00: Taking flight
almost 2 years ago
– Tue, Oct 04, 2022 at 11:03:29 PM
Broomsticks at the ready folks, we're off to the skies!
Funded in ten minutes!
Wow, just wow. This launch has been incredible, and it's all thanks to your support. The fact that so many of you have decided to come on this journey with me is heartwarming—I really, truly appreciate it. I'm sure you're all busy people, but there's three things I want to cover quickly.
1. Who am I?
I thought I'd take this opportunity to say hello. Hi!
I'm Jack. I've been designing games my whole life, but more seriously over the past four years as Mousehole Press. This coincided with the birth of my first child, mostly because I needed something to fill my brain during the long, boring nights when they refused to sleep. Now I've got four solid releases out into the world, and I've also got two kids who don't sleep. Hooray.
I balance my games writing alongside being a dad and a day job where I wrangle data for a map company. Which brings me neatly onto point #2.
2. Expectations
Delivering four projects has taught me that it's worth setting clear expectations up-front about communication. Hopefully this all sounds sensible to you!
Office hours
I don't have Kickstarter, Twitter or any other social media on my phone. I used to, and I found that it was pretty ruinous for my mental health to be checking things 24/7. Instead, I check for comments and messages first thing in the morning on my laptop (around 8am BST), and periodically through the working day. I don't usually check anything on the weekend or holidays.
Emergencies
If something can't wait that long, you can always drop me an email: jack at mousehole dot press. I have that on my phone, and will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
Updates
I'll be posting more while the campaign is running, but during fulfilment you can expect one update a month from me until it's delivered. Some months will be busier than others, but I will make sure to get something out regardless. Please don't request an update unless, somehow, a month has passed without word (but this won't happen!). I keep my updates brief to respect your time (this is a big one!), but if you want more behind-the-scenes detail you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter here.
3. Stretch goals
Okay, housekeeping done, here's something fun.
I have a whole host of stretch goals for this project, and most of them are physical—making the book even nicer.
The first, which I can now reveal, is that at £20,000 (err wow, that's not far away!) I'll be including a fancy gold-foiled bookmark with every physical book. As well as being a second way to mark your place in the book (which has a ribbon), it will also have page references to help you navigate the book more easily. Pretty, but also practical.
That's it for this one, speak again soon. Thanks again ❤️
Jack