Hello people that joined in on the amazing month of mothership.
SHIPPING IS COMPLETE!!!
The last orders were handed over to the Post Office today. I cannot describe how much of a weight off my shoulders it is. 450 packages are a lot!
Hopefully, for those that haven’t had their goodies arrive yet, you should receive a tracking notification to your email within the next 48hrs or so. If you haven’t received your package, nor gotten any notifications by mid next week, shoot me an email or message here.
I’ve tried to parse out this whole experience into something legible, but I honestly think I’m still too close to the fire to realise how cold it was outside. That wash of an analogy just shows how jumbled my brain is at the moment. Though admittedly, it’s almost midday and I’ve only just had my first coffee.
This has been a wild experience, from the number of people that jumped on board, to all the extra little bonuses and add-ons and cross-collaborations that sprang forth from one small book. To the incredibly large effort that went into printing, cutting, laminating, folding, packaging, and everything else required to get things out the door. Special thanks to my amazing wife for all the late-night help!
The last step in this endeavour is grabbing the updated files on DTRPG. Backerkit currently has v1 of Syndicate Wastrels, with v1.3 the most current version. Everyone should have received an email with a DTRPG link for Syndicate Wastrels to add to their accounts. If you can’t find yours, please email/message me. Make sure to check your spam/promo folders first.
That’s about it! I hope your packages arrive safety, both mine and from all the other creators. Thanks for being here and all your support, I hope the books bring you some use in your world building. Thanks Ranne for being an awesome cross-collaboration partner and sounding board. Thanks again to my amazingly beautiful wife. And thanks to the incredibly supportive Mosh community at large.
Cheers,
Dan
P.S. Those who grabbed some the larger rewards, or a heap of extras, may notice that I smothered the packaging in tape to hold it together on its long international journey. Please be careful cutting it open!
Honestly, I hated doing it. I’ve run many projects over the years, and sent out many packages, and this is the first time round where I’ve felt overly wasteful. Not on purpose of course. There just seemed to be plastic and waste coming off every extra add-on and item.
To appease my conscious, and try and even out for the waste, I went in search of a charity I could donate to that dealt with plastic waste or carbon emissions etc. After a few hours though, I couldn’t find any that I trusted would use the money correctly (please let me know if you know of any) and decided to just donate to the Fred Hollows Foundation instead.
Hey folks! It's been a minute, well a month actually, so it seemed a good time for a shipping update.
Currently we are sitting at 267/432 shipped.
I was hoping to be sending out the last packages now... but we still have a little ways to go. The first two weeks went off without a hitch (the bulk sent then) the last two weeks have been significantly slower. Easter, the printer running out of ink (for the extra goodies), the wife starting a new job, sickness and a hospital visit (everyone is fine now!), and a horde of other things slowed progress down.
Hopefully though, we're a bit back on track and I'll have the rest of the orders out by mid-may.
Awesomely, those that have received their goodies are reporting that things are arriving in one piece and i haven't mixed up any orders! If something is wrong, in any way, shoot me an email [email protected]
Also, sorry if i miss your comments on here, I'm still learning how Backerkit's community section works.
Stay well. Cheers, - Dan.
P.S I forgot to add - I'll be sending out DTRPG codes for the digital files soon. V1.1 will be available from there only.
Some awesome news. The new books have arrived, they look smashing (no scuffs), and I've begun shipping out the first batch of goodies! Specifically, those to my fellow Aussies.
Over the next week or so I'll be sending out batches of 20-30 (a day-ish), with the hope that all are in the post within the next two weeks.
Addresses have been locked, so if something changes on your end before you get the goods, message me as quickly as possible in the hopes that we can fix it.
The new books stacked on my spare bed
The first test shipment all packed
That's it for now. I'll shoot out a final update or two once shipping is complete. Cheers, - Dan.
Hey folks, I hope everyone is kicking along well. I bring news, and unfortunately not the good kind.
TLDR: The books had an error. I’m getting a reprint that will delay things a few weeks.
The Bad.
When the books arrived the other day, the final main piece in the project puzzle, I quickly chucked everything together for a cute photo and sent out an update. I was excited. Things seemed ready to go for shipping and closing this bad boy off.
Sadly, that’s not the case just yet.
Later that day, as I started to plan out packaging things, I took a closer look at the books and disappointment started to build. There were a few minor issues on a couple of books. Bent corners and scuffed covers. Nothing crazy for an order of 700 books. But then I noticed the spines.
The Ugly.
On nearly every book, at the top of the spine, there is a scuff mark. Its minor and probably exacerbated by the fact that it’s a black cover revealing a white scuff. But its on nearly every book. I initially ummmed and ahhhhed over how to handle this. Am I overthinking it? Is it only obvious with all the books together? Is it only obvious to me as I deal with books constantly? Will anyone care? Will the printer care?
Eventually I decided it wasn’t good enough. Folks that back crowdfunding projects honestly deserve the best quality product over nearly anyone else. You put your money out there with a chance of getting nothing in return. You don’t deserve scuffed edges. Even minor ones.
So, I reached out to the printer, and after some back and forth, they offered to take the books back and give me a credit for a reprint. A credit in particular, as I’ve decided I no longer want (or really trust) the stable-bound version that I first received and will be swapping to perfect bound print. The printers in general have been really helpful with the whole thing.
The scuffs in image form.
The Good.
The books are still coming! What I did see, in terms of layout and art etc, looked really good. And all things considered this is a fairly good outcome. You’ll get the best products possible, just a few weeks later than planned.
In general, I’m hoping I’ll have the reprint and shipping underway before the end of March. The next update will be when the first lot of packages are out the door.
The books have arrived which means shipping can begin!
It took a good 20 minutes to load the table up. And i was a little worried about the weight. I also needed to grab a step ladder out to properly get all the stuff in, and I'm not exactly short haha!
What Now?
With everything here and looking good, it means this weekend I'll be Locking Addresses. If you need to update/confirm anything, now is the time.
For my own sanity (and the sake of the post office staff - I live semi-rural), I'll be shipping out about 50 packages a day. So the last ones should hopefully be going out in around 10 days. They are shipping from Australia, so it will take a week or two to arrive, especially those that live in more remote locations.
I'll post another update once everything has shipped. Though feel free to reach out to me if you have any concerns/issues that arise.
Thanks for being here folks, stay well. Cheers, - Dan.
