Wednesday, January 27, 2016

ComixBrew Podcast

We’re scheduled to be on the ComixBrew podcast February 13th!   (You should actually be able to hear us on this one.)  http://www.comixbrew.net/category/podcast/comixbrew/  
We’ll be talking about the #Dreamkeepers faction contest- more details as the date approaches.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Faction Contest 2016





PICK A SIDE.



This February online, it's war.



Welcome to the #Dreamkeepers Faction Contest!



We're launching a no-holds-barred social media event, with hundreds of free books going to the victors.  



The game is simple:



There are four factions.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DWUptmo2e8&feature=youtu.be



Nightmares, Troika, CCA, and Neon Knives.



Join your favorite faction- and then recruit to make it the strongest!



On  March 1st, we'll host links to a survey.  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9BSMRPS  Vote for your faction.  The faction with the most votes by midnight wins.



One free physical copy of Volume 1 will go out to the individuals of the winning faction, or at least to the 500 who voted first.  



So the game is simple- what about the rules?



THERE ARE NONE.  No tactic is too bold, no meme too dank.



Do what you gotta do.  Use the #Dreamkeepers hashtag to coordinate your efforts, assess the progress of your competitors, and demonstrate why your faction trumps theirs.



We'll be working to get new faces in that hashtag, so it's a prime target for recruiting to your team.  



Only one faction will prevail.  But we have a list of Honorable Mention awards- and if your faction went down in flames, you're eligible to snag one!



AWARD:  Most Epically Failed post

AWARD:  Best Diss of an opposing faction

AWARD:  Best Comeback

AWARD:  Best use of a Meme

AWARD:  Most original new Meme

AWARD:  Most Frantic

AWARD:  Most Retweeted post in #Dreamkeepers

AWARD:  Most 'Liked'  post in #Dreamkeepers

AWARD:  Most Audacious Infiltration of a comment area





So what's the official, condoned kickoff date for this contest?  Read the rules.  Game on!

Friday, January 15, 2016

Dreamkeepers Patreon!

Dreamkeepers now has a Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/Dreamkeepers?ty=h

Check out our video, let us know what you think, and help recruit more soldiers.
TOGETHER WE SHALL CONQUER.

I mean, tell your friends, fun and games yay.

LAUNCH: IMMINENT

The video for the Dreamkeepers Patreon is rendering- but before it launches, I wanted to drop some updates.

Volume 4 Kickstarter:  Delivered.  I'm checking Kickstarter messages periodically to handle any customer service issues that crop up.  V4 is now available here:  http://www.vividpub.com/Dreamkeepers.php?pg=dreamkeepers  And we have a cost breakdown for the Kickstarter here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBoxAVqsbB4

Halloween contest:  The Kickstarter swamped me, but I haven't forgotten!   I'm ordering stickers and logging addresses now, so prizes will be heading out this winter.   Because nobody expects Halloween in winter.

Video game:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R1kxn0NCyA  I haven't had time to work on it lately, but if all goes to plan the Patreon will kick things into gear.

Commissions:  Still have my backlogged que.  I'm in the middle of a few that I plan to finish this month, to begin getting caught up.  Still wayyy behind on posting finished pieces.  I offered a refund to everyone on the wait list, because damn, it's been awhile- but people seem content to wait.  Looking forward to getting organized and posting some long overdue art.

I'm still behind on e-mails, but planning to get caught up once the Patreon is live.  Had to get that in the works so we can develop an idea of what 2016 is gonna look like.

Watch here for the announcement to drop!

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Volume 4 sales: Live!

At long last, the Kickstarter has been delivered- so it's time to officially open Volume 4 sales to the public!  Get 'em while they're hot:

http://www.vividpub.com/Dreamkeepers.php?pg=dreamkeepers

Volume 4, the Prelude Collection, and more now have hard-copies and downloads available for purchase.   When Volume 5 nears completion, we'll begin posting V4 for free on the Dreamkeepers site.  http://www.dreamkeeperscomic.com/GNSaga.php?pg=189

And speaking of Volume 5- we're in for an exciting year!

The V4 Kickstarter was amazingly successful- but to deliver, most of the proceeds went towards inventory and fulfillment costs.  I'll post a breakdown of expenses after I get caught up on my accounting work.  

So to hopefully maintain continuous production on Volume 5, later this month we're launching a Patreon!  And not just for V5- also supporting the development of test assets for a  prospective Dreamkeepers video game.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R1kxn0NCyA

I think 2016 holds a lot of creative firepower.

In addition to a Patreon, Vivid is planning an assault to take the retail world by storm.  With help from readers and coordinated campaigns, we'll be aiming to penetrate libraries, comic shops, book stores, and beyond.    Not only with Dreamkeepers, but with the latest Vivid title, UberQuest- and more in the works.

Stay tuned here for more updates- things are going to get interesting.

Friday, January 1, 2016

Kickstarter Update 31: FINISH THEM.

Mailing update:

We're (almost) done!  

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2083757038/dreamkeepers-volume-4-descent-to-the-archives/posts/1456738

I've been packaging relentlessly- making doodles in thousands of books and mailing over five hundred custom-assembled packages turns out to be a good deal of work.

But we did it.

Every deliverable Kickstarter order has now been packaged, posted, and is on the way.

With a few exceptions:

To get everything  delivered as fast as possible, I sacrificed checking e-mails and messages.   Stopping to handle one custom issue doesn't seem like much, but multiply that exponentially, and it's like throwing a thousand random hurdles in the path of a marathon runner.  

I figured it would be most efficient to mail everything that requires no correspondence, and then tackle the stragglers all at once at the end here.  

So as of Monday, backer packages will either be arrived, en-route, or they'll have a Kickstarter message from me getting the final info needed to deliver.

Except for people who haven't yet replied to their surveys- it's strange, every Kickstarter there are a few people who seem to vanish without filling it out.  I need your address!   I have stuff to give you!

Also, a request:  Anyone who receives their order but has an issue with it, like significant damage, message me here in Kickstarter about it.   I can stay on top of messages in one place- but our gmail has two months worth of unread notes, and the art accounts and facebook... Egads.   I may need to hire an archeologist if I ever want to uncover the secrets therein.

So, customer service messages regarding your order:  Send them to me in Kickstarter!   Thank you- if something arrived broken, tell me, and we can get it taken care of for you.   8 )



Time for meandering rambles...  It really has been a massive volume of work to mail so many orders.   I like having so many options and opportunities to personalize things, but at this scale it begins to obstruct forward motion on the series itself.   Next Kickstarter, I may have to cap personalized orders at 300, and use Amazon or something to fulfill the rest.

And I will note- you guys have been incredible throughout this entire endeavor.  There have been so many kind notes and words of encouragement tucked into the survey notes as I go through mailing- and it really helps, having  those nuggets of appreciation and enthusiasm shared throughout the experience.  It's reassuring to be reminded that all the hours of packages and envelopes have a point- and it's you.  

Thank you everyone for being so incredible and supportive, you're spectacular.

Once I finish my customer-service lap, I'll post another update here about the New Year.   I'm bursting at the seams to break ground on the next book- and we have plans to launch a Patreon that will help us take Dreamkeepers to an entirely new level.