The Cure for the Common Game
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.
Greetings Backers,
We have our finalized digital files available for download!
You should get an email alerting you to these files with a link that takes you directly to the download page. If you do not get that email, you can access your downloads by logging in to Backerkit here: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
Go to your Order Confirmation Page and the links to download files will be there.
The download is named XDM2e Final Digital Files
If you have any difficulty with this process, or if you have trouble unzipping the compressed folder, please contact [email protected] and we'll be happy to help you.
This compressed folder contains the following files:
XDM Accessible Copy ePub: This is an ePub file which can be loaded onto any eReader and has been optimized so that text can be re-sized, re-flowed, and reconfigured based on the needs of the reader. (Please note that the ePub format struggles with managing images that are inline with the text. There will probably be some wonkiness with partial pages of text, image on it's own page, then text resuming after that.)
XDM2e Accessible Copy mobi: This is a mobi file that can be loaded onto Kindle devices and has been optimized so that the text can be re-sized, re-flowed, and reconfigured based on the needs of the reader. (Please note that the mobi format struggles with managing images that are inline with the text. There will probably be some wonkiness with partial pages of text, image on it's own page, then text resuming after that.)
XDM2e Accessible Copy: This is a fully accessible PDF of the entire book with alt-text. Most of the formatting and layout has been stripped out so that all of the text can be re-sized, font changed, and re-flowed based on the needs of the reader.
XDM2e Screen Reader Optimized ePub: This is an ePub file which attempts to preserve as much of the layout and design as possible given the format change. It also has a lot of hidden formatting designed so that screen reader devices will correctly read all of the text and alt-text. (Please note that the ePub format struggles with managing images that are inline with the text. There will probably be some wonkiness with partial pages of text, image on it's own page, then text resuming after that.)
XDM2e Screen Reader Optimized mobi: This is a mobi file which attempts to preserve as much of the layout and design as possible given the format change. It also has a lot of hidden formatting designed so that screen reader devices will correctly read all of the text and alt-text. (Please note that the mobi format struggles with managing images that are inline with the text. There will probably be some wonkiness with partial pages of text, image on it's own page, then text resuming after that.)
XDM2e Screen Reader Optimized PDF: This is a PDF that completely replicates the look of the physical book, but has alt-text and hidden formatting so that screen reader programs will be able to read the book correctly.
X-treme Dungeon Mastery by Tracy and Curtis Hickman: This PDF file is the book with a cover image.
We're excited to get these to you and hope you enjoy them. There will be a shipping update and full status report during the week of July 25-29.
Thank you for backing our project,
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team
Greetings Backers,
Welcome to your regular status report. We've loved seeing social media posts and getting messages from people who have received their books. Thank you for letting us see your excitement!
TL;DR: We're more than half way through shipping packages, but things have been paused while waiting for Curtis and Tracy to sign the bookplates. The finalized PDF should be available next week. Sketching will start soon. We will be at Gen Con. Details below.
Gen Con Indianapolis August 4-7
Howard, Sandra, and Tracy will all be at Gen Con, an event that is requiring both masks and vaccinations to attend. If you're there too, please stop by and say hello! We're happy to sign books and chat. You can find us at booth 1849 which is listed as Howard Tayler Jim Zub in the program. Tracy will have to split his time between our booth and a host of other activities, but we'll post a "Tracy will return at ____" sign so you can know when to swing by and talk to him.
Pre-ordering is still available so you can get additional copies of the book for your friends, family, and gaming group here: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
Most of you have filled out your surveys. Thank you! If you're one of the 20 people who haven't, specific step-by-step instructions for the survey can be found here. If you didn't get your survey email, or have lost it, you can go to this link to get access to your survey: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
This is the comprehensive list of things we owe to you as part of this project.
Progress in the past weeks is easiest if I label sections.
PDF: I got word from our accessibility consultant that they hope to have a finalized PDF ready for me early next week. That means I should be able to create downloads for all of you by the end of the week. I'll drop a quick update to let you know when that has happened. You'll also probably get a Download Available email from Backerkit for each download. Sorry for the extra email, but I'd rather over inform than fail to inform.
Audiobook: I'm chasing Tracy down to get more information on the status of this. If nothing else, I'll see him in person when I pick up the bookplates. Then I can find out the audiobook progress and if there is anything I can do to facilitate it going faster. I also have a list of Gen Con questions for Tracy as well. One way or another Tracy will get the recording done. Delivering on promises is hugely important to all of us at team XDM2e, so we'll keep working on it and keep giving you status reports until the work is done.
