PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
23 days ago

Project Update: Progress Update

IN SHORT

  • Unfortunately the severe health issues mentioned in our last update persist and June has ended up too optimistic a release date.

  • However we will be going to the layout stage soon, and from there it's a quick step to printing, then fulfillment. 

    The bottleneck has been at the creative stage, and the creative is very close to completion.

  • Our goal is to ship as soon as we possibly can: July if we encounter no further delay, August if we do. There is no reality where this ships any later - there's just too little left to complete!

  • In May we fulfilled our other book funded in 2024. As stated in the last update, we finish what we start; Beating Hearts & Battle-Axes will also be fulfilled.


IN DETAIL

Hi there, Oliver the publisher here.

There's been good progress made behind the scenes, but it's all of the kind that's hard to show visually (without just spoiling all the art). However we don't want to let too much time pass without anything being said.

As someone who himself has backed a delayed project, I fully appreciate it may be annoying to see new crowdfunds come and go while still waiting on a previous one to be fulfilled.

Unfortunately pausing other publications wouldn't free up resources to produce this anthology faster because other than myself there isn't much overlap between BH&BA people and our other projects.

I can tell you that the editor and artist for the anthology are fully dedicated to this book. This is the editor's only project, for anybody, and I actually took Trevor off this year's magazine issues so he can focus entirely on finishing his BH&BA illustrations. Meanwhile, the authors have largely finished their work, with just two stories still needing final edits. Then it's straight to layout, which for this is much more straightforward than the magazine; then printing; then fulfillment.

Your patience is sincerely appreciated. I myself want this book out in the world asap. We gain nothing by its delay and risk losing your good will, which means a great deal to us. 

Sincerely,
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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
4 months ago

Project Update: Progress Update, Art Preview, and More.

IN SHORT

  • Multiple individuals involved with the project have suffered long-term, serious issues involving either their health or the health of loved ones, causing significant delays as well as great difficulty in predicting when the delays would end.

    This in turn made it very difficult to know when or how exactly to update you about the book as anything we said one week could become incorrect by the next.

    We are now comfortable aiming for a release date of "Some time in May, June if we absolutely have to", while planning to provide updates with greater frequency, and a more exact release date as that time approaches.

    We are grateful for your patience, and would like to assure you that we finish our projects - our past two years of magazine crowdfunds have both been fulfilled (2023, 2024), and our other book we crowdfunded in 2024 is on track for release in late April. 

  • Scroll down to see a preview of one of the six original illustrations inside the book.

  • The crowdfund exclusive bookmarks have come in! Scroll down for pictures.

  • Below you can read some words by Jay Wolf about the process of editing this anthology.

IN DETAIL

Hi there!

We wouldn't blame anybody for asking "What's happening with Beating Hearts & Battle-Axes?". We've asked that a few times ourselves.

It's not my place to violate the privacy of our editor or contributors by giving details of the serious medical issues I alluded to above, so I'll just to have to ask you to have faith I'm not kidding when I say I read specific words in the emails making me aware of these issues which you would never want to hear a doctor say to you.

As publisher I had to decide whether or not to replace contributors, perhaps even take over as editor, and in the end I decided to stick with our team. They are the people whose names were on the tin when you chose to back this project, and they're people I strongly believe in, who I want to stand by in their trying time.

I invoked our other projects above because I do understand that some of you have perhaps backed crowdfunding projects in the past which may have vanished for long periods or failed entirely to materialize, and want to reassure you this is not that. However this last stretch goes precisely, it will result in you getting your book.

Thankfully there are some fun items I can share with you now! First up, the bookmarks are in:

SIDE ONE. Also pictured: our two-sided bookmark for Double-Edge Sword & Sorcery.


SIDE TWO.


Secondly, we'd like to share with you one of the six original illustrations Trevor Ngwenya is creating for the anthology:

Trevor's illustration for "A Day in Irighaya; or, The Invention of Love" by Bryn Hammond.


Sometimes when fleeing angry people, you lose your pants! It happens to the best of us.

And now some behind-the-scenes insights as written by our editor:

ON EDITING THE ANTHOLOGY, by JAY WOLF

Hello everyone!

This summer/autumn/early winter has been a busy one fraught with peril—some real, some hypothetical, some yet lingering over our collective heads. Editing the stories for this anthology has been one of the things keeping me going through it all, and I am glad to say we are onto revisions.

As a developmental editor, one of my great joys is in finding the core of the story—the reason that story must exist, the thread which binds it all together. Most of the time, I’m not the final boss; I’m simply tasked with fishing out that core of the story and helping the author thread it through more thoroughly (say that five times fast!) before it moves on to its venue and final editors. It’s quite fulfilling to be the executive editor in this scenario.

For an anthology like this one, I read each story independently as it arrives: the discovery phase. As they accumulate, I check the stories against each other—not for comparisons’ sake but for theme, topicality, tone, flavor, and other unquantifiable elements. How do each of these stories go together? How do they fit the theme and the trappings of the subgenres I’m actively blending for this project? In this instance, our stories must balance the elements of two subgenres with specific expectations while also breaking new ground and being delightful reads.

