The Book is at the Printers
over 3 years ago – Fri, Jan 22, 2021 at 05:30:03 PM

Happy New Year to all of you! Welcome to 2021. I hope it's treating you well and that you all had a great holiday season. It's been a bit since my last update because a lot of the little steps forward on the project didn't seem to warrant a whole email update blast, so I've saved up all those little steps to give you something with a bit more substance.

The Book is Being Printed

About a week ago, I received the book mockups and the color proofs. I did a thorough pass of each one, checking the color, double-checking how the flaps line up.

The printer has done a fantastic job! I approved everything, and so the project has moved to the next step, which is printing and Testing. Yes, Testing with a capital T. Since this is a book that's aimed primarily at children, certain ASTM International standards must be met for it to be sold in the U.S. (I'll admit this is something I wasn't aware of, but it's a step I'm happy to add.)

The book will be tested and will conform to the U.S. safety standards of ASTM F963-17, which adds a little bit of time to our timeline, but not so significant that the book is likely to be delayed.

Schedule

Currently I should be getting a quality control copy of the book that I'll need to approve at the end of January or the beginning of February. Following that, there will be a few weeks for the Chinese New Year holiday followed by a few weeks of the Testing I mentioned above. I'll give final approval sometime in March with the expectation that--if all goes as planned--the books will arrive to me sometime in April. So far, it's looking like we'll be able to get the books to you all sometime in May, which is when we originally promised them during the campaign. If anything changes, I will let you know.

Stickers

In the meantime, I've ordered and received the awesome stretch goal stickers!

Please note that since the books aren't being safety tested with the stickers attached, I will be sending the stickers unattached to the books. What you do with them is up to you, but please be aware that if you stick one to your book, the book will no longer completely conform to the U.S. safety standards of ASTM F963-17. Just a heads up!

Original Sketches

For those of you who pledged for original sketches, I've been hard at work putting them together so that they'll be able to travel safely with the books when they arrive.

So, there's not a lot left to do except wait patiently and work through the Quality Assurance and Approvals process on the book itself. When they arrive, we'll put them all together and start getting them out to you all, hopefully sometime in May.

Thank You

As always, I'm incredibly grateful to all of you for your support. This has been a fun project and a great learning experience. I can't wait for you to be able to hold the book in your hands and be able to read it with friends and loved ones. I hope it will continue to put smiles on your faces and help make the world just a bit better because of that. 

Digital Downloads + Production Update
over 3 years ago – Mon, Dec 07, 2020 at 08:17:26 PM

Happy December! Here's an update on Monsters Don't Wear Underpants.

Digital Rewards

First off, the digital rewards are ready to go. That's the 4-page printable coloring book PDF and the ebook of Monsters Don't Wear Underpants, which has both mobi and epub files. (Epub has a bit more functionality with how the flaps work, while mobi basically uses a page turn to simulate opening a flap.)

An email will come from BackerKit which will prompt you to log in to your BackerKit account. That's where you will find the links to download these two goodies.

Gold Stickers

The gold stickers have been ordered and are currently in the mail to me. We'll add this to the package containing your book(s) when the printed/finished books arrive. Speaking of which...

Production Update

I've officially begun the process of working with the printer and have submitted what I hope are finished files to them on Friday. We're still in the early parts of this process. They'll take the files and create a mockup of the final book so they can correctly set up all the moving parts to produce the flaps, etc, exactly how we want them to work.

So, the book is moving along, and I'll send further updates as things continue to progress.

Thank You

You might get tired of me thanking you for your help in making this book a reality, but please know that I do appreciate the part you've played in this. You are awesome. I hope your December is a happy one!

Backer Surveys and More!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Nov 19, 2020 at 11:02:07 PM

Hello! It’s time for another update on Monsters Don’t Wear Underpants and where everything stands right now.

BackerKit

I’m using BackerKit to help me track fulfillment, so your backer surveys will come from them starting this afternoon. Follow the instructions in their email to take the survey, which will include these items:

• For every book you ordered, choose if you want it signed or not.
• Choose if you would like to add-on additional books.
• Verify contact information.

Of the contact info, your email is important right now because once your order is confirmed, I can send you the digital goodies: ebook copies of Monsters Don’t Wear Underpants and the 4-page printable coloring book PDF.

A couple of notes:

• You will have a chance to update your address prior to my sending the physical books to you sometime in the first half of next year.
• If you decide to add on additional copies of the book above and beyond your initial Kickstarter pledge, each of those will come with the gold sticker.
• I’ll start sending out digital rewards two weeks from today to all those who finish their surveys.

Monsterunderpants.com Pre-Order Store

I’ve opened up pre-orders for the book, so if you or your friends missed out on the Kickstarter, you can still pre-order the book and get copies when that first printing comes in sometime (hopefully) in the first half of next year.

For those who weren't able to back the campaign but would like the digital version of the book, those will be available in about two weeks from the usual ebook distributors.

