or your designated helper’s ticket, to the event because pickup requires a proof of purchase in the form of the Backerkit Confirmation number found on your survey.
Just sending a quick update to let you know that y’all did great. Only five surveys remain to be filled out!
Don’t worry though, there’s still 24 days left to bump the store coupon from 15% to 25% off your order. But, don’t wait too late! Time has been moving fast and this is a group effort. All or nothing—much like the platform itself. 😂😂😂
Short Story Poll Reminder:
Don’t forget to vote on the short story poll! It closes soon, and I want to make sure I’m crafting the stories that you’re interested in hearing. I really love the idea of my projects being community based, but I can’t do that without you—my community!
The poll closes in four days,so make sure your voice is heard by voting. I can’t wait to see what y’all pick!
Fulfillment Updates
With only five surveys left, I can begin ordering the prints!
The book itself is still being edited, and that’s going well. I also hired a sensitivity reader to look over one of the stories to make sure I’m representing their community in a respectful manner. She didn’t find any issues on the first read through; but she’s going to look over it again and answer my specific questions. So, we’re good on that front.
Writing Inspo from when I visited Massanutten Resort
I’m working on some other logistical things that go into publishing that I won’t bore you with (unless you truly want to know), but I’m hopeful I can deliver by mid-May, just in time for some of you to pick your books up at Imaginarium Bookfest, which will be in Washington, DC from June 5-6 at the University of the District of Columbia Student Centeror Dreaming Dirty in Maryland, which will be in Baltimore, Maryland on June 13 at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. If I’m lucky, there may even be an opportunity for you to pick up your order at Dreamcon, which will be in Houston Texas from July 10-12 at the George R. Brown Convention Center, but I won’t know about that until the end of May.
A set up of my table at an event I attended in 2024.
Speaking of upcoming events, if you find yourself attending one of the bolded events, you can choose Local Pickup as the shipping address and fill out J.S. Living’s Local Pickup Form to obtain your order without paying shipping fees. If you choose this option, you are responsible for picking up your order, and if you miss the event, you will have to contact me to arrange alternative shipping options. Only choose this option if you’ve already secured your ticket, or your designated helper’s ticket, to the event as pickup requires a proof of purchase.
Just sending a quick update to let you know that all smoke tests were completed; and, as most of you have noticed, I've sent out surveys!
Thank y'all for completing the Smoke tests before 28 March. 🥰🥰🥰
I didn't see any questions, so that's a great sign that everything was self explanatory. I love to see that!
In addition, everyone who pledged to this campaign earned a coupon code for 15% off their order on my website.
Thank your smoke testers for making it happen! 😁😁😁
Okay.
Most of y’all or on these surveys like hawks, so I’m happy to say there are only about ten (10) surveys left to be filled out. If they're completed by 25 April, I'll bump the 15% off coupon up to 25% off your order on my website!
The coupon code, whether 15% or 25%, will be sent to everyone on 28 April so I have time to check that all surveys are complete and all questions are answered. (There were a few hiccups once I enabled shipping, but they should be fixed now.) Reach out to Backerkit support or send me an email at [email protected] if you come across any problems with your survey.
Now, as promised, here are what the finalized prints for all seven characters will look like:
Collage #1
Collage #2
I did two collages so you'd be able to see everything. Don’t they look great?
Seriously, though, you can't tell me Indigo and Rimi don't look amazing! So, if we're able to hit $1500 post campaign, I can add their art prints as options for purchase/ your free item.
So, what are you waiting for? Get to filling out those surveys!
I hope you’re happy, healthy, and wealthy. Today, I have another monthly update for you.
TLDR: Challenge coins have arrived and they look great! I have instructions on how they, and the pins, work. Still figuring out who to purchase the prints from, but I narrowed it down to two companies. I jumped the gun and went ahead and ordered the stickers, and they also came out great! Art for Rimi and Indigo is complete. Though there is no character print option for them since we didn’t hit the $1500 stretch goal, I will still include their pictures in the book. The book is in the editing stage with plans to complete all edits by early May and ship between late May and early July. I’m sending smoke tests in the next week and surveys shortly after the smoke tests are complete so I have an accurate count of everything that needs to be ordered. Challenge Coins and Stickers So, I received the challenge coins, and I’m pretty impressed! I posted two separate videos on Instagram to show what they looked like. The first video is me unboxing them, but it doesn’t show the glow-in-the-dark feature all that well. The second video shows what the glow-in-the-dark should look like. The secret to getting the coins to glow in the dark is to put them under direct light for 3-5 minutes before taking it into a dark space. The same rule is applicable to the vampire teeth pins. If you want to make a video of your coin or the pins, the effect doesn’t show up well if you try to record directly through Instagram, so you have to record on your phone first and then post. But, this is how the coins turned out:
Concept Picture
Actual Product
I was supposed to send y’all a poll about which five stickers you wanted; but, honestly, I didn’t have the patience to look at another poll and see minimal interaction (sorry!), so I made the executive decision to pick the sticker designs for you and, boy, am I happy with the result!
