September Update -- Almost there...
over 4 years ago – Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 08:31:03 PM

Hello everyone! 

Good news, we're almost ready to start fulfilling the Kickstarter!  Linda finished copy editing this past week and we've been implementing her edits.  We've had to revise a few passages, and we sent them back to Linda for review.  We should have those updated passages this week.

While we're waiting on her to get those revisions copy edited we're formatting the book for print and e-book.

Digital Rewards

Once the eBook is ready we will be delivering all digital rewards via-email.  We will send out messages via Kickstarter and post an update to notify you of delivery.

Digital reward delivery will most likely happen sometime early next week.

Here is a list by reward tier of what we'll be sending you via email:

• DIGITAL ARTWORK + ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: a digital poster of the covert art for A Prince's Errand in .jpeg format.
• E-BOOK + DIGITAL ARTWORK & All Other Reward Tiers: a digital poster of the covert art for A Prince's Errand in .jpeg format and A Prince's Errand eBook in .epub, .mobi, and pdf formats.

We'll also be providing download links via Dropbox for all three visions of the eBook and the poster.  Those links will remain active until December 1st, 2019.

Physical Rewards

There will be a gap between when you receive your digital rewards and your physical books. It takes roughly two weeks for us to receive copies from our printer. Once we have them it should only take a day to get them signed, put together the packages and get them ready for shipping.

We've received both the Character Cards and the Bookmarks earlier this month.  You can see how the cards turned out in the image below.  We decided to include a card for Iltar using an illustration we had commissioned for our very first publication seven years ago.

Add-on Items

There is still time if you wanted to include any of the add-ons we offered during the Kickstarter.  Unfortunately, we won't be utilizing Backerkit for this campaign, but if you want to include any of the following items (including additional physical copies) you can pay us the additional cost via PayPal.  Just send us a message with what items you would like to purchase.

Here is a list of current add-ons available:

• The Dragons' Legacy, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $3.
• The Elven Secret, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $3.
• The Mages' Agenda, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $3.
• The Last Barsionist, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1.
• Mysterious Assassin, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1.
• Return of the Elves, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1.
• A Forgotten Hero, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1.
• Guardians of Kalda, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1.
• Authors' Original Present Tense Editions DRM-free e-book Bundle  (All 3 novels and 5 short-stories together in all three formats: The Dragons' Legacy, The Elven Secret, The Mages' Agenda, The Last Barsionist, Mysterious Assassin, Return of the Elves, A Forgotten Hero, Guardians of Kalda) - pledge an additional $12.
• Signed 24"x36" poster of, "Kalda, the Civilized World" (a world map featured in The Mages' Agenda) - pledge an additional $10, plus $6 shipping.
• 11"x17" poster of Kerem Beyit's cover art for A Prince's Errand - pledge an additional $7, plus $6 shipping.
• Additional trade paperback edition of A Prince's Errand - pledge an additional $20, plus $6 shipping ($38 international shipping).*
• Additional hardcover edition of A Prince's Errand - pledge an additional $32, plus $6 shipping ($38 international shipping). *

Thank you all again for your support. We couldn't have done this project without you.

Sincerely,

Dan & Robert Zangari

August Updates
over 4 years ago – Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 01:33:14 PM

Hello backers!

We have some updates for August.  Things are rolling along and it looks like we'll be getting ready to fulfill in September.  Only two months behind schedule...

Artwork

We received the final versions of the interior artwork from Kerem and Suleyman this past week.  Everything looks pretty good and Robert has started compiling the pieces to make the individual chapter headings.  With roughly 90 chapter headings, the process will probably take a couple weeks.

We've also taken parts of the chapter heading frame and updated the character cards that we'll be shipping to those of you who pledged toward the physical tiers.

Here's an example of what we've done with the cards.

We think they look much better than the earlier versions.  You can see the originals in a previous project update.

Editing

Linda has been hard at work copy editing A Prince's Errand and she should be finished in two weeks.  She plans to be done no later than September 6th, as she needs to do the copy editing for Michael Sullivan's Age of Death-the Kickstarter campaign for that book is currently live.  Check it out here.

