-
3 days ago
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #5Typesetting, issue 2, and the road ahead.
Post CommentI've spent the past week getting issue 1 together for printing and distribution. I'm done editing and proofreading the essays, and I owe infinite gratitude to Kaitlyn Tierney for her assistance in detailed copyediting. Typesetting of the print and PDF editions is almost done, and we're on the home stretch for getting content together. My illustrator friend and Bieber fan for life, Jana Kinsman, will be drawing pictures of the three authors and me, and it's going to rule. This week, I'll be working on cleaning up an ePub edition, and then converting that to the Kindle's format.
I've also been posting a few screenshots of interesting snippets to my Dribbble, so if you're into type nerdery, go and take a look.
I can't believe how quickly things are coming together now. Three months ago, we didn't have any essay drafts in. Now a real issue is taking shape. I've narrowed the printer down to two final candidates, and am talking it over with colleagues. I can't believe how far we've come, and I'm so grateful to issue 1's writers – and to you, the people who have made it happen. We're in the home stretch now – please help out and spread the word!
Which brings us to Issue 2. The authors are set, and they're working on writing as you read this. They are:
I'm tremendously excited to have such talented people on board for issue 2. If you ordered a single issue, and you're at least, like, 5% as excited as I am, you can head to Distance's project page, click "Manage Your Pledge," and upgrade to a subscription.
Also, sponsorships for issue 2 are almost sold out: there's only one left. And after speaking with a bunch of folks about it, I've decided that I have woefully undercharged for sponsorships. So, for the next two weeks, my mistake is your gain. After the Kickstarter ends, Distance sponsorships will double in price, to $1,000 apiece, for all time. So if you've been waiting to pull the trigger, get on it! You can sponsor issue 2, 3, or 4.
And finally, I quit my job last week, mostly in order to focus on Distance-related work. My days have been faster and slower in turns; they've changed in tenor, and relaxed considerably on balance. I wake up, grab breakfast at my favorite diner, and hack with my friends who freelance or run startups. I spent eight months working on Distance only on nights and weekends, and having so much time – with actual daylight outside – has been invigorating and liberating.
But also terrifying, you know? Distance doesn't take up all my time, and now I have quite a few free hours in the week. I can do anything right now, and I'm curious about lots of things and quick to learn. I'm an interaction designer by trade, but make books for fun. It feels like anxiety of choice, sometimes, like being faced with fifty different kinds of pasta sauce at the grocery store. I've spent a lot of my time talking with other folks on Skype and sharing coffee with kindred spirits around Chicago. My old job was demanding enough that I didn't spend enough time connecting with my community; now, I'm working to fix that. And, bizarrely, I'm writing more, which is one thing that I shirked during my editorial responsibilities.
And all along the while, I'm looking for interesting projects – so get in touch if you'd like a collaborator.
-
on January 24
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #4We're on The Atlantic!
This is huge: an excerpt from one of Distance's first essays has been published on the Atlantic. The freaking Atlantic. It's from Ben Jackson's essay about gaming; the other two essays be excerpted in different places over the next month.
Thanks so much to The Atlantic for their support!
Post Comment -
on January 20
Nick Disabato
commented on a projectThanks, everybody!
-
on January 20
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #3Fully funded with 28 days to go!
WE MADE IT! Through your phenomenal generosity, Distance is now funded for its first issue. I can't believe how fast we got here – only seventeen days – and it was through your support, not only monetarily, but in spreading the word to your friends and colleagues. You're the ones who are publishing this: you supported this venture, and many of you are helping to write for future issues. I can't express how eternally grateful I am for your early support and kind words.
I'd like to spend the rest of this post explaining what's going to happen next, and what this all means for you as a backer.
There are 28 days left in funding Distance, and a Kickstarter project is a great opportunity to keep getting the word out so that we can establish as much momentum as possible. We are not done yet, and we have a chance to blow this goal out of the water. While the first issue is fully funded, any excess in funding will go to support the printing and distribution of subsequent issues. Please continue to get the word out as much as you can; more funding will allow me to devote even more time to editing and publishing, and that will undoubtedly result in a better product in the long run. Distance is meant to be an ongoing thing, able to sustain itself over future issues, and that can only happen with your support.
Once the project ends, a few things will happen:
- Your credit card will be charged. (Not now.)
- I will relaunch the main site with a storefront to purchase individual issues, and subscribe for a year.
- I will finish up the first issue and send digital bundles to all backers over Kickstarter. This will probably happen within two weeks after the project ends. The first one is going to be the toughest in terms of establishing and streamlining my workflow; there's no easy, elegant way to publish to three different formats at once with reverence to their respective forms.
- I will have selected a printer by this point, and will send the final PDF to them. Print copies should be in your hands around 8-10 weeks after I send the PDF to the printer. I will be completely transparent about this process; sometimes hold-ups occur, although I'm doing everything in my power to keep that from happening.
I am currently:
- Making final edits to the first issue's three essays.
- Lining up authors for the second and third issues. (There's been a lot of demand! If you're interested, take a look over here and get in touch.)
- Working on typesetting issues, coordinating with other designers to critique the final text and cover layouts.
- Narrowing down printers. I have it down to three right now (including the one that published my previous book), but don't know which one I'm going with yet. I also need to solicit new quotes from them; I last spoke with them six months ago, and quotes tend to only be good for ninety days.
- Drinking the launch beer.
- Freaking out at the generosity and kindness of others.
I have already:
- Purchased typefaces, ISBN numbers, and stickers. (Surprise! Backers of the print issue will receive stickers that they can use as bookmarks!)
