LIFE ON PAWS is live... and FUNDED!!!

Holy smokes holy smokes holy smokes

I have been trying to write this post all morning, but have been constantly reacting to good news and shifting priorities. The Kickstarter for my book about pet grief Life on Paws is live, and was funded in less than 90 minutes!?!? I’m freaking out!

We set the project with a modest goal of $5,000 because I had no clue what the response would be. If you recall, part of why I took this to Kickstarter was because the publishers I’d sent pages to told me (very kindly) that they could not see this in their line. What if they were right? What if no one wants to read about how sad I got over losing Henry? Those thoughts infiltrated my mind last night as I was sending out last-minute emails and praying this wasn’t a bad bet on myself. Mercifully, the backers came in strong this morning and proved those fears wrong. We launched at 8AM, and by the time I’d forced myself away from the phone and taken a shower, we had hit over the 5K goal. Wow!!!

Can you see why I'd think people wouldn't want to read something that feels so sad? (I swear it's healing by the end)

The “we” in this story is me and Ben Kepner, my friend and manager for this Kickstarter. When it comes to something as crazy as running a Kickstarter campaign, I knew I’d need help. The things I’m good at are drawing comics, promoting comics, and talking about comics. Somebody else would need to handle the 2,000 other things that go into making a KS successful. Ben and I met through our Skybound connection (and both loving Lizzy Ives), and he had a reputation that proved I’d be safe trusting him with handling the stuff I am no good at (Math! Scheduling! Web Stuff! Don’t make me list all my shortcomings!). The early bird success of this project is due in great part to Ben staying on me and getting the page in such perfect shape. Thank you, Ben!

Speaking of early birds… we have a sweet little treat for people who back this project in the first 48 hours! A cute handmade zine about soul animals that I’ll be making myself. I wanted to do something cute and DIY, because I’m assuming the people coming in early are folks who’ve been with me from the get-go and they deserve that special touch from me.

Please go and check out the Kickstarter page! I have a bunch of limited edition tiers, like getting drawn into a comic, or owning an original page from the book (I have no clue if any of these have sold out yet because I’m still in catch-up mode). Ben is telling me I have to come up with STRETCH GOALS. I’m supposed to think bigger than I already have (getting this book made) and say “Y’know what… I WANT SPOT GLOSS.” Or: “I WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE MORE GOODIES.” This is insane!!!!!

Truly, thank you everyone who’s already backed Life On Paws. I also want to also shout out James Tynion IV and Josh Trujillo for being sounding boards and forcing me to be the best version of myself every step of the process. Similarly, I gotta thank Ian O’Phelan for giving me ultra great feedback on the book’s cover. I owe you guys so much.

Check out Life On Paws here.