Add-ons

Since we weren't able to get things settled with Backerkit, we'll be delivery digital add-ons via the email you listed on the reward surveys.  Some of you haven't answered your surveys, so fill them out soon.

As for those of you wanting to purchase additional add-ons, send us a private message here on Kickstarter with all the items you wanted to include with your pledge and we'll arrange a payment method (most likely via PayPal).

Fulfillment Timeline

As we've mentioned before, it will take roughly two weeks to fulfill the project once we finalize Linda's edits and add the custom chapter headings.  Robert thinks he'll be done with the chapter headings by the time Linda is finished.

Once we review the final edits we'll format the book for print and then send it off to our printer.  While we wait to receive the physical books we'll be formatting and testing the eBook version.  You'll most likely receive all the digital rewards before we receive the physical books.

As always, thank you for your support.  We truly appreciate each of you and the contributions you've made to bringing this project to life.

Sincerely,

Dan & Robert Zangari

Interior Artwork, Editing Updates, and more
almost 5 years ago – Thu, Aug 01, 2019 at 10:08:34 PM

Hello Everyone!

We have some great news for you. The sketches of the interior artwork for the chapter headings arrived this week and we wanted to share them with you guys.

Interior Artwork

Kerem Beyit and his assistant have been hard at work this past month creating all the pieces and we're really excited with what they've done.  The scope of their project included creating a frame to house the chapter titles/numbers, character icons to denote the POV character for the chapter, and several symbols for each aspect of our magic system that can be inserted into the frame. They are making a total of 9 character icons and 23 magic symbols.  

We're really happy with all the detail that they put into the frame.  Go ahead and take a look for yourself:

Each of the chapter headings will include at least one icon to denote the PoV character, so readers can see at a glance who the chapter is about.  The twelve spheres on the sides will be mirrored for most of the chapters; the larger ones will house the various mage classes featured or mentioned while the smaller ones will host the symbols for the various types of magic used in the chapter.

For the Prologue Heading, Kaescis's Icon is featured, as he is the PoV character for the entire prologue.  Each of the symbols represent magic that Kaescis either uses or encounters during the Feast of Sorrows.  Listed below is a reference guide to which symbols are which:

Large Spheres:

• Top: Barsionist Symbol
• Middle: Wizard Symbol
• Bottom: Arpranist Symbol

Small Spheres:

• Top: Barsion Channel (Warding)
• Middle: Arcane Channel
• Bottom: Arpran Channel (Rejuvenation)

Here's a look at two of the character icons for our main characters, Iltar and Cornar:

According to Kerem's estimates, they should be finished by mid-August with the final versions.  Once the final artwork files are ready Robert will create each of the chapter headings.  He plans to compile each heading while Linda finishes her copy edits on the manuscript.

*Trivia question: How many dragons are in that frame?

Editing

Linda has been plowing through the manuscript and is due to have her edits finished sometime in August.  So far, she has done a wonderful job and we're pleased with what she's done to fine-tune the manuscript.  Her work has been worth the wait.

Projected Timeline

Since we are waiting on other parties we don't feel comfortable giving firm dates for the fulfillment and delivery of A Prince's Errand.  We apologize for the delay.  If everything is completed by the end of August we should be fulfilling your rewards in September.

Once the manuscript is finalized we can move onto typesetting and formatting for both print and e-book.  We have most of the work done for that, and it will be a simple procedure to insert the interior art and the updated manuscript (a couple days worth of work).  From there, we'll be printing proofs in both paperback and hardcover, as well as creating the test files for the e-book versions.  We estimate a two week period for this, as it will take a day or two to put the files together,  around a week and a half to receive the proofs from our printer, and another day or two to review the proofs.  Once the review is finished we'll be two weeks out from delivery.

Thank you all for your support and helping make this project come to life.

Sincerely,

Dan & Robert Zangari

June Updates
almost 5 years ago – Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 11:06:43 PM

Hello Everyone,

We have a few things we'd like to notify you of:

Editing

Linda should be finished with the copy editing for A Prince's Errand sometime during mid to late August.  Once she is finished we'll be reviewing her edits, which might take about a week, maybe less.

