Progress Report July 2015 and historical accuracy example

This pie chart is filling up nicely now. With two colourists working away as well as myself, we are turning the pie to “complete” quite quickly.

I'm currently drawing my way through the rather depressing Chapter 19 and the story of the Levite and his Concubine.

For the past ten days or so I have not been doing much drawing though as I have been praying about and trying to decide what to do as the next step for the comic, (thank you to all those who commented on the previous Blog regarding this).

I have a few strong applications to publishers outstanding, where I have heard back with some initial interest but still waiting for any more news, but as time is crashing on regardless I need to make a call regarding what I will do.

So I've decided to start gearing up for another Kickstarter for Book 2, probably running from mid-August to the end of September. If I sign with a publisher before then I may call it off but I have to plan stuff now to be ready for then. (If you want to see the previous Kickstarter page as an example click here) 

The idea will be to do the Kickstarter as a way for people to get hold of a limited edition pre-release copy of Judges (Book 1) to fund Book 2, which they will get soon after the campaign is finished and allow for a bigger order to fulfil the original KS rewards. Of course this also open up the opportunity for people to get there faces in the comic and get other great rewards. I'm not intending to be drawing from the previous backers again but am finding more ways of getting the word out there this time, using conventions, blogs maybe even Christian radio shows to talk about it.

If I get this funding I hope it will support the project at least until next summer. Between then and now I hope to get signed by a publisher and if I do not that is the time I will self-publish.

If I do launch a Kickstarter I will need the help of all my followers and backers. Aside from backing the project I need it to reach a wide audience so I'll need everyone to Share social media posts, Like and Comment on them to help your friends and family see the posts, last time a good number of backers were what I refer to as “one step away” family of my friends, friends of friends etc. So please be ready for that.

I am currently trying to decide if the Kickstarter should be for the book of Joshua with a stretch goal for Ruth or the book of Ruth with a stretch goal for Joshua. Maybe I'll open this up as a “Have your say” post later.

Please continue to pray for the project, for guidance and faithfulness to the Word.

Below is an image I just created to communicate the historical accuracy element of the comic.

If you have any suggestions or comments please add them below of on the social media platform you found this blog on.  

HAVE YOUR SAY: Strapline

I'm am currently reviewing the strapline for the comic, I want to make it punchy and include all the key elements of the comic. 

The current one is:

"Unabridged, historically rich graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of scripture." 

I define the three main selling points of the project to be:

• Unabridged: Not missing one word from the biblical text. This is a trustworthy, faithful and authentic rendering. 

• Rich historical and geographical setting: In depth research and landscapes from real locations give a rich historic and cultural setting.

• Aimed at an adult market 15+: Telling the stories exactly as they are written, the material will not be tamed for young readers so that the full impact of the narrative can be felt.

In my proposal I rewrote it to be:

The Word for Word Bible Comic will enthral adult readers with the untamed, full word of God using hard-hitting imagery and historical accuracy.

Which is not exactly the same because it is an introductory statement. The strapline I want to create now will go under the title, so it doesn't need "The Word for Word Bible comic is-" in it. 

The words I would like to use are: 

Untamed - to represent the fact it is not watered down for children and is aimed at ages 15+. I can't really use the word "adult" on it's own however as that implies an even higher age category.

Hard hitting- is good to convey the action and excitement with in the stories that people might not be expecting the find. 

Also , It has to mention being Historically accurate some how because this is one of the main selling points for the non-christian market.

It needs to have to unabridged part mentioned as this is the main point of the project as a whole. 

The reason i included the "with a High view of Scripture" is to show it is a faithful representation of the text not a parody or anything like that. 

Untamed and unabridged obviously both start with "un-" so they go quite well together but i'm finding it hard to get a sentence to follow that strong start. 

For example...

Untamed, unabridged graphic novel of the Bible (that is historically accurate) 

Unabridged, historically rich graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of scripture.

It could be super short if the important parts are covered but this is even harder. 

Hard hitting, untamed and unabridged - (but this does not mention historically accurate) 

Historically accurate, unabridged and untamed. 

You get the idea. Please get a thesaurus out with me and see what combinations and suggestions you can make.

Have your say: "What to Do Moving Forward" and Progress Update (June 2015)

Progress and News

Here is your monthly progress report, bringing you up to date with how the work is going.

I've now officially gone past the section I had already completed from the Samson chapters (13-16), which is very encouraging as I am currently doing the pencil drawing for Chapter 19 of the 21 Chapters; it is the final storyline in the book too.

