Am I worried? No. Why should I be? I'm not entering the contest, so the deadline means nothing to me. And as I've explained, I can do far better with the menus selling them in person than I can do online. In person, at a game con, I can easily get $70 a copy free and clear. Online, I have to pay a third of that to mail it, with it being impractical to sell it for more than the $45 I'm asking.
This blog isn't about contests. And even as I work on possible products to sell at a con, this blog isn't about products, either. I am eternally grateful to those who committed to my kickstarter. Thanks to you, I have menus I can move when I'm ready, I have excellent terms with a menu folder provider and I'm in great shape just as soon as we can move on from Covid. Thanks to people who support my Patreon, I've been able to turn my offline writing job into a sustainable part of my life, so that every day I can get up, sit at my computer and work. Of course, this means that some days I work for other people, but I can do it here. I can drink my own coffee, I can monitor emails and comments, and I have no one physically looking over my shoulder. I'm probably living in the best circumstances of my life right now, which is pretty amazing for someone who was living in the worst circumstances 3 years ago ... and with me transforming that circumstance, I must stress, during Covid.
This blog is about content. Those who support me deserve to see that content as many days of the week that I can produce it. I write as much as I can think to write, covering as many topics as I can think to cover. I've come to see this blog as a "get my feet wet" process of book writing. So far, it hasn't actually spawned any books in that regard, but ... I think it's going to.
Once upon a time, I lived my life way in the future. Two, three years hence. What I did today was a part of what I would have written in completion years from now. Somehow, I've lost touch with that. Oh, it's still here. I've just forgotten ... exactly ... how to do it. Too much living day-to-day, hand-to-mouth.
These last four months, writing about worldbuilding, feels like a dry run ... and at the same time, it also feels like a disconnected collection of thoughts stumbling in the dark, looking for a structure. I keep thinking one's going to emerge, like Topsy ... but so far, not yet.
The contest, the menu ... these are things behind me. They're done — though there were two pages I owed to the menu that didn't manifest, and that eats at me a little. I do have to get on those. Did some preliminary work. Just ... got a little sick of writing menu items. Anyway, it's in the back of my head. I was saying, I'm thinking mostly right now of things in front of me. Despite feeling good, being on my feet, unworried for a change, I'm not sure just now what I want to work on in the big picture.
If anything feels like it needs attention, it's committing myself to a game con that would present sometime post-October. Something I'd need to sign up for in April. Something in Canada would be easier, but I think with Patreon's support to date, I could do Chicago, Seattle, Denver ... maybe San Francisco. I have to look into it. If anyone has any idea of a con in your town, or near your town, that can boast at least 60,000 guests, let me know. Not worth the travel time to go somewhere smaller.
Oh. I've been working on that Romania map. Anyone want to see how far I'm getting? Or are we all bored with that now?
One other thing. I haven't worked seriously on the wiki for a few months now. I gotta pick that up again.
Certainly, no one would object to more maps!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Romania map looks nice and it's good to see what you're working on
ReplyDeleteYeah, work this wiki, I'm reading it ^^ !
ReplyDeleteAnd now let's check this next post about some Romania mapped...
Sorry I'm about a week behind, but this seemed most appropriate place to ask. I was wondering about your equipment list poster project (The project (first?) presented 27 January 2021 post). I was just curious the status, i.e. backburner, abandon. Even though I was interested in your development and production of the menu's, and very glad to see its success, I personally was more interested in the poster.
ReplyDeleteThank you Zarious. The poster is not abandoned, but it has a problem. My conception was a poster 36 in. by 48; the easiest way to distribute this poster would be to have it printed on demand and sent to the customer out of a printing company offering that service. This is how my books are distributed. A client orders the poster, the poster is printed by the company and sent directly to the client's address. I never see it.
ReplyDeleteNO ONE prints a poster of this size on demand. The largest size I can get printed is 36 by 24, which is half the poster's size. As the poster concept I have is already using 10 pt. font, it's impractical to shrink the font of the many items to fit the half-sized font. The only alternative is to divide the content into two posters; the headache here is to determine which objects go on which poster.
Another issue has been with the background art and look of the poster. We've tried several strategies; none of them make me especially happy, which means I will have to go with something that makes me unhappy. I have a best-case choice, which I still don't particularly like, but I'm hoping for something else. Artists have proved to be a frikkin' useless option, as the whole profession seems to have its head up its collective ass. On the whole, they want to produce shit for shit-tons of money, and I've reaches a "fuck-them" position on that matter. I would like to find a practical, flexible and qualified graphic artist not asking for a sum that I'd have to sell 3,000 posters to pay off ... so far, no luck with that.
As such, with other things going on, I've shelved the problem. But as last night I have learned that there are game cons in Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver between August and February 2022-23, the matter will have to be addressed.
Ha! I was wondering what was going on with the contest. Still curious to see what (if anything) gets submitted by the deadline.
ReplyDelete