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Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries (Reprint)

Created by Hypernode Media / Schlock Mercenary

This edition of the Seventy Maxims for Maximally Effective Mercenaries is an in-world artifact containing handwritten notes from Karl, Kaff, Schlock, and Murtaugh along with all the maxims. hardback 80 pages.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Status Report: Shipping in Progress!
11 days ago – Wed, May 08, 2024 at 09:54:15 AM

Greetings Backers!

Time for another full status report. This one is mostly about shipping posters.

TL:DR: 
We’re about half way through shipping out the posters that are being mailed in tubes. Then we’ll have a pause while we wait for the Maxims books to be delivered from the printer. Your next status report will be the week of May 27-31. 

We’ve still got 62 backers who haven’t filled out their surveys. If you’ve lost your link you can click here to login and finish your survey. I can’t ship your items until I know where to mail them!

Shipping in progress!

We’ve shipped out 811 orders. Many of those were “digital only” or orders that became “digital only” because physical items were combined with Mandatory Failure. We’ve also shipped out orders that were posters only, posters + pocket reference, and posters + M70 fobs.
This week we’re working on orders that contained both rolled posters and books. We’ll be sending out 277 posters in tubes over the next week. The books and other items will ship out once we have books in hand. 
The remaining 688 packages will start shipping as soon as we have books. 
If you have questions about the status of your particular package, I’m happy to answer them, just email [email protected].

If your order contained only posters, pocket reference, and M70 fobs then it is already in the mail. 



Deliverable Progress
  • Seventy Maxims Reprint – At the printer! I was told “at least six weeks” That suggests we’ll have books either the last week of May or the first week of June.  
  • Pocket Reference – DONE! Shipping in progress.
  • Blue Poster (1 column) – DONE! Shipping of posters-in-tubes happening now.
  • Brown Poster (2 column) – DONE! Shipping of posters-in-tubes happening now.
  • Illustrated Maxims digital images – DONE! You can collect these now by logging in via your Backerkit survey link. 
  • Seventy Maxims PDF – DONE! You can collect yours by logging in via your Backerkit survey link. Survey must be complete. 
  • Poster PDFs – DONE! You can collect these now by logging in via your Backerkit survey link. 



Details


The shipping management on this project was far more complex than originally anticipated. Hopefully I managed to prevent too much confusion for all of you. We had a manual process of changing orders to combine shipping with Mandatory Failure. We’ve also got orders that will split shipping because rolled posters have to ship in tubes while books have to ship in boxes. Fortunately Backerkit’s fulfillment system is completely up to the task. Everything is going smoothly. 


We’re keeping the shipping crew pretty small for this portion of the fulfillment process. It is just me, my warehouse manager Aidan, and one additional worker who gets called in when we have more than 75 packages to go out that day.  There are 277 more packages to ship (posters in tubes) before we hit a pause and have to wait for the books to arrive. I expect a couple of weeks wait time. We’ll use those to do general warehouse clean up and to prep the Random Merch bundles and the Random Art Bundles. We’ve got some nice surprises to go into both. 


The first task of prepping for poster shipping is to put caps on one end of all of the tubes.


At first we were using a mallet to get them into place, but then we discovered that the caps are flexible enough that we can press them in using our thumbs. That sped up the process considerably. (The old tubes required a mallet.) 


I didn’t get any pictures of the poster rolling because Aidan handled all of that on a day when I didn’t go to the warehouse at all. It is really lovely to be able to just assign work and have it happen when I’m not looking! (I spent my day working on Structuring Life to Support Creativity instead.) 


Then we have a day where we put in packing slips, any other items, and put labels on the outside of the poster tubes.


A quirk of these particular labels and tubes is that if left to themselves, the labels will slowly disengage from the poster tubes. We’ve solved this problem with an application of packing tape along the edges of the labels. The packing tape has no problem sticking to the cardboard tubes. 


Once everything is in place, we push caps into the ends of the tubes and they’re ready to be hauled to the post office for mailing. Hauled along with them are the regular store orders that Aidan packs at the regular shipping station.


We’ve already begun assembling boxes for the Random Merch bundles. We’ll get started on filling those as soon as we’ve got all the poster tubes into the mail.


