Friday, November 13, 2015

News » An Update about Updates

<b>The Book</b>
Okay, first off a quick book update: I've received the new proof containing the material unlocked during the Indiegogo campaign, and it looks pretty good, though I think I'll do one more iteration. Some of the colors turned out a bit darker than I'd like them to be. I'm also finishing up the perks for those Indiegogo backers who got them. Then it will just be a matter of getting everything shipped. This has been quite the experience, and one I'm grateful for! However it's also left me a little bit worn out. I haven't been getting as much sleep as I need and I've noticed how it's been affecting me. In addition, the comic has been sucking up a lot of my spare time. (I do have a full time job. It's called being a husband and father. I also have another full time job as a software engineer.) I would like to spend some time trying out some other projects I'm interested in, without sacrificing my health or other responsibilities.
Now, don't panic! <i>Aww, Feathers!</i> isn't going anywhere. But I am going to dial back the update schedule just a smidge. Here's the plan:

<b>November and December</b>
Even with the extra time I gained from the Guest Comic Event I held a while back, I've still managed to fall a bit behind. To help me get caught back up, I've come up with a fun mini-story that will be posted during November and at least part of December. Without giving it completely away, it will take a look back at some moments from the main story but from a <i>different</i> perspective. I think you'll enjoy it! The next chapter of the main story will begin the first week of January at the latest.

<b>Update Schedule</b>
Currently the main story has been updating every Tuesday, with the occasional bonus comic on the weekend. After the aforementioned mini-story is finished, I'm going to change the schedule to update the main story three times a month. Then on the fourth Tuesday (and fifth, if there is one) I'll do a bonus mini comic to tie you over until the next update, since those are really quick and easy for me to do. This will give me some much needed time to take care of other things and experiment with some other projects I would like to try. I'm hoping, however, that this will be a temporary measure.
In the near future I plan to start a Patreon page for <i>Aww, Feathers!</i> Patreon is a crowdfunding platform for continuous projects, sort of like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, except patrons can pledge a monthly amount to support projects they care about. To be clear, the comic will remain free for everyone to read. <i>But</i>, if you are able, pledging a small amount will help me cover the costs of creating the comic and running the website. And if we can reach a modest monthly goal, it will enable me to go back to updating the main story every week! There will also be special rewards for those who pledge their financial support, so stay tuned for that opportunity!

<b>Mini-comics</b>
The new (hopefully temporary) update schedule means I'll be making more of those mini-comics. I've been wondering for a while now where to put them. I don't want them to interfere with the flow of the main story, but I do want to keep them available for future readers. I've been keeping them in a separate part of the website, but as I've made more and more I've decided on a new approach. When there's a series of mini comics that kind of go together (like all the recent Indiegogo themed ones) they'll get moved to their own chapter after the new chapter begins. As for the one-offs, they'll be moved to the end of the chapter in which they first appeared, and then at the end of the year they'll also be put into a chapter together.
So over the next little bit you'll probably see a bunch of "new" comics posted (in fact, by the time you read this that might have already happened). That's just me re-uploading the old bonus comics to their respective chapters (I've created a chapter for the 2014 ones, and those from this year will be moved to their own chapter after the new main story chapter begins). This process shouldn't be too disruptive, unless you subscribe to <i>Aww, Feathers!</i> updates using an RSS reader, in which case you may see a small flood of updates, in which case I apologize! I think this will be a better way to organize things however.

<b>In Closing</b>
Thank you for your patience with all the craziness that's been going on over the past few months! Let me just say one more time that while it's been tiring, it's also been a pleasure. Even so, I'm looking forward to spending a slightly less hectic holidays with my family during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I'll keep you posted on how things go. Thanks, and have a great weekend!

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