Greetings Backers,

It is time for a quick update on the final two pieces of this project.

TL;DR: No action items. Audiobook only needs some final editing and an outro. The Activities Notebook needs me to devote some time to layout. Your next update will be the week of January 26-30.

The audiobook engineer put in some editing time over the holidays. He was finishing up and realized that the book needs an outro. I wrote it, now we just need to find a moment in Mary Robinette Kowal's schedule to have her record it. Once we have that piece I should be able to deliver files to all of you who have an audiobook as part of your order.

I was much distracted by holidays and end of year activities, so I did not devote much time to Activities Book layout, but now that we're at the beginning of the new year I'm ready to focus and get work done. I'm hoping to have layout complete in the next two weeks. I've got a lead on a good solution to getting the notebooks printed, I'll have more information on that with the next update.

Sorry this update is short and sweet. The beginning of the year has a big stack of tasks to get done and I want to plow through them as fast as possible, but I didn't want to leave you all wondering what is going on.  If you're interested in a more detailed accounting of all my things, here is my most recent Newsletter. 

Your next update will be the week of January 26-30.
Thank you so much for your support.
All the best,
Sandra Tayler

Greetings Backers!

Thank you so much to everyone who backed this project. 

TL;DR: I've shipped out all the packages that are ready to ship. 204 packages are waiting on the completion of the Activities Notebook. (Details below) You can now order additional copies of the book directly from our online store. (Sandra Tayler Store). Audiobook is waiting for me to review files, which I plan to do this week. A detailed accounting of all deliverables is below. Your next update will be the week of January 5-9. 

ACTION ITEM: If you are among the 204 whose packages are waiting on the Activities Notebook and you would really like to have your other items by Christmas, please email me: [email protected]  I can split your order for an extra shipping charge. If you're content to wait, no action is needed!

I love this part. It is when I get to send packages to many people and then imagine people opening those packages. I'll go into detail about the joyful shipping process down below, but first some stats and specific updates on deliverables.

1357 total orders
498 Digital only (All of these have been marked as shipped, but you'll get automatic emails when the audiobook is ready or when I have an updated ebook file for you.)
638 packages mailed Pictures below! You should have gotten an email with your tracking number. (Unless you have a Custom Designed Activities Notebook in your order.)
204 waiting on Activities Notebook Details below
12 unanswered surveys Click here to fill out your survey if this is you!
4 declined cards 

SLSC Print book: Complete!
SLSC ebook: I still need to re-issue a version with the sentence corrected in Chapter 10.
SLSC Audiobook: Waiting on me to approve audio files. Details below.
Activities Notebook: In layout. This got sidelined because of holidays, helping my son move, and then shipping. It needs to come back front and center. Details below.
Journal (for creativity bundle): Complete!
Bookmarks: Complete!
Notecards: Complete!
Sticker sheets: Complete!
Thank you Postcard: Complete!
Giveaway books: I need to create a form for people to sign up to receive these. Once I have the process in place I'll advertise their availability. This is going to be my January push.
Lecture bundle: Complete!

I checked in with the audiobook engineer about progress and it turns out they need my final approval for the files. So I need to schedule time this week to listen to 10 hours of audiobook and make notes about any changes or corrections. Once I turn in those notes then Mary Robinette and the engineer can schedule a session to record the corrections.  So this is waiting on me to get it done. Sorry about the delay. 

My work on layout for the Activities Notebook got completely sidelined by helping my son move, Thanksgiving, some freelancing work, and then book shipping.  It is time for me to re-focus and get this done asap. Once layout is complete, then I hit a decision point where I can either optimize for time or for money. I can have the books printed over seas which will delay their delivery by three months but will be MUCH cheaper for me per copy so I could print extras to sell. Or I can print them inside the US for 4x as much per copy, have them in only a week or two from placing the order, but I'd only get as many as needed to deliver to backers.  I hate the long delay, but I think the overseas shipping makes the most sense. I'll continue thinking this through while I get the layout done. 

