VIC 20 book on Kickstarter

[oldcomputr]

Do you know how many copies would make hardcover versions viable? If you do and the existing price is still adequate, you could make it a stretch goal.

It's a bit difficult to decide that because I chose to publish two different versions of the book (English and Italian). I will update the campaign as soon as I have a better idea of the final numbers - for now it seems that roughly 90% will be English and 10% Italian.

[orion70]

I chose Italian because it would be the one and only recent publication about the VIC in our neglected native language . But should you find it difficult to publish both versions, please count me in for an English one.

[oldcomputr]

I chose Italian because it would be the one and only recent publication about the VIC in our neglected native language 8) . But should you find it difficult to publish both versions, please count me in for an English one.

Thanks. That would really be the worst case scenario, I really hope to publish the book also in Italian for the same reason.

[Fabbb]

Hello,

This book is a good idea.
I'm contributor

ps: if you wan't some help to translate in French, i'll be here !

[oldcomputr]

Hello,

This book is a good idea.
I'm contributor ;)

ps: if you wan't some help to translate in French, i'll be here !

Thank you!
I think that I will not publish the book in more languages - I already made that mistake with Italian :-)
The problem is the printing cost and quantity, the minimum is 200 copies so it's unlikely to reach that quantity with a language other than English.

But I am thinking about PDF versions in other languages - just an idea for now.

Probably you're the same person who sent me a message through Kickstarter, but anyway I'll say it here too: please share the project on French groups and forums - that could help!

[joshuadenmark]

29 hours to go

[Mayhem]

Well I'm hoping there's the usual last minute rush...

[joshuadenmark]

Yes, me too Mayhem, I'll really liked a version of this book.

[merman]

A real shame the project did not reach its target.

[oldcomputr]

Hi! this is the message I sent to my backers to let them know that I will be running another campaign in a month or so. I'm not giving up :-)

Hi all, the Kickstarter campaign for my VIC 20 book is over and by now you should have received the message that it didn't reach the goal.

This was my first experience on Kickstarter. In these 30 days I've learnt a lot about this fantastic platform, and I'm aware that I made a few mistakes.

The biggest mistake was trying to print the book in two languages, which meant doubling all the printing costs and the Kickstarter goal. I was quite naive to think that having the book in Italian would raise more interest in the book from my compatriots (I say that with no rancour of course!); the number of the pledges from Italy is in fact in line with the pledges from all the other countries where the VIC 20 was sold: 73 backers from the US, 64 from the UK, 45 from Italy, 30 from Germany, and so on.

In the next three/four weeks I will ask for updated printing quotes for the book in one language only (with a more precise idea of the number of copies to print), I'll think about the rewards, the content and structure of the book, then I will start a new campaign.

Anyway it's been a wonderful experience. I don't personally know any of my backers for the book in English but I owe each one of you my warmest THANK YOU for your support during this campaign - be it a share on social media, a post on a forum, a message to other backers or just by sending me an encouraging message or some advice. You've been astounding! Thank you so much.

I'll message you when the new campaign is ready, and I heartily hope that most of you will still want to contribute. In the meantime, you can contact me from the KS page any time.

See you soon :-)

Giacomo

[orion70]

Excellent! Giacomo, you put a lot of effort and passion in this project. Good luck on the English only version. I'll be one of the Italian backers to buy it instead of giving up because of no ITA version. The lesson learned is sad: in the whole Bel Paese, only a bunch of VIC enthusiasts resist .

[mrr19121970]

I guess the PDF version will be available in local languages too?

[oldcomputr]

Excellent! Giacomo, you put a lot of effort and passion in this project. Good luck on the English only version. I'll be one of the Italian backers to buy it instead of giving up because of no ITA version. The lesson learned is sad: in the whole Bel Paese, only a bunch of VIC enthusiasts resist :(.

Italian pledges were in line with other countries - I wouldn't say that there are no VIC enthusiasts!
Italy was at the third place after US and UK.

But while 30 copies in Germany sum up to the English total, I can't print 40 copies in Italian (at a reasonable cost).

[oldcomputr]

I guess the PDF version will be available in local languages too?

That's an option I'm thinking about.

• Volunteer work in exchange for a few copies of the book? Who? Quality of translation? -> free additional pdf with the book
• Paid translations? -> faster, safer, but... -> pdf other than English will need to have a price to cover for professional translation costs
• Will the <insert your language here> PDF reward lower the number of people who could pledge for the physical book? Because if that happens, I'll be back to square one not reaching the KS goal to cover the printing cost! E.g. you're German, will you prefer a physical book in English or a PDF in German?
• Should I make the PDF only available with the printed book? This will solve the problem above, but is this fair to the backers?

Anyway translating the book will take some time: many people think that it's just a picture book, but that's not true - I have to better explain that in the next campaign. I am really concerned about the third point of my list though.

[mrr19121970]

I did mean Italian as the local language. I only speak English.