Kickstarting My Next Yokai Book!
about 1 year ago
– Tue, Nov 28, 2023 at 05:27:59 PM
Greetings yokai lovers!
I wanted to let you all know that I am launching a new book on Kickstarter this December: The Palace of the Dragon King!
Like The Fox's Wedding, this book is an encyclopedia featuring over 100 figures from Japanese folklore and mythology, and is fully illustrated! There's an early bird special offer if you back within the first week too.
I hope you'll check it out. Click here for the launch page and sign up for launch notification from Kickstarter!
Final Update
about 2 years ago
– Sat, Nov 12, 2022 at 06:03:53 PM
Greetings yokai lovers!
As of this week, 99% of the orders have been fulfilled. And so I plan on this being the final update I will post here, since most of you don't need to get any more emails.
Shipping
As of November 2, shipping to Canada and Chile has resumed, so the remaining packages to those countries will be sent out next week. If you are in those countries and you need an address change, please send me a message right away.
There are still a few countries that Japan can not send to right now. Those countries are Bermuda, Brunei, and Russia. Alternate shipping methods are still extremely expensive to these countries, so I will continue to monitor the situation in hopes that Japan Post resumes shipping to them soon. If you are in those countries and you need an address change or you want to pay extra shipping to use a different service, please send me a message.
I have limited numbers of copies left now that fulfillment is 99% complete. I am happy to offer them to backers while supplies last, however please be aware that the shipping situation is still recovering very slowly, so shipping costs and times are still not ideal. To order extra copies, send me a Kickstarter message or an email ([email protected]).
If you just want paperback copies, the cheapest and fastest option is to order from Amazon.
Future Works
Many have asked me if there will be another book, and the answer is yes! I am working on a fifth volume right now, as well as a few other exciting Japanese folklore projects. However, it will be some time before I start another crowdfunding project to launch a new book. I am waiting until production chains and shipping methods stabilize to avoid the huge price surges and delays that fulfilling this project faced. Probably not until late 2023 at the earliest.
In the meantime, you can follow me on FB/IG/Twitter (@matthewmeyerart) or watch yokai.com and matthewmeyer.net to keep up on any news related to future works. And if you want to continue to support my work and get regular yokai updates with translated stories, photos, and art, you can follow me on Patreon.
Once again, I want to thank you all for backing this project, and for your patience and generosity in the face of unprecedented shipping issues. You've helped bring a new book into the world, and I hope you enjoyed the process as well as the final product.
Thank you so much!
Matt
October Shipping Update
about 2 years ago
– Tue, Oct 04, 2022 at 02:55:25 AM
Greetings backers!
October is here, and shipping is making progress.
By now, 95% of all orders have been fulfilled. The orders that remain unfilled are the ones from the countries I mentioned in the last month update that still have not started accepting package from Japan. All of the unsent packages have been returned from the fulfillment center to my office, and I am now mailing out packages to individual countries while looking for alternative methods of shipping.
I've been able to find alternative methods of shipping for about half of the remaining European packages so far, and I am working on fulfilling the rest. Canada is still completely blocked off from receiving parcels from Japan, so replacement Canadian packages will have to wait a bit longer. But the end is near, and soon the last of the packages will be fulfilled!
As always, if you have any questions about your shipment, please send me a private message.
A-Yokai-A-Day
Lastly, for those of you still waiting for your books, and for those of you who have enjoyed reading your books, I'd like to share a project I am doing this month called A-Yokai-A-Day. Every day this month, I am translating and illustrating a story from Japanese folklore and posting it on my website and social media. It's a fun way to celebrate Halloween season and share stories from Japanese folklore that many people have probably never heard before. I hope you'll check it out!
- Matt
September Update
over 2 years ago
– Fri, Sep 09, 2022 at 04:23:23 AM
Greetings backers!
At this stage, the great majority of orders have been fulfilled. There are still a few exceptions however.
