Prints Are Coming Back??

Look, I know I wrote a blog post about not doing prints anymore. And that IS true for conventions. Buuuuut prints are coming back – with a catch.

WHY CHANGE MY MIND?

Funny story: I turned in my notice at my office job. To get ready for returning to full-time art-making, I took a hard look at a bunch of numbers. For this story, just know that I was looking at the tally of sales I made online.

(I have a separate spreadsheet for convention sales, but I’ll get to that).

After looking at the data, I realized a surprising fact…

Prints made up 47% of all online sales. That’s close to half of everything!

This blew my mind. When I looked at the spreadsheet for convention sales, prints didn’t even make it to the top 3 categories. But prints DID make it in the top 3 sales categories on Ko-Fi, right up there with original art and PDFs.

So people are buying prints. Which goes against what I initially thought in the original announcement.

WHY IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CONVENTIONS AND KO-FI?

What makes prints sell better on Ko-Fi than at conventions?

I think it’s two things: prints don’t usually appear on my convention table due to space restrictions. And the best-selling prints on Ko-fi were limited edition AND framed.

Keep in mind that shoppers are, above all, lazy. If you can offer a framed piece of art (original or print), that saves the shopper the time and effort of finding a frame to fit it. Shoppers are willing to pay for the convenience if it means less work for them.

SO MOVING FORWARD…

Prints are coming back – and staying exclusive to online. That means Ko-Fi, crowdfunding campaigns like KickStarter and Crowdfundr, and possibly even Faire.com. (I’m not on Faire yet, but I’m looking to join.)

That said – prints and original art will be collected into art books. So if you have the means to get upcoming prints, great! If you miss your chance, watch for future art book announcements.

The best way to know when new prints and original art is coming out is to be on my email newsletter (shameless plug). So be sure to sign up to get the first sweet, sweet notice when new stuff comes out.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

I’m Going to SPACE (In Columbus, OH)

Find me at SPACE this weekend! That’s the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, OH. I’m sharing a table with Canonwrite Productions. Find us at table W26, yo.

If you’re in Columbus – I’m sending a special email to my newsletter subs. It’s about a reward for folks who can make it to SPACE. If you want to know more, get on the newsletter.

Can’t make it to SPACE? That’s ok! There are still plenty of comics to catch up on, from The Legend of Jamie Roberts to Vanita and the Demon King, and my Ko-fi shop and commissions will remain open this weekend.

WHAT I’M BRINGING TO SPACE

At SPACE, I’m marking down all stickers and mystery bags. Stickers are 2 for $1 (or get 1 free with a book purchase), and mystery bags are 2 for $5 (or get 1 free with a book purchase). I want to clear out all the stickers and mystery bags to make room for new things, like more keychains and pins!

I’m also bringing misprints of The Legend of Jamie Roberts, volume 1, available for $12 each. I still have a BUNCH of these, too.

Also at SPACE: original pages from my sketchbooks, a framed piece of art (this one will be pricier), and the last of my 11 x 17 prints. Again, I want to clear out a BUNCH of stuff to make room for new things.

IF TIME ALLOWS…I’ll bring along BOYZ, my Dragonball Z zine. I make no guarantees on this one, though. 

There will be a newsletter sign-up sheet there, as well. Do you think I WOULDN’T talk about my new tabletop RPG, Toe Beans & Broomsticks? I mean, it’s coming out in less than 10 days, on June 17! It’s available on my newsletter first before the rest of the world gets the game. That’s why I’m bringing the sign-up sheet – so folks can sign up to get the game!

Toe Beans & Broomsticks is a game where players roleplay as magic-casting Cat Witches, Dog Warlocks, Crow Witches, and Owl Wizards. Practice magics like Neko-mancy, cast spells like Meow-maturgy or Purr-estidigitation, and fight alongside friends against the dark forces of The Madam.

If you can’t make it to SPACE, but you reeeeeeally want Toe Beans & Broomsticks – good news! You can sign up for the newsletter using this link and get the game on release date.

And with that, I must be going. I have some last-minute prep to do for the show.

BY THE WAY…

I was featured this week on the Columbus Cartoon Coalition’s YouTube channel! Check it out, yo.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you at the show!

You. Are. Awesome.

Do I Have Any Upcoming Campaigns?

Yo! I wanted to give you an update. Because you might be wondering, “Kelci! Do you have any upcoming campaigns for KickStarter or Crowdfundr or something?”

Short answer: not yet.

Long answer:

My roommate and I are getting ready to move to a new apartment in May. Fingers crossed that everything works out there!

Because of that, though, I’m not going to do a campaign for any new products until after May 30. I don’t want the stress of running a campaign at the same time that I’m moving to a new home. The exception for a campaign is anything for my Subscriber Clubs.

Speaking of which, I made some spiffy updates to the Clubs, including the addition of desktop and phone wallpapers as rewards. Check out the Subscribe page for more details.

THAT SAID…

The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Volume 2 is slated to wrap up production around the end of July/start of August.

So expect a KickStarter or Crowdfundr campaign for The Legend of Jamie Roberts, Volume 2 to happen in August. (Which is also my birthday month!)

SO…YEAH!

If you would like to help with moving costs, I’m available for commissions, my ko-fi shop is open, and I’m accepting new members to Subscribe to any of my (new and revamped) Clubs. Or you can just leave a tip on Ko-Fi.

But if you’re broke, share any and all of my comics, from The Legend of Jamie Roberts to Validation (on Webtoon and Instagram), and even the brand new Vanita and the Demon King! Sharing is caring.

That’s all I’ve got for now. Thanks for reading!

You. Are. Awesome.

Introducing – Zine Club 2.0

characters from the Charlie & Clow adventures are celebrating the holidays - from the Fantasyville Holiday special zine

If you don’t know, I created an alternative to Patreon for my fans and myself – my Subscribe page. On this page are 3 different clubs, each with rewards that stack the more that you pledge.

Previously, one of these clubs was only for folks who lived in the United States: the Zine Club. As part of the rewards, I mailed physical zines to members each month. For the sake of how much postage costs, I kept the reward to only folks who were based in the US. International shipping just cost too much.

But now, things are DIFFERENT…

It started with the zine I made for February. I made THAT zine digital, because of how I formatted the pages. It just couldn’t work to make it a print book, so I made it a PDF download instead.

Then I thought, “What if I did that…EVERY month?”

Because here’s the thing – I’ve made a few comics exclusively for digital release, not print. Comics like PuzzleSpell, for instance.

So I did some poking around on the backend, updating the Stripe system, making a special segment of my newsletter, and now, we have…

ZINE CLUB 2.0!

By joining for a subscription of $5 a month, you get a new zine downloadable sent to your inbox before the end of the month. No shipping is necessary! Plus you get early webcomic updates and behind-the-scenes news in your inbox each week.

Here’s What’s Next

If you are currently a Zine Club member, you don’t have to do anything. Everything will continue as normal.

If you aren’t subscribed, use this link to sign up.

Are you a Pin Club member but wish to downsize? Here’s where you do that. (It’s also the place to go if you’re a Zine Club member and want to upgrade to the Pin Club.)

If you’re a Digital Club member and want to upgrade to the Zine Club 2.0, reach out to me directly. I have to make certain adjustments because of backend stuff.

Bottom Line…

I’m VERY excited about Zine Club 2.0. Now anybody worldwide can join – and I have SO MANY fun comics and zine Ideas!

That’s all for now. I appreciate your support!

You. Are. Awesome.