Dear Readers,

It. Is. DONE! The Phantom Forest has reached its Quill publishing goal, which means the book will have a limited release in both print and digital! I’ve talked to a number of authors who have gone through this process before me, and the timeline is pretty similar to a traditional publishing calendar: there’s going to be an editing phase, beta-readers, design, and marketing planning, so the actual release date might not be for another 7-12 months, even though the manuscript itself is complete. But rest assured, as soon as I have an official release date, I’ll update everyone! You will have those signed copies in your hands and I will have callouses after signing all of them for you and I will love every minute of it.

Okay, so here is the part where I rattle off about a hundred thank yous... so sit tight!

I was fortunate to get an enormous boost this week from not one, not two, but THREE Inkshares syndicates! You’ll see little "medals" for each on the book’s main page - there’s the Staff Syndicate, which is run by members of the Inkshares team, then there’s the Fantasy syndicate, which backs that specific genre, and the Break the Bechdel Syndicate, which specializes in books with strong female leads. A huge, heartfelt thank you goes out to all the syndicate members who nominated the book and pushed it into the spotlight. You made a huge difference this week and helped it reach the tipping point!

Another thanks to the awesome folks who put together the book trailer for me, which made a major impact: there’s director David Diperstein, whose work you can check out here, and our lovely actress Jess Nurse.  I’m still so flattered that they made this beautiful trailer for me and I think it really helped to give everyone an idea of all the cinematic potential in this story. 

And then of course, there’s all of you, the readers! You thought you were just going online and buying some book you’d never heard of, but you also helped me accomplish a huge goal 5+ years in the making, you helped support an awesome new publishing startup, you graciously helped me raise money for the ACLU when I started feeling conflicted about the ethics of crowdfunding for a time, and you gave emerging filmmakers and artists exposure by watching and sharing our trailer and giving our cover artist the green light! 

Thank you, whether you’re an old, dear friend or a new supporter on the internet I’ve yet to meet in person. I can’t wait to start the next phase of this adventure! 

Love,

Liz

Happy New Year, everyone! A lot of things are now transpiring with Kingdom of Dreams...

1. Officially In Production!
2. What now? Casting Call!
3. Next Steps...

1.) Officially In Production!

Has everyone noticed the new page? We have shifted from funding to in production. Because Kingdom of Dreams will be published, you’ll notice the book has also been slightly reduced in price. 

We have earned a third badge as well,  this one as part of the Quill collection. What is Quill? Well, it’s an opt in publishing option that Inkshares offers for projects like this one that didn’t hit the full publishing quota of 750 pre-orders, but did reach a minimum threshold of support that suggests there is enough backing to publish. Read more here for a complete breakdown.

2.) What now? 

When will my readers have the book in hand? 8-12 months from now minimum. Though it sounds morbidly slow, it’s pretty typical for publishing dates. There is a significant queue of books to be published in front of this one. But I will try to expedite this process as much as possible by completing the following steps in short order:

• I will finish editing and any new rewrites over the first quarter. 
• Complete Illustrations as well. 
• I turn over the manuscript to a professional editor, then to Inkshares. At that point a timeline to publication should appear on my page with the approximate shipping dates.

Casting Call: Now that the project is official, I have an open casting call for 4 roles to help complete illustrations for the book:

• Jimmy Reve, the main character. An imaginative 6th grade boy that is picked on by the bullies at school.
• Lem Reve, Jimmy’s big sister. An 8th grader, decorated swimmer that while protective over Jimmy, enjoys picking on him relentlessly as well.
• Clay Rakes, a huge, intimidating eighth-grade bully. 
• Bucky Brees, a lanky, devious seventh-grade bully.

If anyone knows any kids close to this age range that might be interested, please contact me as I will pay them to use their likeness. I hope to have the children cast by the end of the month. All ethnicities are welcome and encouraged.

3.) Next Steps...

Thanks again to everyone for backing Kingdom of Dreams to a guaranteed publishing deal. That said, we have a ton of work to do to get this project known to the masses. The more pre-orders we can get as this project gets closer to completion, the better the chance Inkshares will give it full marketing attention and start a distribution plan of getting it in bookstores, and supporting it at key conferences. 

I’ll keep you up to date on my progress, but please continue to evangelize as much as possible. Look for new updates as significant milestones occur. Thanks again, be productive and stay well!

Best Wishes,

Kevin

Hello, readers! 

I hope that by now, you will have had a notification in your inbox of something exciting: Witherfist has officially gone into ’production’. What does this mean? It doesn’t mean that the book will start printing and shipping immediately, but it does mean that Inkshares have committed to producing and distributing the books to you all. You can read more about the Quill imprint, which Witherfist has joined, on Inkshares blog.

So what’s happening now? Well, currently, I’m working on writing the book! In May, I’ll be giving the manuscript to my editor for evaluation. Some time after that, I’ll hand it over to Inkshares - who will, in their own time, deliver the book to you. I can’t be any more specific with when at this stage because I haven’t even begun to have that discussion with Inkshares, but I will certainly keep you updated as and when I have more to share. 

Barring any unusual happenings, I’ll send you all an update on a monthly basis. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions, please do get in touch.

~ Jenny

Weeks ago I made a promise. I told you that I would explain what hitting 250 pre-orders meant. I never intended for so much time to lapse between then and now. Thank you for being so patient. Most of all, thank you for not punishing me by taking your book order back. You may laugh, or groan, but that particular fear has denied me many hours of sleep, I swear. 

It’s high time that I make good on my promise. Now that I’ve obtained that magic number of pre-orders, Inkshares will publish Where the Sun Sets as part of their Quill Imprint. Books belonging to this collection receive light editing, limited distribution (including physical and digital on Amazon), and fulfillment of copies to backers. In short, hitting 250 was like flicking a switch. At that moment what went from “You might get this book,” transformed into, “You will get this book.”  

Since that day something else more marvellous has come to pass. My big dream has grown a bit bigger. It has grown to include the dreams of another. I’m over-the-moon-so-freakin’-happy to be sharing with you that Maria Laguna-Valenzuela, the artist responsible for the whimsical and wonderful seeding bloom that graces the cover of Where the Sun Sets, has agreed to partner with me as an illustrator! Over the next three months Maria will bring to life the enduring love and magic of the Gibbons’ world in ways I never expected. Furthermore, Maria is just as excited as I am to be creating with the goal to support other creators. What an outcome! I couldn’t be any happier. 

This partnership means that it will take three months longer for the book to get into production. Production won’t begin until April at the earliest. This prolonged timeframe means that I have another opportunity to try and gain enough pre-orders to receive full publishing services from Inkshares. But most of all, this partnership means that when you do finally get your copy of Where the Sun Sets, it will be that much richer in content and imagination. 

You’ve given me the opportunity. Now it’s up to me to not squander it. I’m tickled pink (and honoured as all hell) that Maria has chosen to help me make this story that much more special by throwing her creative weight behind it too. (I’ve elaborated more on this and other things here on my blog.)

Finally, when I kicked this whole thing off I had it in my head that publishing under two names was a good idea that would ultimately benefit future philanthropic initiatives. I’ve since realized that the distinction is arbitrary, and will be publishing all titles under Donna Litt. Rest assured, all author proceeds resulting from the publication of Where the Sun Sets are still dedicated to supporting creators in the Kitchener-Waterloo community.

I think that’s it! Please hit me back with any questions. Thank you Maria, and thank you all for your generous and kind support.

Donna
PS - Happy 2017 from the desk of Bill Watterson, comic available here.