IMS Shopping Cart

I have begun setting up a page which will serve as the Shopping Cart. It's pretty far from being functional, but here's the link;

IMS Gallery of Products

I will be including numerous product lines that have been made by IMS over the years, but primarily, we will post an assortment of "Gnomes of New Hope" products, as they become available for purchase. 

As an example;

Music from the Stage Show

Bear with me as we grow into this.

AG

The Fourth Prototype

So many years of effort to produce these books. It unbelievable. You know the biggest reason it took so long has been computer failures. I have lost my work multiple times from hard disc failure. This has resulted in forcing me to rebuild those files at least four times. I finally got smart enough to burn the files to DVD as a backup. But even so, I have lost the work files for all the artwork. Fortunately I have the flattened copies of the art. But still, I which I could recover the original work files. Although, I have to say, I've got a grip on processing the images much more quickly.

So, I am just about ready to print the next prototype. I may have said this elsewhere, but coordinating seventeen books is not easy. The collection  consists of seven books, in three editions; the Gnome-sized books, the Big People books, and a three volume set of the Big People books. So all told there are seventeen books. The real challenge is making sure there is consistency in the design and assuring that all corrections and adjustments are present in all the books. Right now I am reviewing the numbering of both the pages and the document files. For now, each page is in it's appropriate file, set up by scenes within the book numbers. I was surprised to find a few sections where the page numbers were not positioned properly. I'm somewhat baffled how that happened, but since I've had to use multiple versions of the layout to reach this final stage, I'm sure that was the culprit. I've entirely changed my method of editing the pages, which basically involves editing the graphic layout and not the originating text layout. When I came up with a method to do that it really simplified my process. The original text files were huge and I suspect they brought about the hard disc failure. It had gotten to the point where I couldn't open the files to edit them, so I switched my methodology.

Well, we have begun working on the art again. We are doing sketches to replace the description panels where we don't have the illustrations. After all the panels have been interpreted with pencil sketches, we will return to refining the sketches, followed by coloring, then processing those illustrations according to the standards that I have used to prepare the illustrations. It's a lot of work. Sometimes I wonder how I got myself into this? I've been working on this since 1997.

Of course, during that time, I wrote the libretto, the lyrics, the music (in partnership), and the Storybooks, not to mention partnering to create the art and the illustration panels. So an awful lot of work has been done. There's more to do.

The music needs more work. There are at least six or seven numbers that have not been orchestrated or arranged. I need to go back and redo the time signatures and the divsi, since I lost six months of work to hard disc failure. And then there is the scoring. I've done drafts of many of the numbers, but they are not good enough to present to a maestro. So that needs to be done.

It's very hard to continue doing all this work without it producing any income. The entire investment has been on me. At this point I'd guess and say it's been at least 500k, probably quite a bit more, considering I work on this every day, a minimum of nine hours a day and I have been doing that for over fifteen years.

Thankfully, the technical layout is, literally, hours away from being finished. That in itself is a major accomplishment. But even with that, the details of advancing this project can be overwhelming.

So, that being said, as I've said before, I'm wanting to find a literary agent to advance this while I take a break to put my vehicles back together. It unbelievable the amount of projects that have been pushed aside to finish these books and frankly, they are more than just catching up to me, the unfinished projects are becoming a problem. But I keep myself entirely focused on The Gnomes of New Hope nonetheless.

But really, I need a break. I just can't do it, unless this goes to the next level of business with an agent, or partners for The Elder Gnomes Joint Venture, or The Gnomes of New Hope Productions, or IMS Management, or an assortment of licensing for merchandising, like Gnome Gnog.

So that's the skinny on the Gnomes of New Hope.

Let me know if you want to jump in.

AG

Binding and Covers

I've been preparing the covers for the collection. Strangely enough, that involves thirty-four separate files. The reason being that there both hand-stitched and machine bound editions, including boxed sets. It becomes very complicated to match all these elements between that many files, especially since there are literally, dozens or more layers. Well, it is progressing toward completion. It looks real good. AG

Here are some of the characters.