EMS shipments to the following countries are still suspended by Japan Post:
Austria, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Guam, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden
If you live in these countries, your order is still waiting to be shipped and will be shipped immediately once EMS shipments resume. I'm also looking into alternate methods of shipment right now, but all international shipping services are swamped right now, with heavy delays and surge pricing that makes shipping either impossible or prohibitively expensive.
Missing Packages
If you live in a country other than those listed above and you are still waiting for your package, check your tracking number. If it says your package was delivered successfully, then it is possible a neighbor or a family member accepted it without your knowledge. If it says that delivery failed or the parcel was lost, please send me a private message. There were some issues with FedEx losing or damaging packages, and I am sending out replacements for those packages that were lost or damaged.
Re-delivery
If your tracking number says that your package was returned to Japan, and you are not in one of the countries mentioned above (i.e. EMS service to your country is not currently suspended), that means that the delivery was attempted but the package could not be delivered, or the customs duties were refused. After a one month holding period in customs, those packages have been returned to Japan. I can send the package back to you, by EMS or any shipping method available, but I would ask you to pay the shipping costs for re-delivery.
Finally
Finally, if you are enjoying the book and want to help support me, I would be so grateful if you would leave a review for The Fox's Wedding on Amazon or any book review website you use. As a self-published author, you guys are the only publicity I have, so every review means a lot to me!
If you love the book and want to continue to learn more about yokai, you can follow me on social media (@matthewmeyerart on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram).
And lastly, if you really love yokai and want to learn even more, as well as see my behind-the-scenes work on my next book and have expanded discussions about them, you can support me on Patreon, where I post weekly yokai stories, art, and explanations.
That's all for now. Thank you all so much for your support in this project!
August Shipping Update (and one request)
over 2 years ago
– Thu, Aug 04, 2022 at 04:00:36 AM
Greetings backers!
August is now here, so it's time for an update.
First, shipping:
Over 90% of rewards are now shipped. There only a few hundred left to go.
That includes the last of the US/Canada parcels, which are still shipping. If you're in the US or Canada and are still waiting on your shipment, it should be coming soon. You'll get an email notification from Shipstation when your package is scanned by FedEx for delivery.
Outside of North America, there are still a few countries which cannot receive EMS shipments from Japan. That includes parts of northern Europe (Scandinavia & Baltic countries) and parts of South of America (Chile, Brazil). Japan Post has been updating their list of available countries as shipping restrictions are lifted. If your country is still restricted from receiving EMS shipments, please be patient. Your package will be sent as soon as possible.
Second, a request:
If you like the book (or books), it would mean a great deal to me if you left a positive review on Amazon or Goodreads or wherever you like to leave reviews. Since Amazon is my primary sales point, leaving a positive rating or review helps me a lot. You can find The Fox's Wedding here, and you can find my other books here.
Finally, about ordering extra copies:
I've said that I would offer the surplus copies of the Kickstarter versions to backers once the project is fulfilled. That is still the plan, but the shipping situation has created some new problems.
To sum it up, shipping costs from Japan have doubled twice during the pandemic. It used to cost about $20 USD to send a hardcover book overseas, but now it costs almost $80. Shipping more than one book gets even worse. It has become prohibitively expensive.
There is only shipping option that doesn't cost more than the book itself. That is sea mail, which costs about $15~20 USD depending on the country. However, this is strictly limited by weight (only one hardcover book or two paperbacks fit within the limit), and many countries are not served (no shipping to Canada, for example). Worst of all, sea mail takes 3 to 6 months to arrive and does not allow for tracking numbers or insurance.
For that reason, to anyone who is hoping to buy extra copies, I would recommend getting the Amazon versions for the time being, or else waiting to see if the post office ever lowers its rates to the old levels. If you don't mind paying a large amount for airmail, or waiting a long time for sea mail, you can send me a private message about ordering extra books.
That's all for now. Thank you all for your support and patience!
- Matt
