There’s still time to donate. I’m almost done with layout, then I finish the index, we proof galleys, I make the cover, and then the book gets printed (about two weeks from now). I put a couple of the book’s graphics into this post.
The fundraiser to cover the cost of producing this book has thus far raised $475, which is not near the money needed. I don’t care. For one thing, I feel so loved by and connected to the folks who made financial contributions. They believed in me. Another reason I don’t care is that the reason most people don’t donate (aside from not having any money) is that they don’t realize publishing entails a whole slew of costs, and that authors are lucky to break even on a project. The final reason I don’t care about how little money has been raised thus far is that I believe in the importance of this book regardless. If need be, I’ll go into debt to cover the major portion of its costs. That is “crazy,” given my meager finances. But I trust my Gods’ll take care of me financially if I do the work that They inspire in me.
But I would prefer this community project be community financed. Please donate. See below.
For you who like hearing about creative process, my latest on this book is: LOL, layout is hard and time intensive. Extra so, because most of this book’s pages have to be laid out individually. Each ornamentation is a different size and shape, and I am usually placing the text along its contours, which requires its page be laid out specifically for it. But I’m proud of the work I’m doing. I think it is gonna look great! Another challenge I feel good about is that, after I laid out the first 10 pages or so, I realized the maximum page count I cld afford to print wld not allow ornamentations to increase page numbers. So what I’ve done is see how each individual page’s words lay out, then fit a graphic to that. (There are a handful of pages with no graphics but most have them.) Sometimes this requires creating ornamentation to fit that space, or building one right there on the page. It is a lot of work but I want this book to be nice to hold and to feel good to look at as you read. This is my first time using a layout program, so next time will be easier. But developing each page is a trip, I’ve even used some of the graphics behind the print, like a watermark. Sometimes, that meant doing a page over and over til the print was still easy to read. Eg, I’d keep moving and/or resizing a graphic til its more dense parts were not behind any words. I’m enjoying making the text, ornamentations, and the bit of calligraphy all work together. Creating is the bomb!
About the Final Project:
There will be a limited 1st edition printing—each copy numbered —of about 300 copies. (I doubt I’ll manage a second printing.)
I’m happy to return to my roots and produce a chapbook again, though it is an unusual format: a saddle-stitched (center-stapled) spiritual text of (approximately) 72 pages, with old-fashioned black and white ornamentations, which I painted.
The goal is $1200-2600, for printing and other publishing costs, raised within the next few weeks.
I’ll contact donors about whether they choose to be mentioned on the acknowledgement page.
Please support community by supporting this book:
Donate $50. You reserve a numbered copy of this limited first edition printing. Go to www.paypal.com: Use outlawbunny@outlawbunny.com as the Recipients Email.
Donate $100 to reserve two numbered copies of this limited first edition. Plus, I’ll make a talisman channeled especially for you. Go to www.paypal.com: Use outlawbunny@outlawbunny.com as the Recipients Email.
Donate $250 for two early-numbered copies of this limited first edition. Plus a talisman channeled especially for you. I will also paint a digital fantasy portrait of you, or a pet, or a friend, suitable for online viewing as well as for sending to a printer if you want a hard copy. Go to www.paypal.com: Use outlawbunny@outlawbunny.com as the Recipients Email.
Donate $500. Receive two numbered copies, starting with #1, first come first serve. Plus an amulet, digital fantasy portrait, and a copy of The Ecstatic Goddess with a painted cover. Only ten copies of The Ecstatic Goddess—a self-published limited first edition—are still available. The book has a black and white cover, but I painted the cover of four copies. Two books with painted covers are available. This page will say when two people have donated $500, AKA the painted cover option is no longer available. Go to www.paypal.com: Use outlawbunny@outlawbunny.com as the Recipients Email.
Thank you for your supportive, enchanted cameraderie, Francesca De Grandis