In order to complete the work by my target of September, I have taken on a second colourist, who will complete the Jephthah story for me (Chapters 10-12). So please welcome Ryan Esch, 26 from Michigan to the team. He did a great job months ago when I gave the prospective colourists a test page and I'm so glad to be able to go back to him and get him on board.

Once I've finished preparing all the pages for colours I will colour what is left, so that hopefully with the three of us working furiously over (probably) July and August, we will make it to the end of Judges on time.

June 2105 Progress Chart

Regarding publishing 

I am still pursuing publishers at the moment, with three direct applications through referrals that I am hopeful about and I have also applied to three Literary agents in order to reach the largest of publishers, who don't accept direct submissions.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Susanne Wildig and Nick Brooking who've helped me polish up my proposal for this.

I still have the option to self publish in order to get the project off the ground but this will be more costly and more effort up front so I'm hoping that a professional publisher will take care of it all this for me as well as ensure the comic has the widest audience possible.

Please pray that I get a publishing deal in good time.
 

What to do moving forward?

I am approaching both the end of creating of the Book of Judges comic, and the end of the funding from Kickstarter. I am trying to decide what to do next, in order to keep the project going and funded, either through sales or other means.

In September-November time the funding from the original Kickstarter runs out. I must say it is all thanks to my amazing wife that this 14K* has lasted us these nearly 18 months, with her PT wage, budgeting and saving money. (*= The total, minus Kickstarter fees and fulfilments.)

Although I will have the product ready at the end of the funding, the problem will be that if I do not have a publisher, more time will be needed to be spent to releasing the book and I may have to go back to a normal job in the gap between then and when the book starts making it's own money.

Things to consider...

Now I have been told by a publisher that you sell most of your sales straight after the launch, so it is important to have a strong, clear launch time. The reason this is relevant is because I was considering releasing the project digitally first, then in print later. It's also relevant because if I self-publish and can't get enough promotion and inertia, a professional publisher may lose interest as they are releasing a product which is already available.

Secondly, think is the Kickstarter backers who have given very generously and I don't want to invalidate their gift because they (you) are the reason I will have a complete 116 page graphic novel to take to market. Some of the options below may appear to dishonour their (your) gift, or my commitment to release the book by a certain date.

You might wonder why I don't get published by a little publisher, which is an option but I was advised against this as small publishers can often only promote and sell the book as well as you can yourself and they claim over half the profits.

Here are a few options I have...

Option 1: Hold on for a publisher: In order for the project to reach people all over the world with the Word of God, I will need a publisher who knows what they are doing and can promote it through established channels and sell co-editions round the globe. Although I haven't had anyone sign the project yet, it has been discussed by some big publishers already which, as my father-in-law pointed out, is pretty good sign as most author's books don't get a second look. Therefore, we just keep praying and applying and wait for a break through. If nothing comes by September time I get a job and keep trying to get it signed until I succeed.

Option 2: Concentrate on self publishing : In this option I don't look for more external funding,. Instead I would work part time for a wage and use the rest of my time to promote and sell the comic as well as go to Christian conventions and Comic Cons to sell it myself. The danger as I mentioned above is that if I can't make it a relatively big success, my chances of getting a significant publishing deal later on may be damaged.

Options 3 : Do a second smaller Kickstarter for book two: It's not unusual for successful Kickstarter projects to return for a second book or related project, and often do well as they know what to do and have followers already. An advantage is that I would have something to reward the backers with straight away (book one) as well as the prospective book two at the end. The Kickstarter will hopefully create a buzz for the release of book one just before it's released and (if self published) can help pay for the upfront printing costs of book one and keep us off the street by using the funding to create the second book. The second book I plan is Ruth which is a short book compared to Judges (4 chapters instead of 21) so the target would probably be significantly less around £5K instead of the £15K it was last time. In this scenario I might not release the book to the public straight away but would be able to fulfil the promised copies to the Kickstarter backers as a special limited run.

Option 4 : Set up a subscription funding campaign: A bit like Kickstarter but there is not end goal and people give an amount every month and build up credits for rewards over time. Patreon is probably the best example of this. This could work well but I think it would be harder to get people involved in than a short sharp Kickstarter, but then again it doesn't stop so you have more time to collect supporters.

In essence I need to decide if I should hold on for a publisher or bite the bullet and self publish, and whether I should look for external funding again or not.

Thanks for reading. Please do give your options and advise, don't hold back, I'd love to hear lots of responses and ideas on what to do next.

Progress Update April 2015

Here is the progress chart as it stands now at the start of April. 

This week I have had a bit of a hiccup with my PC, but not data was lost just a bit of time figuring out how to fix it. It seem to be up and running again now though, thank the Lord. 

