UPDATE: Kickstarter has kindly offered week-long extensions to campaigns that are struggling during the COVID-19 crisis. We have accepted one of these extensions, so the campaign will now run until March 27, 2020. Fingers crossed, the extra time will help us reach our goal!
WOW, have things gotten wild over the past week! I’m currently in self-imposed quarantine, as is almost everyone I know. Several close friends have fallen ill. It’s scary out there right now. I sincerely hope that all of you readers this are safe and healthy. And that you’re washing your hands, avoiding contact with other people….and not terribly bored if you’re working (or not working) at home. Sounds like a good time to support and read some indie comics, if you ask me.
A cheap shot? Maybe.
But, hey. In the midst of all this COVID-19 madness, I’m…uh…still trying to fund this book I wrote. I’ve got a few days left before the Kickstarter to fund Tracy Queen, V2: Dangerous Experiments ends on Friday, March 20. And, well, that’s looking just about as bleak as the outside world right about now. I’ve worked very hard on the book itself, and on the Kickstarter campaign to fund it. And yet, there’s more than 50% left to raise in just over three days.
Yeah. I’m scared.
Not just because I have a compromised immune system due to medication I take for my autoimmune condition. (Although I am scared as heck about that, not gonna lie.) But also about my future as a writer. I rely on Kickstarter as a means to market, print, and distribute the comics I write, as well as books by other creators that I publish. So far, I’ve never had one fail. But with COVID-19 on the loose, interest in funding my work seems to have taken a precipitous dive. I’m not mad, because everyone is terrified. And it would be selfish and silly to be mad that folks are a little preoccuppied.
But I am scared.
Because, you know all those people who are losing income and afraid about whether they can make rent in the midst of all this fear and uncertainty? They’re me. And the future of my business as a comics writer and independent publisher may rely on this Kickstarter. If this campaign doesn’t get fully funded, we don’t get ANY of the money people have pledged. And then we may have to give up on, or at least severely alter, the future of my company—Oneshi Press. The proceeds from this campaign were meant to fund printing of this book and also help us stay afloat for the next few months, pay some of the artists who are creating work for our projects, and pay some bills. If we don’t make it, well…
I’m an indie creator, and my business helps support other indie creators.
So, hey. If you’re looking for ways to support folks whose livelihoods are on the line right now? Folks who work for themselves, have no paid time off, no sick leave, and no safety net? Look no further.
Hey. I know things are massively uncertain right now. I know people are losing income left and right, the stock market is taking a nosedive, and not every government is exactly stepping up to help people get through. *cough cough USA* I know shit’s scary.
But I’m literally trying to sell some comics. For cheap. For you to read while you’re in quarantine.
Folks. For $10, we’ll give you FOUR full-length digital comic books absolutely stuffed with art. That art took multiple artists thousands of hours and lots of money to produce.
For $25, we’ll give you all that and a printed comic book, too. The pot sweetens with every increase in pledge level after that. We’ve added new rewards of hand-drawn, gorgeous art, awesome stickers, and so much more. No matter what level you back at, I promise you: You’ll get more than your money’s worth, and you’ll likely get most of it while you’re still in quarantine.
Because those comics? They’re ready to go.
We’ll have digital rewards out within two weeks of the Kickstarter, if we get fully funded. That means, just when quarantine cabin fever is beginning to truly set in…BAM! Digital comics! And a few weeks after that (assuming our printer is operational) BLAMMO! Printed comics and art!
So, even if you’re not into supporting artists. If you’re just looking for something to do to keep yourself busy while you’re at home, bored and/or scared and/or desperate to stay entertained? Look no further. Our books will entertain you and get your brain going and let you immerse yourself in a world that’s not our messed-up situation in this world.
Help me give people comics!
If you’ve got a few bucks to spare and you want some comics, please pledge. If you don’t have anything to spare but you want to help, you can share the link. Or any of the following links, which provide interesting listening, fun-as-heck viewing, fascinating reads, and links back to my Kickstarter:
- Smash Pages Q&A: Lynsey G.
- Adrian Has Issues Episode 153: All Hail The Queen (with Lynsey G & Jayel Draco of Oneshi Press)
- Which Tracy Queen Character Are You?
- (NSFW) KILLER CAMGIRL TAKES OFF ARMOR, PUTS ON LINGERIE, TAKES OVER THE WORLD…
- Let’s Talk About Socks, Baby! (And Changing the World!)
- support tracy queen: a weird, wild, sex-positive graphic novel
- My Sex-Positive, Feminist Graphic Novel, Tracy Queen, is Being Shadow Banned
- Hot off the interview, we had reinvited our friends from Oneshi Press, Jayel and Lynsey, to talk about the TRACY QUEEN Volume 2 Kickstarter!
Here’s what’s in it for you.
Freaking ART. So much art! Tracy Queen, V2: Dangerous Experiments is a graphic novel, which means there’s art throughout by illustrator Jayel Draco. But there’s also cover art and fan art on the line by five other guest artists!
Plus comics! We’re offering Tracy Queen volumes 1 and 2, as well PACK issues 1 and 2, to everyone at $10 and over. Higher-level backers get even more comics in the form of our anthologies, which feature dozens of short comics by well over a hundred creators!
We’re also sending out stickers, postcards, a paper doll of Tracy, hand-drawn sketches, tote bags! The whole kit and caboodle!
Look. You’re in quarantine. I’m in quarantine. Let’s help each other out.
Please. Help if you can. Every pledge and every share means the absolute world to me right now.
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