Sketches: I'm planning to start aiming Howard at these next week. Once the gears engage, the process will go quickly. The good news is that we can get started on these even if it takes a week or more for Tracy to sign all the bookplates. Almost all of the orders with sketches also have bookplates, so it'll be a race to see which thing gets all the way done first.
Howard is continuing to work on the Shafter's Shifters project, but he got side tracked into a project we call the Department of Mislabeled Bottles, which is a set of stickers that you can apply to your kitchen spices.
If you're curious about how this project came to be, Howard tells the story here. If you'd like a PDF so you can print your own labels, we have that available. Or you can order a set of 75 labels directly from our store.
Sandra has been juggling shipping for XDM2e with organizational duties for the Writing Excuses Retreat that is running this week, the much larger Writing Excuses Retreat that is happening in September, and preparations for Gen Con which may include planning a road trip rather than flying. Oh, and a family reunion which happened this past weekend. "Life comes at you fast" as Ferris Beuller would say. So hopefully the remainder of this week will provide a bit of a breather before next week's pile of things.
That's our updates for now. You can expect the following updates in the next four weeks:
Thank you so much for backing our project!
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team
Greetings Backers!
We're now in week two of shipping and we have some updates for you.
TL;DR: This email contains info on updating your shipping address, instructions for downloading digital items, link you can share so your friends and family can get a book too, shipping status report, additional details. A full status report on all the deliverables will happen next week.
Updating your shipping address
You will get an email at least two days before your package ships that will have a link to confirm or update your shipping address. If you would prefer to update your address now, you can login using your emailed survey link, or via this link: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
Where is my package?
In looking for information to provide you with an answer for this question, I found the "Send Tracking Notifications" button, which I apparently have to push manually. Many of you are about to get tracking info for packages you've already received. Going forward I'll push that button on the day I print postage so that the information is timely instead of delayed. (This "automatic" system is less automatic than it perhaps ought to be.) If you didn't get a notification, your package has not shipped yet. If you are worried about the status of your package, please email [email protected] and I'll be happy to help you sort it out.
Get your downloads!
If you backed on Kickstarter then we have PDFs and other downloads for you. Retrieve them by logging in to Backerkit using the same email address as you used for your survey. If you can't find the survey link that was emailed to you, you can login here: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/
When you're logged in, look for the downloads button underneath your shipping info:
Clicking that button will get you to a page that lists the downloads that are currently available to you. Please note that the PDF currently available for XDM2e is labeled "Preliminary". The finalized version with cover images, alt text, and other features should be finished in early July. You can read about the decision to release an early PDF here.
Spread the word
If you've gotten your book and are willing to share via social media, we'd love to see you posting about your excitement. Spreading the word that people can still get a copy helps us to fund future projects! Your friends and family can get their copy here: https://xdm-x-treme-dungeon-mastery-2nd-edition.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders
We've now shipped everything that can be sent without signed bookplates. When I spoke to Curtis on Monday he was about half way through signing the 1000 bookplates that we need. He has an extremely busy week, but is sneaking in signing where ever possible. Once he's done he'll hand them off to Tracy.
I didn't take as many pictures this week. We were doing complicated packages with one fewer set of hands so any moment I stepped away completely stopped the line. But we succeeded in getting all of the packages out the door that don't have signed bookplates. We have about 650 packages to go. Once I have bookplates those orders can go out in less than a week. I'm still lurking and waiting for an opening in Howard's attention so that I can engage him on the challenge of getting books sketched. Today his brain latched onto Gen Con prep and making word count for Shafter's Shifters novella #2. One of the keys to surviving in a creative career as a person (or partner of a person) with ADHD is to roll with the hyperfocus instead of trying to fight against it. I COULD try to wrest Howard's focus away from its current fixations, but honestly it is fixated on things which need to be done anyway. So once those things are done and out of the brain, there is space to redirect attention to my ever present Task List of Things for Howard To Do.
I'm also going to be pinging Tracy this week to get an update on the status of the XDM2e audiobook. And I've exchanged emails with the expert who is working on our finalized PDFs. I'll be collating all of this information into a full Status Report sometime next week.
That's it for this week. Thank you so much for being part of our project!
Sandra Tayler and the XDM2e Team