The Flight of the Alicorn Hardcover Edition - Information and Pricing · 8:42am Nov 7th, 2012
Dear Readers,
Good evening! I understand that there was a presidential election today in the United States of America, so many of you may have other things on your mind. Let's talk ponies anyway. As previously described, I am making available a print edition of The Flight of the Alicorn on a very limited basis.
What Is It?
It's a book about a fashionable talking unicorn named Rarity, airships, adventure, romance, giant hats, and magical gemstones. The print edition is available as a 6x9 inch cloth-bound hardcover with the title and author's name embossed in silver foil, and protected by a dust jacket displaying the official cover artwork for the story. The text has been significantly edited and formatted, the layout carefully designed, and in my opinion the final product is rather handsome. I'm proud of it.
In any case, you can see for yourself. The following pictures depict the proof copy I've received:
Note: The proof copy is not the final edition, but it's close. The final edition contains several additional fixes and edits to the text, the hardcover has the title and author printed in silver foil, and the dust jacket has the book title and author's name printed on the spine.
So It's For Sale?
Yes. Based on the information above, I hope you are able to make an informed decision about whether to purchase a copy of the book. I previously solicited interest, and was honestly very surprised ("blown away" would not be too strong a term) at the number of comments indicating a desire to buy a copy. That said, I am not making money on this, and I do not want to kill myself boxing and mailing books all over the world, so I will make available a maximum of 150 copies. I seriously doubt that the total number of orders will get anywhere near that number, but if it should happen I do not want there to be any surprise or disappointment. I will write a personalized message and sign each copy (with my nom de plume, of course, not my boring legal name).
Who Can Get It?
Anyone, anywhere in the world the US Postal Service delivers. That probably excludes North Korea, but I'm not certain.
How Much Does It Cost?
Pricing is absolutely firm, non-negotiable, and includes shipping and handling. The only wrinkle is that, because the cost of production decreases as the total number of orders increases, I am going to do this in a relatively complicated (but hopefully intelligible) way.That is, I will list below a series of price tiers, each depending on the total number of books ordered, and each tier providing a different price for each of US customers, Canadian Customers, and International Customers.
Prices are as follows (and as noted above, these include shipping and handling):
If total number of orders is: US Price*/Canadian Price/International Price:
30-49: $45/$55/$60
50-74: $40/$50/$55
75-99: $37/$46/$51
100+: $35/$40/$45
*For US Customers, there is no shipping charge for additional copies, so purchasers may subtract $5 from the price of subsequent copies. E.g., additional copies at the $45 pricing tier cost $40, so three copies would cost $125. International customers pay the full amount for each copy, because international orders ship Priority.
How Do I Get It?
I will solicit FIRM ORDERS in a separate post titled "The Flight of the Alicorn Order Form," and I will open orders for a period of 48 Hours. At the end of that period, it will be clear what tier the pricing falls into, and therefore how much money each customer will owe. I will set the final price, based on the table below, and then I will send an email to each confirmed customer with payment instructions. Payment will be accomplished via PAYPAL ONLY. The only cause for a refund will be that I am not able to get you a book. Please do not ask questions about whether other forms of payment might be acceptable. They are not!
The payment process is designed to protect me, not you, and for that I apologize, because it will result in a rather long wait time to get your books. After a second period of 48 Hours for payment, I will cancel all orders which have not been paid, and then I will order the books from the printer. From that point, it will be approximately three weeks before I have received the completed books and completed mailing them to each customer. You will receive a confirmation email that your book is in the mail.
Again, I'm sorry for the long waiting period this process will necessitate, but I am absolutely not willing to order the books before I have been paid. If you have an issue with this process, please do not order any books.
To summarize, here is a breakdown of The Process:
1. Obtain Firm Commitments and Set Final Prices - initial 48 hour sign-up period
2. Transmit Order Confirmations and Accept Payment - second 48 hour period
3. Order Books From Printer - approximately two weeks for production and delivery
4. Sign, Package, Seal, Address, and Mail Books - however long it takes USPS media mail to reach US purchasers, and USPS priority mail to reach international purchasers
Comments and Questions:
Use the comments to this post for questions, and inquiries, or for any other purpose. In the Order Form post, your comments should take the form of (# of copies - location of customer, e.g., "3, Canada"). Do not post any substantive questions or comments in the order form post, or they will be instantly deleted so that I can keep a clean tally.
