BackerKit surveys coming soon!
over 2 years ago – Fri, Nov 04, 2022 at 04:37:28 AM

Hi everyone! Just wanted to let you know that the BackerKit surveys are almost ready to go out. I've finally finished setting up all the shipping and VAT profiles (and talking to the fulfilment companies) so all that remains is for the BackerKit staff to complete their setup review to make sure that everything works as well as I think it does.

Once you receive your BackerKit survey you'll be able to:

• manage your rewards and add-ons
• add your shipping details
• add any additional items (should you wish).

And as mentioned previously, there'll also be an option for 'local pickup' for those who'd like to collect their rewards in person (either from Cheltenham or at a convention) to save on shipping.

Thanks for your patience, folks. Looking forward to getting these out to you!

Jon

p.s. please enjoy this idiotic photo of yours truly from MCM London this weekend. 

A pre-MCM update
over 2 years ago – Mon, Oct 24, 2022 at 05:08:16 PM

Hi everyone, hope all is well. I just wanted to share a quick update to let you know where I am on fulfilment, BackerKit surveys etc.

Also, I'll be at MCM London this weekend (28-30 October) in the artist alley! If any of you are in attendance and would like to stop by to say hello, please do! I'll have a sample copy of the Book of Life, Book of Death and coin on display if you'd like a peek at what to expect once shipping begins!

So, what have I been up to since the last update?

Shipping costs

Shipping costs (sorted into brackets by weight and country) are now mostly calculated, along with VAT for shipments to the EU. Just finalising a few things for UK and US backers.

Additionally, there's also going to be an option for local pick-up for UK-based backers who are likely to see me either in my hometown or at a convention and would like to save on shipping.

The commemorative coin

The coins will be arriving on Thursday 27 October from the manufacturer, which is very exciting. The coins are the last piece of the puzzle we've been waiting on, so things should move forward pretty quickly once these are in hand.

BackerKit surveys

Once the coins have arrived I'll finalise the BackerKit surveys and begin testing. Once I'm sure these are all sorted (which shouldn't take too long) I'll be sending them your way, through which you'll be able to finalised your delivery details and pay for shipping.

The next step

Once the BackerKit surveys are complete, I'll be moving stock to the various fulfilment teams so that they can begin packaging up rewards and sending them out. Some stock will need to be loaded onto a pallet and shipped across to the US, while the rest will be manhandled into a van (by yours truly) and driven across country to our friendly neighbourhood warehouse.

All in all, while it's been a lot of work, with a LOT of moving parts, we're nearing the finish line :) I look forward to actually moving books, rather than numbers, very soon!

Thanks again for your patience, folks, and I look forward to seeing you at MCM this weekend.

All the best

Jon

They're here!
over 2 years ago – Sun, Oct 09, 2022 at 07:17:20 AM

Hey folks. Guess what?

Yes, that's right: the Book of Life and the Book of Death have arrived! And they look amazing!

Seriously... they're actually really good. I shouldn't be surprised, I suppose, given how hard the printer and I worked to get them ready - the weeks of effort to get the colour profiles right - but seeing them in reality is still a little humbling.

The only thing we're waiting on now are the coins, which should be finished on the 12th October - at which point they'll be winging their way to me! And given that they're much smaller compared to the books, they should hopefully arrive quickly.

Right now, I'm working hard to weigh and measure all the items, and calculate accurate shipping costs for each. Once these are sorted and all the items are in my possession, I'll open up the BackerKit surveys, at which point you'll be able to manage your rewards and arrange shipment.

Thanks again for the patience, folks. Very excited about getting these out to your all. Thanks again for making this possible.

Jon

Proof copies!
over 2 years ago – Thu, Sep 15, 2022 at 01:05:28 AM

Hi everyone, sorry to bombard you with another update. Just wanted to share some photos of the unbound proof copies of the Book of Life and Book of Death, which arrived today.

The quality on these is AMAZING. I'll be going over them with a fine tooth comb tomorrow but I couldn't be happier with how they've turned out. Once these are approved, it's full steam ahead on production.

Exciting times. Thanks for making this possible.

Jon

A quick update!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Sep 13, 2022 at 01:10:53 PM

Hi everyone, hope all is well. Just wanted to share a quick update about how things are going with the Book of Life/Book of Death.

Print files

Since my last update saying that everything had gone to print, I actually hit a bit of a hurdle in that the printers flagged issues in some of the older artwork that needed addressing. For those who are familiar with colour profiles, this basically meant that some comic pages from the earlier volumes exceeded the ink limit. This has not been an issue in past print runs, due in part to digital printing and different colour profiles, but as we're printing litho this time around it was imperative that we get these issues fixed before pressing 'print' to ensure that the books look their best.

Technical talk aside, the reality of this was several weeks' hard work spent manually adjusting artwork in Photoshop and Illustrator. This wouldn't have been an issue in itself normally but as we're dealing with 800+ pages, you can imagine how much work this was.

The good news, however, is that this was all resolved a couple of weeks ago and production is now under way!

Print/block proofs

The physical print proofs are arriving tomorrow, as it happens - which is exciting! Once these are signed off it's full steam ahead to completing the full print run, which should be another few weeks away.

The coin!

The physical sample of the Afterlife Inc. commemorative coin arrived a couple of weeks ago and we've begun full production! Please check out the photo below for evidence and a size comparison to a British two pence coin. The quality is amazing and I'm looking forward to receiving the full batch.

BackerKit and managing your rewards/info

I'm holding off on opening up the BackerKit surveys (through which you'll be able to manage your pledges, shipping and personal details) until all items have arrived from their respective printers. That way, once I can 100% confirm the final weights of everything I'll be able to accurately calculate shipping options for the various regions.

Thanks again for all your patience and support. I look forward to sharing another update soon!

All the best

Jon