Steve Rude presents NEXUS: THE COMING OF GOURMANDO in both an oversized Deluxe edition and trade paperback format.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Update on GOURMANDO
over 3 years ago
– Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 12:39:21 AM
So I prepared a long update - then my computer crashed! That was last week and I didn't have a chance to redo it at the time. Here is attempt 2...saving drafts this time!
GOURMANDO BOOKS
We finally sent books to the printer end of last week! The hardcover books are being printed in Hong Kong as they had the best setup for oversized books and the trade paperback is being printed in Illinois. Both printers are getting proofs ready and once Steve signs off on the physical proofs we can finally print this book which has been over 5 years in the making.
If you missed the previous update, after numerous errors were found by the new editor, we spent weeks updating, tweaking, and changing the book. Then we realized that once the TPB was printed many things were too small to read once shrunken down from the original 12x18" size down to the 6.5x10" trade size.
ORIGINAL ART
Steve is back to the drawing board with the art once he realized all the art was not Nexus related and it really should be. I'll be posting the new art for the art books as he finishes it.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS
We just finished fulfilling our 2020 Sketchbook Kickstarter and did run into a few issues. Most noticeably, UPS was charging a surcharge for delivery in Canada, so we will not be shipping UPS to Canada anymore. USPS was taking up to 6 weeks to deliver to Europe, but would also deliver in just a week or two so there was no consistency there.
Cost for both us and international customers is an issue we have not found a solution for. We don't sell enough to ship for fulfillment. They usually want a min of 2,000 orders and we would be sending them maybe 200. On the flipside, international orders run $30-100 each so 200 orders cost us over $7,000 to ship and less than what we received for shipment (then less credit card fees).
I don't have control over what is being charged for shipping and I certainly don't have a way to ship packages for $7.
Solution? I am still researching crowdfunding fulfillment companies and may end up doing specific packages for international orders so they can be easily fulfilled. I've found one in Canada specifically and am waiting on some quotes.
WHAT'S NEXT
We are preparing our 2021 sketchbook. That Kickstarter WILL overlap this Gourmando Kickstarter. Currently we are using Kickstarters to fund projects and also allow Steve to work on his next Nexus book: Thuneworld. The cost is around $650/page.
BEHIND THE SCENES ON PAGES
We are posting daily to Patreon for $5 and up members. We hope to use Patreon to fund future Nexus books on an ongoing basis. We also post previews of YouTube videos (we have 2 coming up this month) and show pics of what Steve is working on. We will be posting Gourmando behind the scenes into February then we will start showing a look into the making of Thuneworld.
Gourmando Christmas and Publishing Update
over 3 years ago
– Sun, Dec 13, 2020 at 02:14:43 AM
PUBLISHING UPDATE
We've brought in a new editor who is extremely thorough. After a setback with our son back in the hospital (he's doing fine now) and 3 versions of many pages being created after the Gnosis images were updated and some coloring corrections made. Mistakes that were fixed a year ago resurfaced, but we are back on track finally.
Designers are finalizing both versions of the book and we are nearing the finish line after over 5 years! I'll keep you guys updated as the book progresses. Currently we are doing nit pick changes like fixing quotes, punctuation, and adding "To Be Continued" to many pages.
MAILING FOR CHRISTMAS UPDATE
We had 17 people ask to have their extras shipped for Christmas. I am pleased to announce that most everything is currently in house. Prints were shipped to Baron for signing and will be in house for Steve to sign on Monday. We should have all the packages ready to go out on Tuesday! As noted before, the only extra we were unable to receive before Christmas is the Challenge Coin as it has an extremely long production time.
CHALLENGE COIN
Challenge coin takes 3-4 weeks for all the approval stages and the sample coin to be produced then another 4-6 weeks to actually create it. We just approved the below sample and the final should be in house mid to late January.
DARK HORSE PUBLISHING
As we announced earlier, Dark Horse will be publishing the Trade Paperback. They do not, at this time (to our knowledge) plan to produce the Deluxe Hardcover book. Their trade paperback will stick to the 198 pages originally advertised. We are finalizing the extras in our book, but it will run approximately 210 pages.
Gourmando Update
over 3 years ago
– Sat, Nov 28, 2020 at 08:10:28 AM
ORDERS LOCKED
That you to everyone who checked out and enjoy your extra bonus item! With the exception of about 5 orders that have funds due, the rest of the orders are LOCKED now.
ADDRESSES WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR CHANGE
Addresses are not locked. You may not make changes to your order, but you can change your address up until I lock them when the books arrive and are ready for shipping. You may always go to https://nexus-gourmando.backerkit.com and request a link or email me at [email protected].
QUESTIONS
If you posed a question in the notes section of the checkout please EMAIL me at [email protected] as we may not see it until your order is ready to ship.
