Hi everyone!

Thanks for your patience over the past couple of weeks while I waited for funds to arrive. 

Because this is such a simple campaign with so few rewards, there's very little need for complex surveys. To that end, today I've sent out download keys for Blood In The Margins to you all via itch.io. You should find an email in your inbox containing that link. (If you can't see it, check your spam folder!) If you also picked up The Wonderful Discoverie of Witches you'll find a download link to that game, too.

I'll be sending the print files off tomorrow after some final checks. I anticipate printing taking two weeks, but I'll let you know for sure once the order is in. Once I have the physical copies in hand I'll be able to weigh them and figure out how much postage is going to cost, and then I'll send out links to the pledge manager so you can finalise your orders. At that time you'll also have the opportunity to say "hey, I actually use a different email for itch, can you re-send that digital code to me?"

Thanks again for your support. I hope you enjoy the game!

-Chris

Good morning!

As of about 5 minutes ago, Blood In The Margins plus all the extras (The Interview chapbook, The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches, and the bookplate) have been sent to print. They all have different estimated delivery dates, but all being well they should all be with me by the 17th of May at the latest.

Once I've received everything I'll be able to weigh things and figure out postage costs, and then we can get moving on getting the physical editions into your hands. I'm still undecided on whether I'll be using BackerKit's Pledge Manager to collect shipping or whether I'll handle it through Loot The Room, as I've done in the past.

The upside of using BackerKit is that it's all on the one platform, so you won't need to make an account elsewhere. The downside is that it's a weirdly convuluted process whereby you enter your card details and pick add-ons etc. but don't get charged until an arbitrary date in the future when I decide to charge everybody's cards and start sending out rewards. This can mean a week or two between filling it out and me actually beginning physical fulfillment, and it can mean that if a lot of people don't complete the Pledge Manager it slows things down.

The downside of using Loot The Room is that you'd have to make an account on my site. The upside is that you'd be charged for shipping immediately and I can start fulfillment immediately. You pay for postage, and I get your books in the mail on one of my post office runs that week.

Right now I'm leaning towards Loot The Room because it's how I've handled every crowdfunder I've run since The Wretched and I know it works smoothly, but we have a couple of weeks before I need to make a decision. So if you have any strong opinions on the matter, please do let me know!

That's all for now. If there are any delays to the printing schedule I'll let you know, otherwise the next time you hear from me will be in a couple of weeks when books start arriving at my house. In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying the digital edition!

-Chris

It’s been a week since the campaign ended. I don’t know where that time has gone.

Firstly I want to say thank you again. It’s been a few years since my last crowdfunder and I didn’t know how this was going to go. Money is tighter for everyone now that in was a few years ago and I’m very grateful that you’ve chosen to spend yours with me.

Speaking of money, BackerKit will be continuing to collect payments for the next week. If your payment has failed, you have until April 17th to update your details to ensure that you get your rewards. Sometimes banks will automatically reject charges from BackerKit as being suspicious, so you may need to let your bank know to mark it as safe. 

If you need to update your details with BackerKit, here’s a handy-dandy list to help you do that.

And you’re done! 

The timeline I laid out last week is still on track. Once payments have cleared I’ll send out surveys, send the books (and bookplates!) to print, and get digital rewards delivered to you. I’ll update you at each stage of that process, so keep an eye out for information over the next couple of weeks.

Obviously everybody is worried about tariffs. It seems like books will be exempt from this nonsense (though that of course could change at any moment) and every part of this campaign is being produced in the UK, so I don’t think tariffs will have any meaningful impact on us. We’ll see what changes over the next couple of weeks, I suppose.

That’s all for now!

-Chris

P.S. Don't forget that if you missed the campaign you can make a late pledge at the pre-order store.

Good morning!

Well, the campaign is over. Three weeks of crowdfunding always feels like an eternity to me, and despite knowing we’d funded on day one it never quite feels real until that clock stops ticking and everything ends. But we did it, and this game is going to be a reality. You helped raised an astonishing £8,587 to bring Blood In The Margins to life.

I can’t even begin to explain how grateful I am. That represents a credit card paid off and at least a couple of months where I don’t need to worry about bills. It also means I can pay my editor - and I really like being able to pay the people who help me make my books the best they can be.

If you missed out of the campaign, don’t worry! Late pledges are now open. (They’re only around for a limited time, so don’t wait.)

BackerKit will take about 14 days to disperse the funds to me, at which point I’ll be able to order the print run. You can expect surveys at around that time, and I’ll also be able to send out digital copies then, too. (I can’t do it earlier because some payments might not go through etc.)

Printing usually takes about 2 weeks. Once I have the physical products in hand I’ll be able to calculate accurate shipping rates. At that point I’ll open the pledge manager, collect shipping, and start getting the books in the post to you. All being well, physical fulfilment will begin in early May and will be completely finished by June.

I’ll keep you updated throughout the process. You’ll know when the files go to the printer, you’ll know when the books arrive in my house, and you’ll know when shipping starts. 

In the meantime, I’m going to take a couple of weeks to rest (and get the layout finished!) while I wait for BackerKit to send me the funds. The next time you hear from me it will be when that money arrives and the print run has been ordered.

Thanks again for all your support.

See you in two weeks!

-Chris

It's the evening here in Manchester and my cat will be demanding that I go to bed soon, which means I'll be busy giving him his treats and putting the house to sleep when this campaign ends in a little under an hour.

I'll have more of an update tomorrow about timelines for getting the PDF in your hands and what print fulfilment will look like, but for now I just wanted to say thank you for your support. I didn't expect this campaign to raise almost 10x as much as my initial goal, and I'm very grateful. Blood In The Margins is a game I'm very excited about, and I wouldn't have been able to make it without your support.

Thank you very much.

-Chris