The Three Volume Set

You may know that the primary focus of IMS Publishing is currently on the project The Gnomes of New Hope. That being the case we are currently publishing the prototypes of Revision 300 of the Three Volume Set. As you may have seen on The Gnomes of New Hope blog, there are Seven Books in the boxed set, but also, those seven books comprise a Three Volume Set. So the Three Volume Set is the best way to register and market the entire collection, not so much for Retail Sales as much as within Industry Circles. Interestingly, having bound Volume Two, I'm starting to think that the Three Volume Set is more desirable than I originally thought. 

Now, I have created the Gnome-Sized and Big People Books for two reasons. The Gnome-Sized Books represent the least expensive way to purchase the books, being priced at $8.95 per book. But since the layout looks so good, The Big People Books offer a "coffee table/graphic novel" book. The Big People Books are priced at $29.95 each. I wish I could produce the books for less, but unless a receive orders amounting to tens of thousands (or more) books, there is no way to bring the price down. Even then, the MSRP will remain the same and any discounts will be up to the distributor/retailer. Books sold by IMS will only be Limited Editions, which are signed & numbered and are priced higher than the MSRP. The reason for this is that the Limited Editions are being used to finance the continuing illustration and animation work. I will address the Limited Editions in conjunction with investment in a separate post, probably in IMS Producing Partners. 

Rev 300 is primarily a set-up run and intended for Industry Review, but some of those books will be sold as Collectable Editions used to raise production funds. So if you may like to invest in the project, let me know. Send me an email Att; Arthur Greisiger at (image.of.the.mind.studios@gmail.com). Expect to see photographs of the Three Volume Set, which, by the way, consists of nearly 900 pages.

AG

Update 3/21

I have found that there are two IMS Publishing blogs. This is the older one, which is not really in use. I will attempt to merge the two, but in the meanwhile.

 Refer to the main blog: thegnomesofnewhope.blogspot.com

Revision 300

So the final Storybook layout is out to press for the prototype run. As I said elsewhere, I priced Volume One at $29.95, Volume Two at $39.95, and Volume Three at $49.95. I have my doubts as to whether or not we can actually achieve those prices, but the books are well worth that price. Volume One is Book One and that price works, but Volumes Two and Three each contain three books and Volume Three is larger than Volume Two.  It may be that I will have to publish the Books separately in order to keep the price down. However, the largest expense is binding and handling, so the Volume, in the long run, ends up cheaper. It's just that the MSRP is higher. Well, we'll see after the prototypes are finished and they go out for printing quotes.

I hope I can locate distribution, but I'm not going to inventory product and I'm not paying for any inventory. So I need a vested partner for inventory. It could be a distributor, or simply an investor. But anyway you look at it the equity is in the inventoried product, less my cut. My cut comes right off the top, before any sales, meaning it's incorporated into the wholesale price. I wholesale inventory, to a distributor or an investor. So, that's my deal.

On another front; now that The Illustrated Storybook is semi-finished (being short on illustrations, but completely written and laid out for publication), I am moving to publish the Libretto. 

The Libretto has be finished for ten years, but the Score to the music is not finished. That fact has put the Libretto in limbo. But with the publication of the Illustrated Storybook that is based on the Libretto, the story and character elements have derived copyright protection. That makes it possible for the Libretto to be reviewed by Industry Professionals, most particularly, theatrical producers who engage in Union productions. I can handle non-union product, buy I don't want to produce the Union product, simply because of the regulations involved. So I will be jobbing that out, either through employing or partnering with a union producer with Image of the Mind Studios, or by Licensing the show out to another Producing Organization.

I'll discuss this further, elsewhere.

AG

Delivery of the e-Storybook

Here's a link to the main Gnomes of New Hope Page 

where I posted a comment on the 

Delivery of the Books

I will add to this post later
and expand upon the subject
as needed.

AG

Publishing Layout Design

This post is being crafted and is not yet complete.

Bear with me, 

This information is for people already following the progress.

AG

The First Generation 

Gnome-sized Book Design.

It originated as far back as 2010.

Note that this is a Right Hand Gutter page.