SHIPPING FOR CHRISTMAS
Challenge coins have been ordered and will be ready in January so they will not ship with your Christmas order.
ORDER QUANTITIES AND DARK HORSE COMICS
We will be ordering a limited number and it will be exclusive to the kickstarter. Dark Horse contacted us a few days ago and they would still like to release the worldwide Trade Paperback and Deluxe version of the book (unsigned, without slipcase). The limited Edition and Original Art slipcase versions are exclusive to the Kickstarter.
I am waiting for a new quote before finalizing the print run, but I am anticipating ordering 1,000 of the TPB, 500 Unsigned Deluxe, 250 Limited Edition w/Case, 10 Art Editions.
Gourmando Update & Other news.
over 3 years ago
– Tue, Nov 24, 2020 at 04:38:16 PM
PLEASE COMPLETE YOUR SURVEY
Survey's not completed by Wednesday will be completed for you using options chosen during Kickstarter. We need numbers to get the book to the printer and also ensure any extra books (Draw Nexus, etc) are held and not accidentally resold. They are not officially taken out of stock until your survey is completed!
If you can't find it please contact us. via Kickstarter or go to http://nexus-gourmando.backerkit.com and request a link. I can let you know where it's being sent. It goes wherever you log in (i.e., if you log in via Facebook your messages go to Facebook).
Survey's not completed by Wednesday will be completed for you using options chosen during Kickstarter. We need numbers to get the book to the printer and also ensure any extra books (Draw Nexus, etc) are held and not accidently resold. They are not officially taken out of stock until your survey is completed!
As always, if you need help there is a help link on the checkout and I am always here to help as well to make this as smooth as possible.
SMALL DELAY
Brandon was back in the hospital last week so we were offline for a bit. He's fine, but gave us a little scare. Nothing COVID related.
We have an official editor on the job and looking over he noted a number of typos -- that we had already corrected! We're not sure how that happened, but are fixing it. Glad to have caught it now instead of later when it's actually at the printer!
The books are finished, just finalizing and catching errors before sending off to the printer.
If you haven't been over to Patreon, for the month of November even the $1 members are getting in on the behind the scenes stuff with Gourmando strips. We are posting pages daily along with extras like the below. This strip was originally #15, but ended up at Strip 19.
Checkout is Ready - Free Reward
over 3 years ago
– Sun, Nov 15, 2020 at 11:57:11 PM
BackerKit sends out the checkouts in batches. We start with a test batch of 5% spaced out over all the levels so we can see what problems arise and fix them before sending them out to the masses!
EARLY ORDER INCENTIVE
Checkout only takes 5-10 minutes and we appreciate your time. When you have your checkout completed by November 19th we reward you with a free THANK YOU gift. Last time it was a set of 10 random 5x7 postcards and a sticker. This time you have options. Once your checkout is completed you are taken to the add on store. You should see a THANK YOU reward. Choose one (for free) to add to your order!
IF YOUR PLEDGE HAS NOT GONE THROUGH
If Kickstarter was unable to charge your account I would suggest NOT checking out until Kickstarter actually does charge you to avoid a duplicate charge as BackerKit will know that your pledge was not yet paid and will charge you again.
BACKERKIT IS SUPER EASY
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It takes you step by step through your options quickly and easily and should eliminate confusion. I have a dedicated person from BackerKit to help answer your questions and get through checkout, or if you feel more comfortable, contact me at [email protected] and I’ll take care of you.
The last question has a notes box for you to add any kind of note or instructions for your order.
Surveys will come to your email used by Kickstarter
Checkout requests go out via BackerKit to the email you used when you signed up for Kickstarter. They will not come through your Kickstarter email as they are not a Kickstarter survey. BackerKit is a service that crowdfunded project creators use to keep track of hundreds to tens of thousands of backers—from shipping details, pledge levels, preferences and quantities, whether they have paid or had their card declined, special notes, and everything in between!
I think everyone will like doing their checkout with BackerKit. It makes the experience of choosing options easy for you and easier for me to get your order exactly right and I can link your order directly to my shipping provider which eliminates user errors!
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS: We decided to go with the "whole order" method this time around. The good news is that we've assigned weights to everything in your order and we can estimate the postage.
TIMELINE
November 19 - Funds arrive from Kickstarter & unlimited extras end as we nail down order quantities
November 23 - All orders placed for books and extras
December 7 - All extras in house for early Priority/UPS Christmas shipping
March 2021 - All books in house for shipping
Thank you in advance for completing your survey by November 19th
TATTOO
I almost forgot - the tattoo has finally been designed! Where the design is WHITE it will be skin color. You can order extra tattoo/sticker/postcard sets for $5.
White sections are actually clear and will show through to skin color