Progress on all aspects of this project are nearing completion with the only question mark being exactly when the books will arrive. I am traveling during the first two weeks of June, so I’m REALLY hoping that we can get delivery of books before I take off. But if they do arrive while I’m gone, that is exactly what I’ve hired Aidan for, to manage my warehouse in my absence. 


Thank you so much for backing our project! Your next update will be the week of May 27-31. 


Howard and Sandra Tayler




Status Report: Locking orders and starting shipping
about 1 month ago – Mon, Apr 15, 2024 at 06:12:02 PM

Greetings Backers!

We have some important deadlines this week and it is time for a full status report.

TL:DR: 

I’ll be locking orders and charging cards THIS FRIDAY. Please double check your order before then and make sure it is correct. 
If you want your order combined and you have not gotten an email from me about that, please email [email protected] so I can get it handled before locking orders. 
The pocket references are done. The posters are ordered. Seventy Maxims is at the printer. Your next full status report will be the week of May 6-10, but there may be small updates sooner than that. 

Ready to Lock Orders

I’ll be locking orders and charging cards THIS FRIDAY, so now is a great time to double check your order and make sure everything is correct. If you wanted your Seventy Maxims order combined with a Mandatory Failure order and you have not gotten an email from me, please reach out to [email protected] by FRIDAY. I want to get all the combos managed before locking orders. 

Shipping starts next week

I’ve ordered shipping supplies. The pocket references are in hand. I’ll probably have posters in hand by Friday or early next week. This means we can begin the process of shipping next week. We’ll start with Pocket references going by themselves followed by posters rolled in tubes. Then there will be a pause in shipping while we wait for books to arrive. 


Deliverable Progress

  • Seventy Maxims Reprint – At the printer! I don’t yet have a completion schedule, but the last time I worked with this printer turnaround was about four weeks. 
  • Pocket Reference – DONE! I have 2000 of these waiting to ship.
  • Blue Poster (1 column) – At the printer! I expect these to be done end of this week or early next week.
  • Brown Poster (2 column) – At the printer! I expect these to be done end of this week or early next week.
  • Illustrated Maxims digital images – DONE! You can collect these now by logging in via your Backerkit survey link. 
  • Seventy Maxims PDF – DONE! This will be available once orders are locked and payments collected. Probably first thing next week.
  • Poster PDFs – DONE! These will be available once orders are locked and payments collected. Probably first thing next week.


Details

This project was designed to move quickly so that it could fit neatly with the shipping of Mandatory Failure and not cause any delays. I’m pleased to report we seem to be succeeding at that. For the most part the work was pretty straight forward. 

I hope to do an update post with pictures of the posters and shipping process once we get started on that. Your next full status report will be the week of May 6-10.

Thank you so much for backing our project!
Howard and Sandra Tayler




Get Your Illustrated Maxims Now!
about 2 months ago – Thu, Apr 04, 2024 at 09:02:39 AM

Greetings Backers!

A quick update for you today!

TL;DR: Downloads of the illustrated maxims 1-48 are now available to anyone who has filled out their survey. Please fill out yours! If you haven't received one, you can Click Here and login using the email address you pledged with. Your next full status report will be the week of April 15-19.

Please fill out your survey!
Thank you to everyone who has filled out their survey. I'm still waiting on 240 surveys. Getting accurate counts of how many things are ordered is very helpful in placing orders. I'm already confident how many books we'll need, but still need to calculate for posters folded, posters rolled, and the pocket reference.

Pre-orders available
If you're getting this update because you're a follower and you'd like to become a backer, you can place a preorder now!  https://70-maxims.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders  If you have a friend who missed the project, they can still be part of it!

Seventy Maxims book sent to printer
I uploaded files to our book printer yesterday. I also mailed them a copy of the existing book so that they can match the reprint to what we had before. I expect at least two weeks of back-and-forth plus paper ordering before the printer can give me a timeline on when books will be done.

Maxim / Mandatory Failure combos in progress
I'm working my way through combining orders. I hope to have all of the combos I know about done by the end of this week. I'll also be sending out an email to people who requested combination but who don't seem to have  Mandatory Failure order.