FAQ:
1. Do you accept any payment methods other than PayPal? No.
2. PayPal? I'm scared! How does it work? You transfer money from your PayPal account (which is linked to some kind of credit card or bank account) to my PayPal account, after which I transfer the money from my PayPal account to my bank account. There is no charge to the buyer for using PayPal. If you don't have a PayPal account I encourage you to set up an account in advance.
3. If I decide I don't like the book, can I get a refund? No.
4. If my book does not arrive in the mail, can I get a refund? Yes.
5. How long will it take to get my book? At least three weeks, probably more like four.
6. How do I know you won't run off with my money? Pinkie Promise.
7. Will you open up orders again in the future? Almost certainly not.
8. Does the quoted price include shipping and handling? Yes!
9. Can I place my order in the comments below? NO! See the Order Form post!
Might nab two depending on what tier it falls under. Bit pricey but eh I know a friend who would love this I think. I might have squealed like a little girl with joy, alas I am a grown man and we are not privy to such emotional out bursts. It has nothing to do with it being the middle of the night and I may wake someone. Nothing I say.
Yes a thousand times yes.
I like the extremely organized system you have got going here, should make things much clearer and easier for all of us.... also just placed an order, looking forward to it!
I'm scared. I've never used PayPal before. What is going to happen?
481697
Hehe, that's a good question. You transfer money from your paypal account (which is linked to some kind of credit card or bank account) to my paypal account, after which I transfer the money from my paypal account to my bank account. There is no charge to the buyer for using paypal. If you don't have a paypal account please set one up in advance. I'll add this to the FAQ.
Ms. Prancypants? You're awesome. I just don't think you hear that enough. You have given us an amazing tale, one that makes me feel very inadequate about my own writing prowess, and now this. A hardcover edition of one of, if not THE best story in the fandom. My God, hardcover pony fiction! I'm stunned and honored that I can buy this. If I may ask, why are you not taking a bit of profit from this? Hasbro legal, I assume. Still, I wish I could pay YOU for this, because you deserve it. Thank you for this incredible story which has, if nothing else, made me very seriously consider Rarity as a contender for Best Pony.
You just rock. Please never stop being you.
Drop by your bank and get them to write you a void check (attached to the account you want to use) so you can set up your Paypal (they'll need the info from the check). You can then use Paypal to access money from your bank account. The money will be drawn from your account to cover your purchase on the next available banking day (You don't have to transfer money from your bank to paypal, it rolls automatically). Make sure you have enough money in your account before then or your credit rating might take a hit.
The amount of awesome in this.... I think I might have to order a copy
This is a book I wouldn't mind having on my bookself
Eeeeeee! So cool to see it as an actual book! Your writing of course, and my own artwork! Being a part of this has been one of the best experiences of my life!
Yes! The moment is at hand!
...I just hope the money transfers to my paypal account in time. Having to wait 3-5 business days between making the transfer and being able to use the money can be a killer. >_<
buck it... I want to buy but not sure if can. I'll have to ask around for a bit. How long is this open?
*Slams face into desk several times*
Every
Single
Time
A
Book
Comes
Out
No moneyz
The same thing happened with Past Sins too!
Dayum, that's a fine book you got there!
Here's to hoping that we push the price into the 50-74 copy range. I'll make a promise: if my fellow readers will get the total copies ordered up to 99, I will contribute one more order to push that total to 100. So what say you? Will you push for 99?
My initial order put us at 43, leaving a mere 56 more to go! Let's get this down to $30/40/45 per copy!
(EDIT: Ponydora, I do not expect you to sign all five (hopefully six) copies I order. Of course, if it is your desire to sign each copy, I will not dissuade you; I do plan to gift the extra copies. My only request, should you decide to sign and leave a message in each, that only one be addressed to myself(if, once again, your plan is to address each reader specifically), and the others left devoid of a recipient. Here's to an exciting project!)
