Since the Book Drive is nearly over, I thought that I’d do a quick update.

So far we’ve received $2445 $2600 in pre-orders, which is 49% 52% of our crazy $5000 goal. Now, before you lament that this hasn’t been a success, let me put something in perspective for you: the book drive that we did for our last book After Halloween netted $200 in pre-orders.

The actual cost of printing our books was closer to $6000 when it is all said and done. ($5k was an early estimate)

While it would have been amazing to get the full $5000, we’re thrilled to get your support to cover half of it at least.

But, if you’d like to make it even more successful, you can still pre-order right now!

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The printer just sent me these photos of the first book off of the presses, that I wanted to share with you. (Click for larger)

Looks pretty great, huh? Don’t forget that this book is quite a bit larger than our last ones, at 11×9 inches.

I’m so excited to get mine!

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Now, if you’ve been thinking about supporting us on the Book Drive, I hope that these photos might entice some of you to lend us a hand.

• Can we push this thing to 60%?!! Only 8% to go!!!
• Every pre-order really helps. It’s true.
• If you’ve been reading the comic at all, we made this book for you.
• Be our Patron, Patriot!

- Daniel and Dawna Davis

I’d really like to thank everyone for making it a grand success. Sure, we didn’t conquer the world, but we did go really, really far, and took Steam Crow to some new uncharted waters.

In the spirit of transparency, I’m sharing some business numbers that I don’t usually like to make public. Just remember that the cost of something is not only the physical product, but also the hundreds and hundreds of hours of development.

Here are the Book Drive stats: (As of 2-24-10)

• We made 78% 82% of our $5000 goal. ($4153)
• Most orders came in the last 6 weeks of the drive.
• Nobody took us up on the $5000 deal, though several folks really thought about it.
• We had 67 orders with an average of $59.21 per transaction (WOW! This is amazing.)
• Actual printing cost: $6100.00 (Next time, the drive will reflect our actual costs.)

Why 82% is not a failure:

It’s bone simple: we’re only $2100 $1947 away from this book being profitable. (Instead of $6100 away…)

That my friends, is a grand thing. We thank you for this.

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What I’ve learned this time (with our 4th book)

Printing in China is cheaper, but there are many assorted fees to get the books here. Heck, it cost me $90 to simply pay for my book. (Wire fees.)

It’s going to be a lot of work to get the orders shipped out. But it’s a priority. I want you to be happy. It will happen soon.

Customs is a little crazy. Customs Agent probably made my life easier.

Planning ahead is not enough. I need to be working on the next book right now, so I have more time to proof. (Thanks Sara!)

Allowing you to choose your support level was epic good. We’re going to do that again. 13 levels was probably a bit much though.

Doing the Book Drive during Xmas was not so helpful. Order were dead in December, but perked back up in January.

Next time, we’re going whole hog. I think that we can raise 100% of the next book. This 82% proved that it’s really achievable.

Some people thought that this Book Drive was a donation drive. I don’t want your donation, I just want your order. I hope that we never have to ask for a handout… it’s not how we roll.

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Last chance.

Yep, I’ve left you one last chance to also be part of this Book Drive, and catch one of the deals before they’re gone.

Order now, before I take down the store and kill the deals.

I’ll update this story to reflect your support.

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Thanks again, you folks rule.

- Daniel

Watch it!

We need your helping getting our Second Monster Commute book published. We’ve updated Monster Commute continuously 5 days a week, since September 2008, and it’s time to collect it into a second book.

It’s going to cost $7000.00 to print, ship and get it through customs, and if you help us out we can certainly make it. (We almost raised $5000 on our first Book Drive last year. Turns out, $5000 wasn’t quite enough.)

We’re not asking for handouts Patriot, we’re asking for preorder support!

Here’s the brand new cover, featuring a CrowBot Trooper in blue exhaust and a flashing red siren:
There are lots of different levels at which you can pre-order for every budget; from the $5 PDF, to the $5000 Slave for a Day.

Go check it out!

Every order of a physical book will come with a limited edition 5×7 print of Chadworth, my first gouache watercolor painting:

Each will be hand signed and numbered, and is a symbol of your support. The print won’t be available anywhere else.

You can even get the original 11×17 painting!

Drive Details

We’re improving the Drive this year, so that you don’t have to wait so long for your swag.

The Drive will last from November 1st through January 31st. We hope to have the books in hand right as the Drive ends, so we can send you the books right away. Last time, we drug it out way too long. This year, it’s going to be shorter, and sweeter.

Bonus

If you make your order by November 31st, we’ll add your name to the list of Patriot Patrons in the back of the book. Printed. Forever. How’s that for cool!

We’ll be keeping you updated with this Book Drive Success Tracker:

So, please consider being our Patron again, and pre-order a Monster Commute package right away. Help us keep this experiment successful!

- Daniel & Dawna Davis

PS, help us spread the word.

You don’t need our permission. If you’re a blogger or a Bookfacer or a webcomic news person, just post it. You can use any of the graphics provided here. (Use a hot link for the success tracker image, and it’ll stay updated!)