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!