Rarity approves!
fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/311/d/0/____sweet_and_elite_____by_crenair-d5kbjly.png
I'll definitely order, but I worry about transfer times to add funds to paypal accounts. It's no insignificant amount of money so I think a number of people, myself included, probably didn't have that money on hand in their paypal account in advance. In hindsight I should have put it through when you first started collecting information and revealed it'd be paypal, but things seemed uncertain at first and I didn't think to
It takes 6-8 business days Canadian time for a fund paypal transfer, which would quite possibly fall out of your allotted time. I understand you don't want to be waiting around to do these books forever, but I really hope you make time allowances for paypal fund transfers to go through.
Perhaps there's some other option with paypal that I am unawares of, as I hardly use it.
----
On a completely unrelated note I recently got into an interesting discussion regarding IP and copyright conflicts in regards to fanfiction self-publishing. Morally speaking I find you totally fine in doing this in that you're not looking to make a profit, and Hasbro doesn't seem to care to act on this sort of thing as eviden in FoE and Past Sins, but I'm curious if you've made efforts for permission or other legal hullabaloo.
482071
AQR - I did not know that PayPal in Canada requires you to actually have money in your PayPal account. In my experience, as long as you have your account linked to a bank account or credit card, PayPal sucks the money out for you. Perhaps that isn't true in Canada. If I have to extend the payment period by a day or two to accommodate, I'll do so.
482079
I was unaware you could do that
I do have my bank account linked up anywho, but the few times I've used it I've just waited to have the money in paypal before spending. I guess I'm not too certain; I'll try to transfer the money over in the initial 48 hour pay period and if it doesn't work, then I appreciate your willingness to wait a few extra days.
THIS SO AWESOME!!!!
I'm getting one, but it would still be nice if this went into print sometime in the future. Why do you say that this will be the only printing of it ever " Will you open up orders again in the future? Almost certainly not."
If you won't ever be printing this again, then could you make available the pfd version of the hardcover edition? For custom printings in the future
And also, your saying that the order needs to be sent in within 48 hours! When would that 48 hours be up (exactly)
wait, nevermind, I found went the order closes
You can ignore that message I sent you this morning, Ponydora. I seem to have found a solution on my end.
And sorry for messaging you when, upon closer reading, the blog clearly states that this is the place for questions. Speaking of which, I didn't even ask a proper question, either. It must have been early.
If you do another print run down the road when I have a proper job and I'm not in school anymore, I hope to buy a few of these to donate to a library.
My order made 63, but I think it might be slowing down. So close!
This will make a nice Christmas gift to myself!
By my count we're at 69 as of my order, so we're very nearly already in that third tier at least! Only five more orders!
DO IT FOR RARITY~!
Ladies and Gentlestallions, we are but 28 copies away from the magical 99...
...should we manage to reach that, my order will increase from five to six... allowing five ponies to receive a copy of Ponydora's fantastic book as a gift, and get the print down to the lowest tier.
Sorry, but I don't get something about this process
I've already put my name on the order list, but how will we all find out where to send the money to, and how will you find out our postal codes/ street addresses so that you can send us the book?
will you send us all private messages and then we send you our info?
I need some clarification
485100
See above: I will solicit FIRM ORDERS in a separate post titled "The Flight of the Alicorn Order Form," and I will open orders for a period of 48 Hours. At the end of that period, it will be clear what tier the pricing falls into, and therefore how much money each customer will owe. I will set the final price, based on the table, and then I will send an email to each confirmed customer with payment instructions. Payment will be accomplished via PAYPAL ONLY.
In case there is still any uncertainty, everything will be explained in further detail in the forthcoming PM.
485120
Ok thanks
Wow, 76 orders.... I hope they were serious with the number of copies they want. 24 away from 100 orders. Jeez, I almost missed out with how busy I been!
