Weekly Update #3
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jun 27, 2022 at 02:45:59 AM

Hello, dear backers!

I've been meaning to make this post earlier, but current events in America totally caught me off-guard this week and I had to take a few days to just sit and process what the actual hell is going on. It's hard to carry on business as usual when you suddenly get hit with the fact that your country no longer considers you to be people... Or in the least, they never did, but now they're not even being subtle anymore.

Anyway, I took a few days to distract myself by getting lost in Elden Ring and I'm back, carrying on because I have to carry on. 

I'm still waiting on shipping info from all the manufacturers. That includes the sticker printer, bookmark printer, comic printer and metal comic printer. If I had to guess which goodies were coming in first, I'd say the metal comics because they had the quickest customer service. They're also the thing I'm most excited about because I have such a weakness for collectible novelty things. Especially when they're shiny. So maybe my guess is just wishful thinking. Who knows??

I'm hoping to start getting things in the mail this week (or in the least, a few tracking numbers that I will obsessively check every 30 minutes) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

In other news, Sacrimony #1 is getting a reprint!

High up on my list of "Incredibly Good Problems to Have," I've blown through my stash of Sacrimony #1's a lot quicker than I anticipated. I'll have almost nothing left after this campaign has been fulfilled so I decided to do a spontaneous Kickstarter campaign for a reprint of issue #1. "Decided" is kind of a loose term. I guess "Had no choice but to do a spontaneous reprint campaign" is more apt. 

It's going live on August 3rd and will go on for a quick and easy 14 days with a low-stress, low-stakes goal. Hopefully this is a chance to get some new readers interested in the series, or if any digital backers are looking to pick up physical books, this would be a great time to do so. 

In addition, I've added a fun variant for issue #1 for returning backers, as well as collectible metal cover options for the variant and also all of the standard covers for Sacrimony #1-4. 

Here's the new issue #1 variant, by the way!

I feel like my variants are getting campier and I'm not mad about it. Maybe this has been my true calling all along...

While I was working on this variant, I had a thought. After the campaign is over in August, Sacrimony #2 would be the only issue without a variant. To a certain extent, it kind of bothers me (thanks literal OCD), but I'm also not sure how many people would be into picking up a Sacrimony #2 variant. 

If you're interested, leave a comment or you can also just answer on the form below. If there's at least 35 people out there who'd be interested in the variant, I'll conjure one up for a super small run before the campaign goes live on August 3rd. If not, I'll just have to have that one awkward issue that doesn't get a variant and it will haunt me foreverrrrrrrr..... Womp womp. 

Click here to let me know if you would/would not be interested in a Sacrimony #2 variant!

Thanks so much for your support and feedback.

Enjoy the rest of the week!

-M

Surveys have been sent and moneys have arrived!
over 2 years ago – Tue, Jun 21, 2022 at 09:32:32 AM

Happy Friday! 

As the title of this post says, I've sent out surveys earlier this week. If you haven't filled yours out yet, check your email and look out for one from BackerKit from 2 days ago. So far 100 people have filled out their survey, so I'm still waiting on the other 54. 

If you picked a reward that includes your name in the Thank You section of the pdf, you need to have the survey filled out by June 28, otherwise your name will not make it in there. I can't delay delivering rewards on account of waiting for one or two people to fill out the thing. The show must go on.

Also, Kickstarter has released funds! Huzzah!

Today I'll be submitting all the things to print and then it's the waiting game. 

I'll also be reaching out to folks who picked commission tiers in order to work with them, so if you picked a commission reward, keep an eye on your email. 

Production-wise, I'm aiming to send out all digital rewards by July 5.

I'm aiming to receive all physical rewards from the printers by mid-July and I'm hoping to finish shipping them out by the beginning of August. If anything changes, I'll absolutely keep you posted.

Thanks so much for your support!

Enjoy your weekend!

-M

Weekly update #1
over 2 years ago – Mon, Jun 13, 2022 at 01:43:13 PM

Hello there, wonderful backers!

It's so strange that even after the campaign has been over for a week, I still have phantom Kickstarter syndrome where I feel like I have to keep checking on something or tweeting about something. Adjusting to the quiet has been weird but also, quiet is nice. I like quiet.

Anyway, here's some updates on what's been going on behind the scenes.

I'm working on surveys

I was advised not to send surveys out until I could assess which payments have gone through and which haven't. After a week, there's about $100 worth of dropped pledges which is a bit of a bummer but life goes on. Other than that, it seems like everyone else's have been processed and I'm just waiting for Kickstarter to hand it over, which should take another week. 