I posted a video on Instagram of the stickers, and I think y’all will be happy too. Instead of five stickers, everyone will receive fifteen. Here’s what the sticker sheet looks like:
Sticker Sheet Proof Copy
Indigo and Rimi Character Art Sneak Peek If you follow me on Instagram, you may have already seen a sneak peek of Rimi’s art, but I wanted to share the concept art for both her and Indigo. We didn’t hit the $1500 threshold for me to purchase character art prints, but their pictures will be included in the book. That said, if y’all end up adding $467 in add-ons as a collective, I can definitely put that option back on the table.
Indigo Concept Art
Blood Lies Book Blood Lies is in the editing stages. I hired an amazing editor named Megan to do line and copy edits. As long as we remain on schedule, the line edits should be complete by the end of March, beginning of April. After that is the round of copy editing, which should be complete by the first week of May. Sometime in between that, I have a section that needs to be sent to a sensitivity reader. I’ll be looking into finding someone who can do that job. After the editing and sensitivity reading is complete, I’ll apply for the LCCN. It will take a few weeks for the LCCN to be approved; but once it is, I can send off the copyright application and then officially publish the book!
After that, it’s just a matter of getting a proof copy and checking for any errors before ordering the book en masse.
Smoke Tests and Surveys Since I need an accurate count of rewards before I order the prints and the book, I will be sending out smoke tests next week. Once those are completed, I’ll send out the surveys. When surveys are sent, you should fill them out immediately! Filling out the surveys immediately allows me to order everything on time.
Overall, I’m so excited that we’re at the stage where the book is almost complete and I’m able to send out surveys. Overall, we’re looking at reward completion by early July at the latest (but, hopefully sooner). In the next post, I’ll be sharing the finalized art for all seven characters! And, as always, I’ll keep you apprised of what’s going on with the project up to completion. Have a great rest of your weekend!
I hope all is well and that you’re happy, healthy, and wealthy! I think it’s been a month since I last spoke to y’all, so I’m here with an update.
TLDR: Indigo, Islyn’s, and Rimi’s plots have been updated to match the character’s emotional journeys. They’ll be different from what was in the description. I’m still working on writing and editing, but the fully edited first draft is almost complete. The Challenge Coins have shipped and I should have them in hand soon. Sneak peek of Indigo’s and Rimi’s art coming soon. I still have to sample/order character prints, stickers, and proof copy of the book. Surveys will be sent after I receive and approve the proof copy of the book. Delivery of everything is pushed to May, unless things get worse. Then, we’re looking at July. As it states in the title of the update, there have been a few developments in terms of the plot of the short story collection.
As with all stories, my characters have a mind of their own; and, the story I planned on telling for Islyn, Indigo, and Rimi, are not the stories my characters want to tell—no matter how hard I try to stay on track with what’s in the description.
That said, I do think the new stories have more depth and will connect better emotionally while still maintaining some of the themes I listed. When the book is finished, I’ll update the description of the affected stories. I’m still writing, but I can see the end of the tunnel. If all goes well, I’ll have a fully edited first draft by the end of the month and will be able to send it off for editing after that, and then the other logistical things like copyright, LCCNs, ordering, etc.
Speaking of ordering, I have an update on that as well.
As I said in the previous update, I was able to order the Challenge Coins and they’re being shipped as I speak.
I also have a new character artwork for Indigo (which is exciting!) and my other artist is hard at work on Rimi’s art. When I have both pieces, I’ll share a sneak peek with you in an update. What I can say is that Indigo’s piece is perfection! It looks exactly like I imagined—especially the fore/background and the facial expression. I think y’all are going to love it!
I stil have to choose a printer for the character art. I did a test print at my usual place, and the colors came out all wrong, so it’s back to the drawing board.
The next thing I’m working on is getting sample stickers. Once I have samples I can show you, I’ll send out a poll in an update so y’all can vote on the five designs you want on the sticker sheet.
The only other thing I’ll have left to do after that will be to order a proof copy of the book. Once it’s finalized, I can begin packing and shipping.
On the topic of packing and shipping, I still have to send out surveys.
You can expect surveys to go out once I’m at the stage of ordering a proof copy of the books. So, for those who are concerned you haven’t received a survey yet, that’s why. I like to make sure I have all the items I’m packing and shipping ready to go before I send out surveys. This means the sticker poll and other things I mentioned above have to be taken care of first. This brings me to my unfortunate news.
It looks like delivery for this project will be delayed past the month of April.
I was really looking forward to getting Blood Lies out to y’all on time. But, these past few months have been a lot between holidays, my job, writing, and my personal challenges. Right now, we’re looking at a month’s delay, so your products will be sent in May. The goal is to ship everything before I attend Imaginarium Bookfest at the beginning of June.
However, in the worst case scenario where everything goes wrong, I’ll shoot for a July deadline to line up with another convention I planned on attending (although, I haven’t received confirmation that I’ve been selected yet).
This is not the news I wanted to leave you with, and here’s hoping that everything falls in place and I don’t have to push back anything; but, I promised to keep you informed of delays, so this is me doing that.
I sincerely apologize for the delays, but I will continue to update you on changes as they happen.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to drop them in the comments. Thanks!
