Well I don’t know what to say. We reached our funding goal in three hours. And now we’re chipping away at some stretch goals. You all continue to be the most incredible and supportive readers, and I am thrilled to continue making content for you after all these years. And I’m looking forward to making some real snazzy books for you, too.
That would hurt. We will see if it will be major or just minor pain 😀
can always be both 🤷♂️
Hey, is that coffee on your hand or are you just happy to see me?
Oh, something is creamed, that’s for sure.
@Tim: concerning the kickstarter, I think I’ll pass on this one. The shipping cost (+ VAT that I suppose is not included in your shipping estimates) for single books (the Starcaster Chronicles) are just too high for me (as an European). I know it’s not your fault. Now, given that the difference of shipping cost for three books compared to one is apparently so absurdly low, I hope that, at some point in the future, you will offer bundles of books from the same series (i.e. all books of the Starcaster Chronicles at once — or even better selected books… Read more »
Hey, I agree. Shipping stuff in other countries gets harder and more expensive every year. It would be so much easier for me to say “US shipping only.” I wouldn’t have to worry about managing multiple shipping containers, import stuff, relying on people in other countries to safeguard my interests, VAT, etc. Instead I just leave the option open so the buyer, like you, can decide what they want to do. I’ll be honest though, we do these book runs and they tend to encapsulate the majority of the people that want the books. We make a few extras, but… Read more »
His point is that shipping costs don’t scale proportionally to weight. He’s saying it’s too costly to him to have the books shipped one at a time, but he’d be willing to buy all your books at the same time and have them shipped all at once. For example, let’s say the shipping cost for each book is $80. If he buys them one at a time, by the time he gets to #5 he’s already spent $400 in shipping fees. However, shipping all 5 books at the same time may only cost $100 in shipping fees. You receive the… Read more »
Yes I understood his point, Relemen. But you’re comparing apples and oranges. Using actual numbers: 1 book from the UK (where we typically stage smaller projects for fulfillment in that region) to the EU is average $20. And 3 books from the UK to the EU is average $25. Those three same books shipped from the United States to the EU is average $60-70. So my point stands, that waiting and buying a bunch of books together doesn’t help him in the shipping department, because he’d still end up paying average $20 per book in shipping once all that’s left… Read more »
Hmm, in fact, I was hoping it would be feasible in the future to re-print a few copies of previous volume(s) alongside the then-latest volume. Something like (I *assume*) you will do for the “GIANT BOOK BUNDLE” in the current kickstarter campaign. But maybe I misunderstand how this all works.
Wasn’t there a period in the past where you gathered interest for a certain region, got down payments, and sent a bulk shipment there?
There was a time I had stock of the 1.0 Omnibus, and organized to move a pallet of books from the US to Germany, to be dispersed from there. The people in the UK/EU buying those books split the cost of the freight from the US to Germany, and then also paid for shipping to their homes once the books were in Germany. I think their total shipping cost was about $55-65 to get the books from the US to their door (which was cheaper than the $135 USPS was charging).
I would love to pledge for a digital version of Starcaster Chronicles. Any chance this will happen?
Yup. Digital-only versions will be on sale later.
I’m in the same boat as the person you responded to, so hopefully this will add a bit of weight to the “UK or Europe buyer wanting bundles!” scales… we’d absolutely love a bundle set of Analog and D-Pad if and when that comes finished or at least has 2-3 books available at once. The shipping costs are abysmal, it’s true, but when it’s nearly the same shipping cost for 3 books as for 1, the price *per book* is a lot more reasonable and it feels like a special occasion purchase. So if you do, fantastic! I get that… Read more »
How does it bode that he’s meeting Lucas in uniform?
(Also no idea if Lucas deliberately or forgot that this might be a time when Ben might be on shift… or if Ben changed into uniform just for the meeting.)
Most likely he’s just on his shift.
My take on this is that he just happened to be on shift and in the neighborhood.
Yes, I think that explains the ‘um.’ Like ‘Um, can I pop away from my job for a minute to do that? Well sure if you are able to come by where I patrol.’ Or maybe it is just before/just after his shift.
That is, keep the pain casual, as if was your intention to break the cardboard cup
“Yes, this is a simple coffee joke that we humans like to play.”
Hahaha
News flash! Secret identity revealed on Bodycam! More at 11.
Phew! No body cam, just a walkie-talkie mic.
Now Lukas’ brain needs to make a difficult decision: What is hotter, the coffee or the boyfriend in uniform?
cue Ben messing with Lucas… WOW super strength activated and crushed that cup like it was paper…. hey isn’t that HOT? You’re going to have a Superficial burn there….. I’m super surprised that you called….etc…
Classic misdirection technique, pretend you’re a Hero with super strength instead of arrow generation.
lick his hand ben
“Kiss” I’m really hoping you meant to say “kiss…”
To be fair, it was Lucas who invited HIM out for coffee. In the middle of the day. You can’t really blame the man for showing up in his work clothes.
I could be wrong Lucas but…..that doesn’t appear to be keeping it casual 😛
Congrats on your early success, Tim! I haven’t even placed my order yet. How long do I have?
I still think Ben has known from the start who Lucas is, and has been waiting for Lucas to feel comfortable opening up to him about it.
Lucas knows Ben is a cop. Coffee is more an early or middle of the day thing when they’ve mostly been hanging out evenings. Common sense is a super power he apparently lacks.
He’s also currently been in the middle of STRESSING about his secret and wether or not Ben knows, and if he should tell him.
We humans tend to NOT think properly under stress, most of the time. Rare are the individuals cool headed enough to think rationally in that mental state.
He is going to blow it. He has no chill.
Dude, you are about to give Lucas a heart attack at this rate
The title is most suspicious. Secrets , yet the only secret revealed is Lucas’s. Who has the other? Ethan, or Ben?
Seeing a man in uniform apparently got him in the mood for… Hot Coffee…
…I’ll see myself out.
BOOOOOOOO!!!
No splooging, but a nice splorch. Good thing he didn’t shoot an arrow through the cup or that would be even more awkward.