Illustrated Maxims now available!
The images for Maxims 1-48 as they were created for calendars are available for download to any backer who has filled out their survey. The system should send you an email with a download link, but if it doesn't you can just use the survey link from your email. Because of file sizes I had to create four downloads.  It was fun to revisit these images. (Yes Howard would like to finish illustrating all 70 maxims, but he can't even think about doing that until he delivers on the Mandatory Failure project. )  

Those are the updates for now. Your next full status report will be the week of April 15-19.
Thanks for backing our project!
Howard and Sandra Tayler

Status Report: Surveys & Progress
about 2 months ago – Thu, Mar 28, 2024 at 08:14:29 AM

Greetings Backers!

This is your first full status report on deliverables and progress. 

TL:DR: Surveys have gone out. Most of the deliverables are ready for print, we just need to get counts and then orders will be placed. Your next update will be the week of April 15-19. 

Your survey has been sent. If you haven’t received it, please reach out to [email protected].   Details about the survey can be found in this Update. For orders that are being combined, I’ll get started on that process at the end of this week or the beginning of next week. 


Two Poster Designs!

My apologies that the survey asks you to pick a poster type before providing you with images of your options. That is definitely my mistake. There are two designs for posters. 

Blue Single Column 12x36 inches



Brown Two Column 16x20 inches


If you want to swap your poster pick after seeing these images, you can use the same survey link to go in and change your choices any time before I lock your order. 

You will also be asked to decide whether you want your poster rolled or folded. Rolled posters are shipped in a tube and require some additional shipping expense. Folded posters will be creased and included in your package at no extra charge.

Please note that the survey does have a typo referring to oBlue poster. That is a typo, not a different poster design. 

If anything about the survey is confusing, I’m happy to clarify! Email [email protected] and I’ll answer any questions you have about the survey. 

Deliverables

Physical 
  • Seventy Maxims print book: Typos are fixed, the book is ready for print!
  • Seventy Maxims Posters: Both poster designs are finalized and copy edited. I’ve gotten bids I like from the printer and I’ll submit and order as soon as we have a solid count from the surveys. 
  • Pocket Reference: Fully designed and copy edited. This will go to print as soon as I have a solid count. 

Digital
  • Seventy Maxims PDF: This is ready to go. I’ll start distribution next week after I’ve gotten a handle on combining orders. 
  • Poster PDF: These are ready to go. I’ll get them distributed next week. 
  • Illustrated Maxims digital images: I need to do some image editing to make sure that they’re all put into the same format. I should be able to get these distributed next week as well. 

This project is deliberately designed to be quickly turned around and delivered. By the next update I should have expected delivery dates for the books, posters, and pocket reference. 

Details about our process in creating the book, posters, and pocket reference are in the Backer’s Only section below. Your next update will be the week of April 15-19. 

Thanks for backing our project!
Howard and Sandra

Surveys Going Out This Week!
about 2 months ago – Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at 04:04:56 PM

Greetings!

We're going to start sending out surveys this week. Please be on the watch for yours! The sooner people answer their surveys, the sooner I'll be able to have good counts and submit orders to the printer.

Since we're offering the option to combine items from this order with a pledge made for the Mandatory Failure project, I have some special information and instructions.

1. If you don’t want your order combined (or you don't have a Mandatory Failure order), then you’re done as soon as you’ve filled out your survey. Your card will be charged in the next few weeks and your order will ship as soon as all the items in it are ready. 

2. If you got the free pocket reference for pledging the first 48 hours it should already be listed in your order.

3. Each pledge level is going to calculate shipping as if you are getting a separate package. Cards will not be charged until April to give me time to manually update shipping and combine orders. Because of the unique add-on and shipping options (posters rolled, posters folded, combination options), setting up shipping costs was very complex. If you think that you're being overcharged for shipping, email [email protected] and I will double check your order. But please be patient it may take me a week to respond. 

4. Combining orders will be handled manually, if you request combination of your orders I will send you and email with details specific to your order. 

Later this week I'll post a full status report with updates and progress pictures on the book reprint and design work for both posters and the pocket reference. 

Thank you so much for backing our project!
Howard and Sandra Tayler