I can't wait to get a copy of my own <33
Only a few hours left so I doubt we're making it into the 4th bracket, but nice job on getting to the third bracket everyone.
Well I'd love to buy a copy of your book, and set up a paypal account just now to pay for it, but it seems that i wont be able to add any money from my bank to it for at the very least two days... which means I won't be able to get your money to you in the second 48 hour period? wat do? I'm ordering one on the order form anyway but this has been a real pain, I tell you.
486627
Please read the FAQ on PayPal's website. As long as your PayPal account is connected a bank account with money in it, PayPal will withdraw the money from your bank account and transfer it to me. You don't need to have the money in your PayPal account.
486627
From the website:
You should be able to pay on your terms. That’s why PayPal gives you the flexibility to choose the best payment method for you. You can link your bank account, debit, and credit cards to your PayPal account (and still earn your reward points). That way, you can choose how you want to pay, and never have to worry about keeping a balance in your PayPal account. If you don’t have any money in your PayPal account balance, we’ll use a linked bank account, debit card or credit card to fund your purchases. If you have a bank account on file we typically use it first (after your PayPal balance is gone), but during the checkout process you can also choose to fund a purchase with a linked debit or credit card.
My Fellow Equestrians.
It has been an excellent campaign. We fought diligently, and with great vigor.
Unless an unforeseen miracle occurs, wherein 21 ponies cast their orders, we may safely assume that the 100 copy goal is beyond our reach. I congratulate all who contributed to the goal, watched, and waited in hope of the fourth tier. While we may have fallen short of our hopes, we can nonetheless boldly stride forward knowing that each of us will one day have in our possession a piece of Brony history.
All is not lost. While we may not be privileged to rejoice over reaching 100 copies, we can, and should, hold our heads high, proud to be part of this momentous occasion. Let us congratulate the camaraderie of readership, and raise cheers for Ponydora for his willingness to risk printing his story, and his noble effort to sign, and personalize, each copy.
Ladies and Gentlestallions, to a marvelous future! May we one day see the entire Adamant Triskelion trilogy printed!
486648
It failed twice to confirm my checking account by phone, now the only option left is wait 2-3 days and confirm by deposit amounts. Before I'm able to do that I have no idea how I might be able to get any money to you.
486666
You could try connecting your paypal account to a credit card. Otherwise, all I can say is good luck! Unfortunately, it isn't fair to everyone else to hold up the entire order. If you aren't able to connect your paypal to a checking account or credit card within the next couple days, then it will be no problem to cancel your order before I send the entire order to the printer.
486666
Steampvnc1880, in the event that your PayPal should fail to confirm your accounts by the deadline, I would be happy to "loan" the funds for you to purchase your copy, upon your word to repay said costs once your PayPal is functioning as normal.
In other words, I will purchase your copy on your behalf, so that you may have it, with your solemn word that you will forward me the necessary funds once your PayPal is working properly.
486684
That's... awfully brave of you. And kind and generous etc. etc. I swear to you that, as soon as paypal lets me confirm my checking account, I'll pay you back every penny. How should we do this? Probably in a more private place than the comments section of a blog.
Will you be declaring the international shippings as gifts? German customs can be a bit prissy and I'm not to fond of paying taxes for something that's essentially a non-profit work of art.
486768
Send me a PM about the best way for you to avoid the tax. I'm not at all familiar with German customs.
AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!! NO!!!!!!!
HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!
The one week I'm not on the internet, and I miss the order.
Ok, I realise it's probably an enormous cost, if even possible, but as a matter of enquiry, How much would it cost to produce a single copy? (Add on international shipping to England) Seeing as I find myself with a tad of cash, I might be able to afford the costs.
Since I'm doing something similar, who did you use to print? I've been recommended Blurb.com, but several others have warned me off of it.
951234
You can't use Blurb due to copyright issues not worth getting into, but also they are really poor quality. Book1one is top notch, and Colorwise is nearly as good at a lower price point. I used Colorwise (as did fallout equestria and past sins). Good luck!
951287
Thanks!
Hey - who did you go with to get this done, if you don't mind sharing?