Currently, I'm working with Backerkit and awaiting approval for surveys. Hopefully, I'll get approval on Monday and I can send surveys out then. Once payment has been officially received from Kickstarter, which should happen this coming Friday, I'll place the order for books and merch and then it's the waiting game. 

In the meanwhile...

I'm still chugging away at artbook sketches. Here's two of them thus far and there's 13 more to go!

17 illustrations is the biggest digital artbook I've ever done, so this is yet another way this campaign has broken past records. I'll be posting new sketches in future updates. 

Last but not least, I had a party!

Last weekend, I treated my close friends to a fun karaoke party to celebrate being able to put out yet another book in the world. I love celebrating these sorts of milestones with the people who have always been there for me and believed in me. I don't think I will ever stop throwing new book parties because I always think about how easily none of this could have happened if I had given up on my dream of making comics. I thought about quitting a LOT in the past, because it seemed impossible to find an audience, but I'm really glad that Sacrimony has found a nice little home here on Kickstarter.

And none of this could have ever happened if not for the love and support of my close friends who kept me motivated to keep on going. And of course, none of this could have ever happened without your support and enthusiasm. 

Thank you so much for helping to bring another issue of Sacrimony to life!

You'll be getting surveys from me sometime early next week (look out for an email from BackerKit) and I'll keep you posted on what the next steps are once Kickstarter officially releases funds on Friday, June 17.

Have a great weekend!

-M

Thank You!
over 2 years ago – Wed, Jun 08, 2022 at 02:25:23 PM

Hi there, wonderful backers!

I've actually been sitting here at my computer for the past half hour trying to figure out what to say, but I'm rendered speechless. I'll try my best.  All I can do is what I've always done, which is write from the heart.

It's been such an amazing 24 days and I can't thank you enough for showing up to support Sacrimony and helping spread the word. Thank you for making this the most backed and highest funded Sacrimony campaign thus far. With every campaign getting better and better, I know Sacrimony has a place in the world and that there are people out there who are looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

This motivates me to make even better art and better story and give you the best version of Sacrimony that I possibly can. It's come such a long way from being scribbles in a 12 year old's notebook to becoming a shiny, polished diamond of a story on some seriously fancy paper and also some very shiny metal covers. If you told teenage me this was going to happen, their head would have exploded. 

Hell, if you even told 5 years ago me that this was going to happen, well... same deal. Head explode. 

I never believed I was 'destined for greatness' or that I'm going to leave some sort of 'lasting legacy.' It's just not who I am, nor who I'll ever be. I just want to be able to tell stories, make some pretty art, share them with whoever is interested and enjoy what I'm doing in the moment. Publishing through Kickstarter has been such an amazing, joyful experience and I thank you so much for being a part of it all. 

Ahem.

Now onto the business end of things...

We managed to hit some stretch goals in the last few hours so here's what we have.

• A 17 page digital artbook featuring brand new sketches
• Every physical backer gets a bonus 2"x8" double-sided bookmark
• The Sacrimony #4 sticker set gets a holographic upgrade 

So What Happens Now?

Now we wait for Kickstarter to process payments, which could take between 2-3 weeks. Kickstarter will notify you if they have trouble processing your payment and then it's up to you to update your credit card info. In the meanwhile, I'll be sending out surveys through Backerkit in about a week or so, so that when I receive the Kickstarter funds, I'll place the order for the books, stickers and bookmarks right away. I'll also be reaching out to people who got commission tiers. 

I'll be doing weekly updates from now on to keep you updated on how things are going. 

For now, I'm off to have a much-needed second cup of coffee.

Again, thanks so much for helping bring this campaign to life and bringing forth yet another Sacrimony book out into the world.

-M

Hey there! We're funded!
over 2 years ago – Tue, May 31, 2022 at 01:45:11 PM

Well lookey here!

As of yesterday, Sacrimony has officially reached 100% funded! Hooray!

Thank you all so much for backing, spreading the word and just generally cheering on this campaign. It means so much to me to see so many people rooting for this humble little comic in a random corner of Kickstarterverse. If not for your support, Sacrimony #4 could never have been a thing.

Just because we're 100% doesn't mean the party has to end, though. I've laid out a bunch of stretch goals and milestone goals that can still be unlocked in the remaining 3 days. Let's see how far we can get!

If we manage to beat 200 backers and/or $6500 somehow before this campaign ends, you better believe I have more great bonus rewards lined up. 

Speaking of bonus rewards, here's artbook sketch #2!

I'm actually enjoying doing loose sketchy pencil lines and maybe that'll be my thing for the rest of this book. What do you think?

Thanks again for all your support!

-M