In order to deliver the give away books, I need to create an easy online form that people can fill out to claim one of the books. I'm going to focus on Audiobook and Activities Notebook first, then turn my attention to this. So you'll probably see more news on this in January. 

After all of the above is done, there are still some next steps for this project. The Crowdfunded edition will be available in my store while supplies last. (I have 1500 spare copies, so supplies should last quite a while).  I'll also use Ingram Spark create eBook and POD editions that will go live on Amazon and other large retailers. This will allow people who are not in the US to get physical copies without paying for international postage. The POD editions won't have the same quality of construction, but will still get all of the content. Publishing this second edition also means that (in theory) bookstores and libraries can order my book. It will likely be January before I get this done.

My last update showed you pictures from the day we built boxes. Let me take you through the process of prepping packages.
Books start here on the pallet out in the large warehouse space.

I carry a box of them into our workspace and unload them onto a table.

Then I can take stacks to refresh the piles at the packing station.  This is where a book, thank you card, and buffer paper are all placed together into a box and stacked to be sealed up.
Here you can see boxes waiting to be sealed.

I didn't get a close up view of the taping station. But the helper pulls out the postage, tapes the box closed and then sticks the mailing label to the outside.

We then load everything into the car to be dropped at the post office.

When we were all done, we'd gone through most of a pallet of books.

There was also a day when I signed 260 books.

And another helper carefully assembled bundles of notecards, stickers, and book marks.

It was a fun three days of work with cheerful company and it resulted in more than 600 packages mailed. Today I'm sending out the final orders with personalizations.  And the only orders left are those which also have the activities notebook. 

That's my update for now.

Your next update will be January 5-9 when I'll report on the Activities Notebook, Audiobook, and eBook re-issue.  I'd report earlier, but I'm giving myself a holiday break.

Thank you so much for backing my project!
Sandra Tayler

Great news! My shipment of books is in my warehouse.

TL;DR: I'll be shipping out books as fast as I can this week.  I'll start printing postage tomorrow, so now is an excellent time to update your address if it has changed.  CLICK HERE TO UPDATE ADDRESS  I'll be reaching out later in the week to confirm Personalization information for those who have that as part of their order.

Action Item 1: CLICK HERE TO UPDATE ADDRESS if you need to update it.

Action Item 2: If your order contains a Custom Designed Notebook AND you want your print book in time for Christmas, please contact me ([email protected]) so I can arrange a split shipment for your order. You'll need to pay some additional shipping cost, but I want you to have your book for the holidays. If you're happy to wait, no need to do anything. 






Today me and two helpers built more than 600 boxes that will be used to ship books.

Look at my amazing helpers! 

Wednesday I print postage and pick up a few last items from the print shop.
Thursday and Friday books go into the mail. 
I'll have another update for you on Monday. In that update I'll go over all the remaining work and will provide pictures of the shipping process. 

This is the fun part. I'm so glad I get to deliver everything to you.
All the best,
Sandra

Greetings Backers!

TL;DR: No action items for you. (Unless you still need to fill out your survey.) I am working on preparing for shipping, reviewing audiobook files, and creating layout for the Activities Notebook. Backers can get two free months of my Patreon Community. (Link is in Backer's Only section). Things will be slow until December when many things will happen at once. Your next update will be the week of December 1-6, when hopefully I can show you pictures of pallets of books.

Pre-orders for Structuring Life to Support Creativity are still open!  CLICK HERE  If you know someone who missed the funding, they can still sign up and get a book in any of the available formats.

Word from my printer is that books will arrive to me on December 3rd. There are lots of factors that can delay a shipment, but this printer is usually right on the dot with their delivery estimates. So I'm planning ahead and setting things up so that shipping can begin as soon as I have books.
What does shipping prep look like?

Arranging physical space
My warehouse was kind of a mess. It was one of those messes that accumulate year after year when you run from one project to the next with out pausing to clean up properly. It took several months, new shelving, and a willingness to massively reorganize, but I now have a functional workspace. Here is a before and after of the room which I'll use to assemble SLSC packages.