- Sold out sponsorships for the first issue. If you want to sponsor future issues, please change your pledge on the project page, as slots are limited. Sponsoring an issue of Distance is the easiest way for us to turn a modest profit and pay our authors. If you run a company or want to pitch a hobby, slots are $500 apiece to hawk your rad idea to a bunch of phenomenally attractive, witty people.
I think that's it for the time being. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your support and interest in Distance. Your support means the world to us.
Now let's keep our momentum going!
Post Comment -
on January 18
Nick Disabato
backed a project
Homesweet Homegrown! by Microcosm Publishing
A simple DIY guide to growing, storing, and making your own food, , no matter where you live.
-
114% funded $4,590 pledged
- 159 backers
- Funded Jan 20, 2012
-
-
on January 13
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #35Cadence & Slang has a Twitter account.
Post CommentAll,
I've started a Twitter account with some UI examples and updates on future print runs and new editions. You can take a look at @slang.
Thanks!
-
on January 11
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #2$10,000 and being awesome.
Post CommentI have good news and bad news and then a bunch of other news that is neither good nor bad. The good news is that we just broke $10,000. We've come a long way, and the proverbial light is visible at the end of this tunnel of crowdfunding.
Here is the bad news:
That is the graph of Distance's funding so far. The green line is our goal. Each dot represents a day's progress. The first three days saw significant funding; then the weekend hit, and people went away from their computers – who can blame them, really? – and stopped paying attention to the continued blatherings of a curly-haired crazy person. And it is hard to get that momentum again, you know? I could take out a billboard on Interstate 90, I guess, but that would require still more funding. And the problem is that we already don't have enough. And the non-problem is that if we raise $13,501 for the project, that's the bare minimum we need to squeak by, and as veteran Kickstarter backers know, all funds will go back into supporting you guys.
So here is my humble request to you: if you believe in us, tell everybody you know about this project: friends, colleagues, and teammates. I know the odds look favorable right now, but funding tapers off significantly after the beginning of most projects, sometimes never to recover. You're our most ardent supporters, you have gotten in on the ground floor, and word of mouth is all we have.
Now for some more developments. I have written a handful of blog posts about Distance, which may be of some interest if you're following along.
- The post introducing Distance
- Essays and rants
- Editorial strategy
I'll be putting up a new post every Tuesday for the next five weeks, making for a series of seven blog posts in addition to the launch.
Finally, I've noticed a few names coming across my radar as backers have streamed in. As is my usual way, I'll take a look at who my customers are – and some of you have some great work under your belt. I would love for my backers to help write for future issues, if you think you're up for it. Get at me over email (nickd at nickd dot org) or Twitter if you think you might be interested, and we can talk more.
Thanks again for all of your interest, and we're looking forward to bearing down the home stretch!
-
on January 6
Nick Disabato
backed a project
Bike·a·Bee by Jana Kinsman
Bringing beehives to Chicago's greenspaces, urban farms, and community gardens - all while caring for them by bicycle!
-
123% funded $8,646 pledged
- 235 backers
- Funded Feb 07, 2012
-
-
on January 5
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #1Day 1.
Post CommentAlright. Hello. Hi. How are you? I'm doing well: nursing some green tea at home, playing records. It's been a fairly auspicious day, and I'm blown away, all over again, by the generosity of friends and strangers. (You are one of these.)
I did this all before, two years ago. It was a quieter time; fewer people paid attention to what I was doing. Three months after that project was funded, I crashed SxSW with one of my backers, and threw a slapdash meetup at a bar on the first night; four dozen people showed. I've become good friends with many backers in the years since, and one of them is writing an essay for Distance's first issue. Kickstarter is more than a platform for funding crazy ideas: it builds communities and it strengthens relationships with kindred spirits.
When the fruits of that effort sold out, it was the end of an era in a way, even though I plan to revisit the project again. All the same, though, I wondered what to do next. I knew I was capable of profitably writing, publishing, and shipping a book. I felt like what I was doing wasn't terribly special, because it could be reproduced by anybody with the right know-how and resolve. So the challenge then became how to involve others in the process, to empower folks to work in a constructive way that fits the work that I want to be doing.
And so this is the culmination of seven months of planning and work with some wonderful folks. I'm immensely grateful that you've taken a chance on us, sight unseen, and I speak for everyone when I say we hope you can spread the message, as word of mouth is all we have. We have come a long way, passing 100 backers in a day, but we aren't there yet. Thanks again, and let me know if you have any questions.
-
on January 4
Nick Disabato
Posted project update #34The next thing: introducing Distance.
Post CommentHey, guys - it's been a while, yeah? I hope you've had a good new year. I had such a wonderful time writing and publishing Cadence & Slang that I've launched another Kickstarter around publishing - this time, for a quarterly journal for long-form essays about design and technology, called Distance.
You're some of my earliest and most ardent supporters, and if you liked Cadence & Slang, it would be humbling and gratifying if you could help support, and spread the word about, this next little venture.
And, because you're probably curious: once Distance gains enough momentum that I can spend a little less energy on it, I will throw a lot of effort into a second edition of Cadence & Slang with a lot of information about mobile and touch interfaces, along with a slew of corrections, clarifications, and additional research. It will come in time.
Thanks again for all your support through the years. You're still awesome.
Nick Disabato
Chicago, IL
I'm a designer from Chicago. In late 2010, I wrote, designed, and published Cadence & Slang (http://cadence.cc), which was funded through the great generosity of folks on Kickstarter.
That's fantastic! Congratulations to everyone involved!