Clearing Up Some Confusion · 1:23pm Apr 15th, 2016
Alright, apparently I sent some folks into a tizzy the other day with my post about the books.
I got a lot of PMs from folks and I'm making one big blanket post here to address the questions I've received.
Are you selling these? Can I buy these? How much?
The short answer here is no, I'm not selling these directly, not like how the original FoE book print runs were at least.
The long answer is that this is the first initial printings of these, and in order to make them A: special, and B: manageable for me, they are currently only available to people in the following capacity.
- Become a patron on Patreon of at least $15 a month. $15 a month and above are given the ability to purchase a set of books. Please note, if you must wait until at least the first month of your pledge charging in order to request a set (and to be honest, I would really appreciate ongoing support because you're also getting additional rewards starting at $15 and above. People who sign up and try to buy books without actually ever paying a dime to Patreon and get their rewards will be blocked. I've had zero issues with this sofar, I don't want to start having them now). Books are shipped to me first for signing and then to you. You are responsible for shipping to you from me. (International shipping especially is insanely retarded in this regards).
- Become a patron on Patreon and win one of the giveaways. I won't lie, this giveaway contest has boosted my Patreon beyond my wildest dreams. At some point, instead of just giving away one book, I will be making enough to justify giving away entire sets. Having more support on Patreon drives us to this point. If you are a minimum of $2 patron, you will be eligible for giveaways. Winners of individual book giveaways will be given the option to purchase the rest of the set.
- Donate privately. This is the one that people get hung up on, I feel. This is for the the people who want to support my work and what I do, but don't want to use Patreon (either because they can't do an ongoing subscription model or they just don't like it) and have the capacity to make a one-time donation. IF YOU ONLY WANT TO PURCHASE THE BOOKS THIS OPTION IS NOT FOR YOU. Let me be clear about that. I try to be fair and allow people to assign a donation amount that they deem worth to them to support me. Any of the existing private donors (who I will not reveal, obviously), will tell you that I am not pushy over amounts, nor am I forcing anyone to give more than they have. I'm not in this to make money, the extra funds from donations helps me continue to be able to do what I do. But I want to break this option down because it's confusing to some folks.
In a private donation, you are donating some number above what it costs to purchase the books, and pay for shipping from me to you. Just like on Patreon, the books come to me first for signing and then shipping.
How much do they cost?
To ship from Book Patch to me, it costs $70 approximately. That is only to ship to me. That does not include the shipping from me to you (which can vary depending on whether or not you're in the US or another country).
But I just want to purchase the books?
This is cool, I get that. I love that there is support for this. Believe me. But here's the rub. I do not have the time nor the manpower to go all in on a large printing project like the FoE Book guys have done. You have to remember that they had way higher numbers of people ordering books, which drove the cost of them down for everyone equally. To be honest, I just don't have that audience, and if I do, I'm not seeing it. Yes, I've gotten a good number of PMs from folks who have asked about purchasing books. But I do not think that sub-10 people make for a large book print run where everyone pays a single amount and they just get their books. It just doesn't work like that, and people have to remember that.
So yes, I appreciate that you want to purchase a book, but right now one of the ways above is currently the only way to acquire this specific run of books. In the future, if the FoE book team decides to pick up Starlight for printing, I will provide them with the appropriate files so they can be able to print them appropriately.
But, Past Sins did it
I know a number of other Ponyfic guys who have done printings. Past Sins did it, Winning Pony did it, etc. Those guys have much larger audiences than I do. Period. And I don't begrudge them for it, I love those stories and their writing, but it's simple fact of the matter.
Allow me to finish by saying one final thing. To you kind kind folk who have donated privately, to my Patrons on Patreon. You guys are the best. You are helping me immensely beyond belief. You have no idea how much your kindness has impacted me, and that's why I'm going the full nine for you guys. Your actions speak beyond measure.
To all my readers, thank you for the support and continued readings of my work. You guys are what I do this for, and anyone who knows me knows that I am ever gracious for you all. You allowed a silly Alicorn into your lives and you loved her for it, and most of you who followed Starlight ended up following my other works as well. You guys are sweet.
Ad Victoriam!
- V
i support this choice happy you cleared it up for everypony