Monsterunderpants.com is the place to go for the Pre-Order Store, in case you would like to share it with friends and family!

Printing the Books

I received the funds from Kickstarter this week, which means I can work with the printer in earnest in getting these books ready to be printed. There’s just some layout that needs to be done for the flaps, and then we’ll go into manufacturing mode.

For the sake of transparency, currently the Kickstarter funds are being used for:

• 1) paying Kickstarter and BackerKit fees
• 2) Shipping
• 3) Ordering gold stickers for the books pledged for through Kickstarter
• 4) Printing the books themselves. Since we raised more than the initial needed funds, I’m likely to spend much of the rest of it on increasing the print run so we have extra books to get out there into the world.

A few local bookstores have already asked for some copies. If you have contacts with stores or distributors who might like to carry the book, please let me know!

In the News

Recently my literary agent Ben and I were interviewed by Herb Scribner of the Deseret News. This was particularly fun because I often read Herb's pieces in the Entertainment section, so it was an absolute treat to get to talk to him about Monsters Don't Wear Underpants. It's a fun interview that I hope you'll enjoy.

Thank You

At this time of year, when we reflect a little more upon the things we're thankful for, I just want to let you know that I'm thankful for each of you. You've helped make a dream of mine come true, that of having one of my stories out in the world, and I'm incredibly grateful for that. Thank you for your support.

The Campaign is Over, So What's Next?
over 3 years ago – Sat, Oct 31, 2020 at 06:50:33 PM

Thank you!

The campaign is officially over, and it exceeded all my expectations! I wanted to thank you again for your support. It's made this October unforgettable.

So what's next?

Over the next few days, I'll be working with BackerKit to get all of the information ported over to them, which will then allow me to send over the digital stretch goals as soon as that's all set up. The end-of-campaign surveys will also be sent through BackerKit, so keep an eye open for when those come in.

After that, I'll be working with the printer to get the book files in the right format to make all the flaps work. Then the book will be officially submitted for print.

When the books arrive, I'll package them up with their gold stickers (and the original art, for those who pledged for those tiers) and work with my fulfillment group to get things in the mail to you as soon as we can. I've tentatively put that date at May 2021, but as I have more information from the printer, I'll be able to keep you updated on that.

Monsterunderpants.com

We will be ordering extra copies with the hope that we'll be able to get them into a few bookstores, so in the future, pay attention to monsterunderpants.com for more information on that. It will eventually lead to a BackerKit store where I'll still take pre-orders for the book up until they arrive to be shipped.

Thank you again for making the book possible. You are all amazing. Please enjoy the rest of this wonderful month of October.

Stretch Goals Achieved and a Surprise!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Oct 29, 2020 at 10:37:58 PM

600 Backers and 5000 Video Views

Wow! We did it! We've reached the stretch goals of 600 backer and 5000 video views, and we did it with still a little bit of time left before the campaign ends in 27 hours. Each physical copy of the book will now come with an exclusive Kickstarter-only gold medallion sticker for you to place on it, if you wish. After the campaign is over, I'll also be sending out a 4-page PDF of coloring pages based on some of the pages from the book. Thank you so much for your support of the campaign!

A Surprise

I'm honored and humbled by the trust you've put in me to get this book printed and delivered to you. I'm overwhelmed by the support, and I'm still in awe of how fast we funded and how quickly the original sketches sold out. It's been an incredible month! October is already an amazing time of year, and all of you have made this October unforgettable for me.

As I've contemplated ways to say thank you, I've hit upon something I hope you'll like. I've spent the last several weeks learning how to turn Monsters Don't Wear Underpants into an ebook. I thought it would be simple, but it turns out that picture books are a bit different to format as ebooks than a standard text-based book, but I think I've finally got it figured out.

So, after the campaign is over, I'll send each backer the ebook version of Monsters Don't Wear Underpants as a thank you gift. I hope it will tide you over while we wait for the physical books to get printed and shipped out.

Livestream

Today at 12:00 pm MDT, I'll be on Brandon Sanderson's YouTube livestream showing off art and just generally discussing interesting things with Brandon and Adam. Since it's so close to Halloween, I'll also be coming in costume.

In the News

Monsters Don't Wear Underpants is the featured project on Kickstarter's publishing page today. Thank you to Kickstarter for this wonderful surprise!

More Cool Fan Art

This one comes from my friend Kristy, who I've known for quite some time in college, in writing groups, and as one of the amazing editors we work with at Dragonsteel. The package arrived in the mail yesterday, and my 8 year old immediately confiscated it from me and spent the rest of the evening making sure this Little Blue had a place on the couch during movie night as well as a place to sleep last night. Thanks, Kristy!

Thank You

With 27 hours left to go, I just want to say thank you again, not just for supporting the campaign, but for watching the video and laughing at the pictures and the jokes. Thank you for making the world a little bit better because you're in it. You're all awesome.