Oh! And because I previously showed you pictures of the partially finished side room, here it is complete. (Or at least Done for Now)

Printing the last few physical items
I need to get the bookmarks and note cards printed. I also need to create a thank you note and errata insert. Fortunately all of these things can be printed locally inside a week. I need to get it done soon so that I can create bundles.

Pre-assembling bundles
There are a large number of orders which contain all the extras (bookmark, notecards, stickers, etc.)  Shipping is much smoother if I can grab a single bundle of "All the extras" instead of individually putting each item in the box.

I also need to prep the bubble paper insert. They come in 12x12 inch sheets and I need half sheets, so I'll pre-cut those before the books arrive.

Selecting shipping supplies
SLSC is a different size and weight than other books we ship, so I needed to do research into how best to pack them. I found a box that is perfect for single book orders.

The top folds down and the bubble paper keeps the book from sliding around.  However for orders that have a journal, this box isn't going to work.

Instead I had to order a box that is both wider and deeper. I'll need additional packing in these boxes to make sure things don't slide around and get damaged.

I'm getting these box supplies ordered now, because once holiday shipping hits, all of the deliveries are slowed down and some types of boxes go out of stock until after the new year. I need to plan ahead so that I'm not waiting on boxes to mail orders.

Lining up shipping assistants
In order to ship a lot of packages very quickly, I'll need additional hands. I have my regular shipping crew (my kids), but my local writer's group also said "Can we help?" So I'll be hosting a shipping party or two where I feed people and they help me get books into boxes. I'm looking forward to it.

Shipping season is a joyful one. I love getting to send people happy packages.

While I'm working on shipping prep, I also need to not neglect work on the remaining deliverable items. Over the next few weeks I need to check the audiobook files so that I have notes ready for early December. I also need to do layout for the Activities Notebook.  (Orders containing the physical Activities Notebook will be later than the other orders. I'm thinking about ways to speed this up and also to allow people to choose to pay for split shipping if they wish. I'll have more news about that in the next update.)

Last update I mentioned an error discovered in the book during the audiobook recording. My narrator reached out to let me know that the chapter on Physical Space had a sentence fragment in it.  I rescued the missing words and gave them to my narrator, but the book had already gone to print. When my advance copies arrived, I confirmed that the error was indeed in the book.


The missing words are: When he set up to work, he'd take over half the kitchen table. Then, after he was done, he'd stow
This error almost certainly happened at the copy edit stage and was definitely my mistake. When I went back to the edit documents I could see that the missing words are a single line that I must have accidentally deleted while copy editing.

Obviously this is the kind of mistake I don't want to have in my book, but fortunately the missing words do not materially damage the information provided by the chapter. (In fact if I'd been just a touch more thorough and deleted the fragment as well, probably no one would have noticed it at all.) I can't afford to have the book re-printed for this small error, so I will do what I can. I will send an insert out with every copy of the book I mail, explaining the missing words and what they are. I'll correct the error in all future editions. All of you backers will get an updated eBook version once I'm past the rush of shipping and the holidays. And I'll not spend too much time spinning in anxiety over my mistake.

The truth is that all books have errors. Every single thing I've ever published has been imperfect. Even if I succeed at a complete lack of typos, a book is necessarily a snapshot of my thinking and skill at the time it was declared done. My future self would definitely say things differently. In running this project I have a unique opportunity to offer a few corrections in an insert I mail out with the book. I may have a few more along with this one.  
 

Remember that as a backer you can get two months free membership to my Patreon community. Coupon Code is available by accessing this update on the Backerkit Website and logging in. View the options here:
Sandra's Patreon

And if you need to plan a gift for a creative person in your life, you can give them the give of community, creative support, or structural coaching using this link:
Gift a Membership to Sandra's Patreon

This month I'm talking about how to Work Around Your Pillars, and I'm exploring the idea that some pillars aren't actually connected to any dreams or priorities, they're just obstacles.

 I would love to have you join me. Communities need people. 

That's my update for now. I'll post the next one during the week of December 1-6.
Thank you so much for backing this project!
Sandra Tayler