I'm just finishing off the first page of chapter 10 ready for colouring now, but as chapter 10 has only two and a bit pages I'm looking forward to that bit of pie changing colour soon too. 

My goal each week is to complete three pages ready for colouring; which is what I need to complete Judges before the money runs out, so no pressure. 

This month one of my favoured publishers will be taking my project to their review board to see if they are interested in publishing the work. So please pray this goes ahead and I can stop concerning myself with thoughts of publishers. They review it on April 20th. 

Thank you, to everyone who gave their opinion on the latest "Have your Say" blog.  Please keep an eye out for these as I love hearing your opinions.  

Here's a little cartoon I found on FB, which amused me, if you are familiar with the Footprints poem it may amuse you also. 

HAVE YOUR SAY: WHICH IS MORE DRAMATIC

In this scene Abimelech torches a temple stronghold containing a thousand men and woman. (Judges 9:45-49)  Look at the two option which show how I could dramatise this below (rough). Then read the different cases underneath.

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Abimelech burns down the temple stronghold (Judges 9:49) 

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If you can't read the text on the image this is what it says... 

 "Abimelech was told that all the men of the tower of Shechem were gathered together.  Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him; and Abimelech took an ax in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it up, and laid it on his shoulder. Then he said to the people who were with him, “What you have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done!”  All the people likewise each cut down his bough, and followed Abimelech, //and put them at the base of the stronghold, //and set the stronghold on fire on them; so that all the people of the tower of Shechem died also, about a thousand men and women." (Judges 9:47-49 WEB)     (//=show where the divide in the text could be. )

Option 1: The Stronghold Burns

Straight forward rendering of the text you see the stronghold burn in all it's glory. The black panel tells you how many died.

Option 2: Impending Doom.

Less straight forward the picture shows the situation of impending doom and it is the black panel which delivers the death knell.

Which is better in your opinion?

Please comment here, on the Facebook/social media page you came here from.   

Proud to be part of the Bible Gateway Bloggers Grid.

Very exciting news! Terry Virgo: Founder of Newfrontiers endorsement

Very exciting news! 

Terry Virgo founder of Newfrontiers has agreed to give The Word for Word Bible Comic his endorsement!

This is an amazing blessing and I hope this will give buyers the confidence to trust the comic and have no fear of it being an ill conceived or unfaithful version of the Biblical text. 

With the help of the leader of my church, Simon Walker, I got Terry's agreement that I could send him a sample and he would look at it and decide if he would endorse it. Then a few weeks ago Terry came to Bristol for a small Newfrontiers church weekend. I got to talk to him there and he was happy to support it. 

He is so humble and is, himself, not sure his name will make any difference, but I'm sure you'll agree that his name and positive words (below) will carry great weight the the "true to the Text" claim of the comic.

The statement... 

"The Word for Word Bible Comic is immediately arresting and I cannot help being impressed by the thoroughgoing commitment to research and the Biblical text in order to make it as accurate as possible." 

Terry Virgo: Founder of Newfrontiers, a family of Word and Spirit churches with over a 1000 churches in over 70 nations 

 Please pray with me that this endorsement will help the project reach an even greater audience once it is released and to open doors with publishers and other well-know Christians who will give their endorsement also. 

Terry was one of two trusted bible teachers who corrected my thinking on Samson and his appearance; I was all set to draw him as an incredible hulk, but as they pointed out the Philistines ask "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength..." Judges 16:5, which of course would not make sense if he looked like Superman or as some Jewish legendary hyperbole state Samson's shoulders were sixty cubits broad. So it was great to be able to show him the comic with the slight Samson empowered exclusively by the Holy Spirit.

Below is a portrait I did of Terry which I also gave to him (framed without logo), and is hopefully hanging in his office somewhere. 

Please comment below your thoughts about this endorsement, especially if you were not familiar with Terry Virgo before reading this post.

Proud to be part of Bible Gateway's Bloggers Grid.

Progress update

It's been a little while since the last blog, mainly this is due to spending all my time creating the comic. Someone messaged me keen to know how far along the project is, so I've created this progress pie chart which I will try and post once a month. 

White represents the parts that have not been started except for having the storyboard ready. The dark colour is completed, the light cyan is complete except the colouring and pale is the part I am currently pencilling and inking. 

Progress Pie Chart for the Word for Word Bible Comic Feb 2015

My aim is to complete the whole book by the end of this summer. 

Please pray for productivity, accuracy, wise choices and for the right publisher to be signed in good time for the book to be released soon after completion. 

Also please pray that the high profile people I contact about endorsements are keen to give their support. 

Thank you to all the backers and followers of this project.