Hey folks, I hope everyone is kicking along well. I bring news, and unfortunately not the good kind.
TLDR: The books had an error. I’m getting a reprint that will delay things a few weeks.
The Bad.
When the books arrived the other day, the final main piece in the project puzzle, I quickly chucked everything together for a cute photo and sent out an update. I was excited. Things seemed ready to go for shipping and closing this bad boy off.
Sadly, that’s not the case just yet.
Later that day, as I started to plan out packaging things, I took a closer look at the books and disappointment started to build. There were a few minor issues on a couple of books. Bent corners and scuffed covers. Nothing crazy for an order of 700 books. But then I noticed the spines.
The Ugly.
On nearly every book, at the top of the spine, there is a scuff mark. Its minor and probably exacerbated by the fact that it’s a black cover revealing a white scuff. But its on nearly every book. I initially ummmed and ahhhhed over how to handle this. Am I overthinking it? Is it only obvious with all the books together? Is it only obvious to me as I deal with books constantly? Will anyone care? Will the printer care?
Eventually I decided it wasn’t good enough. Folks that back crowdfunding projects honestly deserve the best quality product over nearly anyone else. You put your money out there with a chance of getting nothing in return. You don’t deserve scuffed edges. Even minor ones.
So, I reached out to the printer, and after some back and forth, they offered to take the books back and give me a credit for a reprint. A credit in particular, as I’ve decided I no longer want (or really trust) the stable-bound version that I first received and will be swapping to perfect bound print. The printers in general have been really helpful with the whole thing.
The scuffs in image form.
The Good.
The books are still coming! What I did see, in terms of layout and art etc, looked really good. And all things considered this is a fairly good outcome. You’ll get the best products possible, just a few weeks later than planned.
In general, I’m hoping I’ll have the reprint and shipping underway before the end of March. The next update will be when the first lot of packages are out the door.