For my methodology and purposes, I need to know the voice of each one, to unify them, aiming for a set of stories in conversation with each other. As I read, I make notes for all the things editors make notes for, but I also write an edit letter alongside it that sets out a more cohesive vision. This is, in part, because I know with my unique brain maladies that I’m more likely to cover everything I have in mind for a particular story if there are two different places to put my ideas and revisions forward and I’m less likely to lose them.

The biggest surprise for me in editing these stories was how lovely and varied the romances in them—and how little, overall, I had to do in initial edits for that romance to shine through. A significant reason “romantasy,” a buzzy catchword, stays in the zeitgeist is at least in part because it’s a powerful tool for character depth. Here we have two subgenres with a lot of codified expectations and tropes, both with limitless grounds for subversion and growth, and six stories that I think exemplify both Sword & Sorcery and Romantic Fantasy, with gritty adventures and unique relationships at their collective cores. 

FINALLY

Hello, publisher speaking again.

So yes, in short we are aiming for May with the possibility of June as the release month.

We'll update more frequently and narrow that down to a more specific date as the release grows closer.

We are grateful for your patience, and look forward to bringing you sunnier news in our next update!

Sincerely,


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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
10 months ago

Project Update: Progress Report and...a New Book with TWO Covers???

IN SHORT


IN DETAIL

Hello hello!

There isn't much to show, visually, that wouldn't just be extremely spoiler-heavy screenshots of Microsoft Word files, but as it has been a while since the crowdfund ended we felt it was time for an update.

Our editor is working hard in tandem with our authors to polish their manuscripts until they shine brighter than Valyrian steel, and so far things are looking good for us shipping to backers before the Winter of 2024 is over.

Huzzah!

Meanwhile...


Two novellas, bound in one book.

Mongol-inspired Sword & Sorcery.

A caravan striking out under an open desert sky...

...and a claustrophobic, pressure-cooker siege.


We feel strongly that novellas are a fantastic length for Sword & Sorcery, giving authors room to further develop character & setting, while still short enough to be in sync with the genre's thirst for quick-paced adventure!

So why not give you two, each written by one of the most talented S&S authors working today?

Our crowdfund launches at 8am EST tomorrow (Thurs, Sept 19th). You can learn more, and sign up to be alerted the moment things kick off, by clicking these schmancy Internet words.



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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
12 months ago

Project Update: 151% Funded! (What Comes Next?)

IN SHORT

  • WE FUNDED! THANK YOU SO MUCH! That's three crowdfunds for three, y'all.

  • Right now backers are being charged for their pledges.

  • Backers will be charged for shipping approx. four weeks before fulfillment. This is also likely when surveys will be sent out to collect necessary information such as mailing addresses, though the surveys may come sooner.

  • Our current goal for fulfillment is "Winter 2024", so expect to be charged for shipping in late September at the earliest.

  • All backers are cordially invited to join our Discord server through this link: https://discord.gg/qSrsxqVhwZ

  • Though we'll be much quieter for a little while, if you'd like more regular updates and other fun info, we can be followed on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

IN DETAIL

Hey hey, we're book publishers now! Thank you so much for making that happen.

We have made fantastic progress on the writing for the anthology, with drafts of all six stories already being edited by Jay. This is also a blessedly simpler project compared to the magazine, though no less exciting, and that gives me hope for how fast we'll be able to get the books to y'all.

I'd like to repeat that The New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord, a great online hang-out I'd love to see your digital faces in, is a fun spot to chat about the magazine our publications, Sword & Sorcery in general, and otherwise connect with your fellow readers, writers, artists, and more.

It's also a breeding ground for goofs like, as you may have seen in our NESS 2024 crowdfund, how Meatball Subs Are The Only Real Sandwich, and the only time I get to eat one is when we've finished funding another publication.

Can we make meatball subs the official sandwich of Sword & Sorcery? Perhaps with enough battle-axe emojis...
I was stunned to be served a sandwich instead of a sub, but there is something fitting about being given a different format for a book crowdfund than a magazine crowdfund reward.

Alright, that's all from me for now. Please make sure to read through IN SHORT for the practical details of what's happening with charging backers for pledges, charging for shipping, our rough schedule and more.

Keep your swords battle-axes sharp, and your sorcery numinous!

Sincerely,
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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
about 1 year ago

Project Update: Sextuple Art UNLOCKED. Onward to cheaper shipping!


Huzzah! This book just got a whole lot better, with lovely art for every tale. Thanks everybody, I really enjoy art direction and now I'll get to more of it! Until the book comes out, you can see more samples of Trevor aka KUBO's art on his Instagram.

Now we press onward to our International Shipping Discount! With the rest of the week to go, we just might make it.

Please do feel free to share the campaign with anybody you think might be interested, either individuals in your life or online communities that might dig a spicy, romantic Sword & Sorcery cocktail of an anthology - now with plenty of art!

Meanwhile, did you see we have a better picture of the Battle-Axe Rainbow Metal Pin add-on?
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