Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Thanks for the responses!

My thanks go out to everyone who submitted surveys. They have been very helpful in evaluating stuff. For the charms, I feel confident enough to do a test run. I will start getting 25 of each set, and we shall see what happens with that. If successful, future runs (and more sets) will happen.  Incentive: Future runs will have to be with another, more expensive, charm maker, so this first run will be the most cost-effective!

There's a chance the book 2 pre-order and charm sale will overlap, but they will be separate. The book preorder is now planned to start early March, and the charms will only go on sale when I have them in my possession - and printing may take a while. At worst, people buy the book and will have to grab the charms later, like maybe at my Anthrocon table? (Table N19!)

For survey results, I thank you folks for being surprisingly kind and gentle with me. I didn't expect to see so many nice statements! Informative AND sweet. You all rule!  And here are some reactions to what I've read (many were prompted by only one or two replies, but I felt it was worth talking about anyway):

-Most issues raised about the website are already on my list. Can't say I'll get them fixed soon, but know I'm aware of them. Some things I can't do, as the site has to be versatile enough to work on many screen resolution/font size configurations. On, and sometimes your questions are already answered! Just look at the links on this page and you might be surprised!

-It's a wonderful problem when I get a many "I'd like to see more of..." requests, especially since they're varied. I have many more stories to tell, and even with daily updates it takes a long time to hit every note. I hope to make you all happy down the road!

-As much as I'd love to offer everyone the world, I'm one guy - and that guy is currently broken. To keep Precocious moving, I need to be a writer, artist, colorist, designer, publicist, accountant, secretary, marketer, packer, courier, etc.  I am *trained* to do... funky looking fine-art prints using archaic methods? Uh oh. I'm doing a LOT of learning on the go, and I don't have the means to bring on assistants. I try to put the comic updates first, even before me earning money, so a lot stuff slides until I can get to it. So many of you were so kind about this, and I thank you again for your compassion.

-On a similar note, I am a tiny enterprise and very limited in what I can do right now. That means many grand ideas for high-end merchandise and various goodies can't happen yet. That also means I MUST do what I can to start earning more and preventing more loss. The prices I charge for various things are as low as I can reasonably go.  I can't compete with major publishers who make up their discount prices by sheer volume of sales. Bargain basement and discount options might be great for you, but I know I can't sell at the volume needed to keep me afloat. (I mean, it's already a free comic. I'm not begging for charity here. Just let me get something from the merchandise!)

-And with *that* being said, there is a plan for simple, low-cost bonuses. It likely won't be ready until the second half of the year, though. I'll talk more about it when I have the system more in place. Again, the delays are because I lack the hours and manpower to do things quickly, and lack the funds to buy those manpower hours.

-I can't stress enough how amazing your responses were. All of them were helpful, no matter what they said. I love you all. (Even the one person with wildly unrealistic ideas was useful, as that survey alone prompted half of the above notes!)

Of course, now you've spoiled me. Now I know that these surveys are a great option, and I shall use them again when needed!



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