Today, you should have recieved the remaining print-on-demand key messages, and I can happily say that StoryGuider is a closed project!
The proofs for the last books came in a bit early and checked out, so I was able to finish distribution.
Thank you all for supporting StoryGuider and helping make this series what it is today with art by a whole group of talented artists and having it in print! It is a great feeling knowing these books are out there and already being enjoyed (a couple folks have shared how they've enjoyed them with their families already). I'm happy to share this project with you all, and I hope you enjoy these stories with your family, classroom, library, and/or friends!
COMPLETED:
Oct – campaign funds released from Backerkit
Oct – send contracts for funded art to artists
Oct – draft the Tome Traveller Trilogy (part of the Heroes series)
Oct → Nov – collect first round of art from early artist kick-offs (from itchio and ko-fi prefunds)
Nov – artists working on Heroes series
Nov/Dec – finish writing the new Dragon series adventures
Nov → Jan – reformat the Heroes series
Jan – Heroes series art due
Jan – order Heroes series proofs (round 1)
Jan – artists working on Friends series
Feb – Friends series art due
Feb – Heroes series proofs arrive, review, update (round 1)
Jan – Mar – reformat the Friends series
Jan – Apr – artists working on Dragon series
Mar – Dragon series art due
Mar – send backer surveys
Apr – update + order Friends series proofs (round 1)
Apr – update + order Heroes series proofs (round 1.5)
Apr – set up digial pages for Friends and Heroes series
Apr – fulfill digital print-and-play for Friends and Heroes series
May – Friends series proofs review, update, reorder (round 2)
May – Heroes series proofs review, update, reorder (round 2)
June – reformat the Dragon series and make coloring book
June – order Dragons series and coloring book proofs (round 1)
June – set up digial pages for Dragons series
June – fulfill digital print-and-play for Dragon series
July – Friends series proofs arrive, review, update (round 2)
July – Heroes series proofs arrive, review, update (round 2)
July – Dragon series proofs arrive, review, update (round 1)
July – start distribution of Friends and Dragons POD keys
July – order Heroes series proofs (round 3)
Aug – finish POD release of small books
Aug – Heroes series proofs arrive, review, update (round 3)
Tea’s on, confetti’s settled—what should we conjure next? Bedazzled hardbacks, bonus art by Leigh & Suzie, or bunny oracle cards? Tap your pick and set the next surprise free. ✨📚
CC&C is officially back from the editor and sitting in my hands again.
Well. Digitally in my hands. You know what I mean.
This is one of those milestones that somehow feels both huge and like it should come with a dramatic trumpet fanfare.
That means Ana, Moonstone & Mischief, the rabbits, the magical oddities, and all the other inhabitants of Foxglove Crossing have survived another round of professional scrutiny. 😂
I’m working through the edits and getting everything incorporated into the final manuscript. Once I finish that pass, the book heads to the proofreader for its last typo-hunting adventure.
My goal is to have the proofreading underway and the physical proof copies ordered by the end of September.
After proofreading is complete, the digital edition can head your way fairly quickly. For those of you getting physical books, I’ll be ordering proof copies first so I can check the actual printed books before I approve the final run. Because discovering something wonky after a pile of books has been printed is not an adventure I need. 😆
So, at the moment, our production path looks like this:
Editor ✅ → My edit pass → Proofreader → Digital books → Physical proofs → Final physical books
There is something especially satisfying about reaching this point because this is where the story starts feeling less like the giant pile of words living in my head and more like an actual book that you are going to get to read.
And I am really excited for you to read this one.
Thank you, as always, for helping make this ridiculous, cozy little corner of the universe real. Every time we hit another production milestone, I get to remember that there are actual people waiting on the other side of this process.
Which is both wonderful and only slightly terrifying. 😆
Hello - would it be possible to get an update, please?
It's understandable for production timelines to change, but the lack of communication is disheartening.
Any information would be greatly appreciated. 😊
Crystals, Carrots & Cosmic Clues went to my editor today (8/18! 🎉
It is out of my hands and in someone else's, which is exactly where it belongs and also a bit like handing over your car keys and watching them drive away.
Here's what got handed over: 67,239 words. 52 chapters. One burned-out therapist, one shop that made its own decision about who should own it, one ghost-fish familiar, and a rabbit with a pocket watch and a deadline who has been the most demanding coworker I've ever had.
The last few months were the unglamorous part — the pass where you fix the week that happens out of order, and the scene that referenced a conversation that hadn't happened yet, and the four separate places where a mug was in two rooms at once. Nobody will ever notice that work, which is the point of it.
Bunzila signed off. He returned the manuscript with no notes, which from him is a standing ovation.
What happens next
My editor has it until roughly mid-September. Then I do the revision pass, it goes to the proofreader, and after that comes formatting and final files. My current estimate for rewards reaching you is November-December.
What you need to do right now: nothing. No survey yet, no address needed, no action. When the BackerKit survey goes out, I'll send a separate update so it doesn't get lost. That's the one where I'll ask for your shipping address and personalization.
Thank you for being patient with a pace that is ridiculous and personal in roughly equal measure. You backed a book that didn't exist yet, and it exists now, and someone qualified is currently telling me what's wrong with it. That's a good day.
Hey Travis,
We were supposed to get our surveys before August 1st and then the books were supposed to come out then. Has the time line changed? What should we expect to see? I would really love an update on what is happening, I am sure I am not the only one confused and concerned by the lack of an update. Hope you are doing well!
Thank you so much for your wait on the graphic novel. The script needed massive revisions again, as it became too much about a side character and had to bring it back to BB & Bunny. Learning so much about storytelling and creating authentically through creating in all this while juggling layoffs and personal setbacks in the last year.
I’ll be updating later this month with a new timeline. Aiming for a completion by Winter 2026.
Again, thank you thank you for your understanding and patience. Your initial support and this comics project means so soooo much to me!
This will be a bit of a quick update since I did send an update last week regarding POD keys, BUT I wanted to still keep up with the regular monthly update schedule!
Last week, I distributed the POD keys for The Big Book of Dragons, The Big Book Friends, and the coloring books with The Big Book of Heroes still on hold due to needing another proof revision. I'm predicting the Big Book of Heroes will arrive in mid August, and I should be able to distribute the keys shortly after!
I'm also working on getting all the small books uploaded and set up on DTRPG, so once I have a full set uploaded, I'll distribute the POD keys to folks that got individual trilogies. Those will go out starting in July to August, probably leaning towards August as soon as I get back from GenCon.
