Kickstarter Preview! Or: Yes, Yet Another Kickstarter Project, But Awesomer!

Sick Again...

Sorry I haven't posted in a while--I haven't been sick in years, so I guess this year I'm making up for lost time. The week before last I had a stomach flu that lasted for 6 days. Not fun. But I'm better now!

Where are all these books you're supposed to be making? 

That's a good question. The answer is: in various stages of completion. One is in the submission process, and another is almost ready to enter the fray, and others are written,  laid out, or otherwise soon to go into the queue. but the process is slow, rejections are many, and even when one of my books does get accepted, the publishing and editorial process is slow as molasses. Which means: it's going to be a while, at least a couple of years before my first book sees print.

But I Don't Want to Wait! I Want a Book Right Now! (Or Soonish)

So I have a Kickstarter project in the works. For those not "in the know" Kickstarter is a crowdfunding resource designed to raise money for projects by artists, filmmakers and self-publishers. I hope to be one of those self-publishers. In my case I see Kickstarter as a platform for people to pre-order a book by me that has yet to be printed.

Ella And the Pirates And More

A while back I did a handmade wordless book called "Ella and the Pirates" that I used a self-promotional piece to send to editors and art directors. And when I say, "hand made" I mean made by hand, as in hand sewn, hand trimmed, hand bound in every sense of the word. I got a few favorable responses from the folks I sent them to, and many friends and Facebook followers also showed interest in owning a copy. But since it would be too time consuming to make books for everyone by hand, I've decided to self-publish "Ella" with a handful of other short pieces in a book called "Mostly Wordless."

It will be a 48 page 8x8 hardbound and will look something like this:

But that's not all! (See, I'm already sounding like a used car salesman) I'll also be putting together an 80 page 6x9 softcover that will be jam packed with my best dry brush work, both studies from nature and bits and pieces from many of the illustrations I've done over the years. It will appropriately be called, "The Dry Brush Book" and will look something like this:

  I guarantee that if you like my work, you'll love these books! 

And I'm going to make sure that the print quality is excellent and the price is reasonable. I've already gotten some good quotes from digital printers--these will be short run and digitally printed unless I raise enough money to go off-set. If we go digital, I can have these printed and mailed out just weeks after I've raised my goal. If off-set, it will take a little longer, but they will be better quality books.

These projects are already completed

Both books are already laid out, typeset, ( in some cases, hand lettered) and ready to go, so the only thing left is to print them.  I've also got some cool t-shirts already color separated and ready to be made, a new poster ready to be printed, and lots of other cool stuff already in the can.

You Still Might Have to Wait a Little While

I've a lot of work ahead of me before I throw my hat in, which means: it might be a while before I start making a nuisance of myself. But not too long. Not two years, for sure. More like a month or two.  I don't want to start doing this until I have an absolutely solid foolproof plan, and know my goal is achievable.

But this is all still in the future. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up for what's to come.

So stay tuned!