Illustrations

Kerem and his assistant have started working on the interior artwork and should be done sometime mid-August.  By mid-July we'll be receiving color roughs and giving the go-ahead for the final drafts.

Project Fulfillment

We're looking at fulfilling sometime in September, depending on Linda and Kerem, of course.  Once we have everything from them it should only take two weeks to prepare the files for printing and e-book production.

We will have the digital files ready for distribution about the time we send things off to the printer.  At this point we will probably email the digital files (digital poster and e-book) to you directly.  We are still trying to figure out what is wrong with Backerkit and why they haven't reviewed the setup.  Hopefully we can get that fixed, otherwise we will be fulfilling our digital rewards manually.

Add-ons

I believe we have all the add-ons recorded for those of you who added to your pledge during the Kickstarter.  Most of those add-ons were for our "Author's Original Present-Tense" bundle and additional print copies of A Prince's Errand.

For those of you who wanted to purchase add-ons but were unable to add additional funds to your pledges, please contact us directly via a private message on Kickstarter so we can take care of you.

As a refresher, here is a list of the add-on we made available via this Kickstarter:

• The Dragons' Legacy, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $3. 
• The Elven Secret, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $3. 
• The Mages' Agenda, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $3. 
• The Last Barsionist, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1. 
• Mysterious Assassin, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1. 
• Return of the Elves, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1. 
• A Forgotten Hero, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1. 
• Guardians of Kalda, DRM-free e-book (includes three formats: PDF, .epub, and .mobi) - pledge an additional $1. 
• Authors' Original Present Tense Editions DRM-free e-book Bundle  (All 3 novels and 5 short-stories together in all three formats: The Dragons' Legacy, The Elven Secret, The Mages' Agenda, The Last Barsionist, Mysterious Assassin, Return of the Elves, A Forgotten Hero, Guardians of Kalda) - pledge an additional $12. 
• Signed 24"x36" poster of, "Kalda, the Civilized World" (a world map featured in The Mages' Agenda) - pledge an additional $10, plus $6 shipping.
• 11"x17" poster of Kerem Beyit's cover art for A Prince's Errand - pledge an additional $7, plus $6 shipping.
• Additional trade paperback edition of A Prince's Errand - pledge an additional $20, plus $6 shipping ($38 international shipping).*
• Additional hardcover edition of A Prince's Errand - pledge an additional $32, plus $6 shipping ($38 international shipping). *

Thank you for your patience.  We appreciate your support.

Sincerely,

Dan & Robert Zangari

May Updates
almost 5 years ago – Tue, May 21, 2019 at 11:30:31 PM

Hello Everyone,

We have some updates for May:

Backerkit

For some reason the folks over at Backerkit have been slow to process our request, so our survey through them is still unavailable.  We've sent them an email, and hopefully they will follow up with us soon concerning the hold-up.  We'll be pushing the deadline for those surveys and the ability to purchase additional add-ons out to mid-July instead of June 1st.

The Pre-Order store, however, is up and running.  At least there's that...

Interior Illustrations

Kerem Beyit and his assistant have received the briefs for our interior illustrations and they will begin working on them soon.  It is a fairly hefty project load, but we're confident they'll be able to get the job done in a timely manner.

Change in Editor

We have had to change editors for our final run of line/copy editing and have hired Linda Branam to finish the editing for A Prince's Errand.  She's worked with fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan on many of his self-published works, and has worked as an editor for over 20 years.  We're looking at an estimated early to mid August turn-a-around on receiving the final edits from her.

Delayed Fulfillment

As it currently stands, we are estimating a late August to early September for fulfillment.  We don't have an exact date, but once we have the illustrations and the edits in hand we will have a turn-a-around of about 2 weeks before we have the books in hand and ready to ship to you.

Thank you for your support and being patient with us as we deal with the bumps on the road to fulfilling this Kickstarter.

Sincerely,

Dan & Robert Zangari