There were actually many iterations of this page design 
leading up to this page

and the components used in this design 
were created basically from scratch.

The Third or forth generation e-Storybook Cover Design.
This was a shared design with the Gnome-sized Books.

Developed after the cover for
Gnomes in a Gnutshell
This is an early version of the inner page.
It was the first experiment for an
e-Storybook
Note the Artwork in the lower left-hand corner (above)
it is a link to the next section.
Depending on the file size and the method of delivery,
some variation of a link may or may not be used.
Initially, this was used for both control and DRM.
There were numerous variations of these designs.

 Here is a promotional shot of the forth Prototype 

of the Hard Copy Books of Volume One. 

As you can see the size and shape 
are quite different from those early pages.

 I will include both early and later inner pages,
 as well as samples of the finished design below,

 including the entire Preface, 
which is important 
to help understand the project as a whole.

This link presents the a narrated version of the entire Preface;

Promotional Sample of the e-Storybook

You can see from this shot that we are producing 

Gnome-sized Books, Big People Books, 
and the e-Storybook - 
Gnomes in a Gnutshell 

 Note that the title information is adjusted for each volume. 

The New Layout is essentially of the same nature, 
but with some significant alterations.

 The Hard Copy Books and the e-Storybook
 have been matched exactly as to size ratio,

but the hard copy books 
need to be scaled to the capacity of the printing press.

That was an issue that only became apparent 
when changes or corrections needed to be made to all the layouts, 

which were each slightly different 
and thus contained in separate files.

Well that was a problem, 
so the last revision was to adjust the Master Layout

to accommodate all three designs.
 You'd think that would have automatically been done.

But no, each product was developed separately,
 for different purposes and had different specifications.

Only gradually did all three layouts intersect, 
thus making it possible and necessary 

to match the layouts for final production.

There have been many subtle design elements 
added to the already extremely complex layout
that have greatly improved the look of both 
the Hard Copy Books and the e-Storybook edition.

It has been a delicate balancing act 
to get those elements to work for both 
the printed and electronic editions.
One does not automatically work with the other 
and you would be surprised to find out
just how many minor adjustments
 are required to achieve such a feat.
There are literally hundreds of elements 
combined to achieve the look of the collection
and there are numerous adjustments 
within those hundreds of elements as well,
all of which need to be cross-referenced.
It has been a daunting task

The size and shape of the new layout is different, 

but  very close to the pages of 
the published Prototypes shown above.
(I posted the final pages on the main blog)

More importantly, the new layout 
approaches the components in a different fashion,
which will allow me to complete the other five stories 
contain within
The Gnomic Tales
in the same format,
without doing all the same layout work again..

It took me, literally, years to come up with the method, 
which is much better than ever before.
 I am rather amazed that it took me that long
 to realize the new layout design,
because if I have employed this method before, 
I would have saved myself those years of difficulties.
I guess it was necessary to get to where I am 
by the pathways that I traveled.

I will update this post when images 
from the new layout are available to me
for use with this computer. 
All my work is done on a Mac.
 This machine is Windows.

Here's an interesting shot;

Thanks for checking in.

AG

Digital Rights Management

DRM is an issue that must be dealt with before the collection of Storybooks can be released. My main problem is the functions of "Save" and "Save As". Not only do I want them to be blocked, but I want any effort to Save to implement an erasure of the document from both viewing and any copies that exist on the current devise, as well as access to the Subscription page. 

 I want it simply and clearly understood that no one may possess this document without authorization, or having purchased that right, and any attempt to steal this material locks the perpetrator out completely.  It is unfortunate that I must take these measures, but the people who pirate these products are also likely to make it available on-line for free and doing that will destroy the commercial viability of the product lines and thus steal the business away from the investors, creative staff, technical staff, theatre operations, merchandizing, and an array of other activities that add value to the economy and help people with jobs.

It is not that I want to control the situation, I'd rather I did not have to do that, but it is clear that society as a whole cannot be trusted to honor intellectual property and at the very least, until we recoup the large investment in creating this work, I must take measures to protect it's value, not only for myself, but for those people who have invested in this project, have yet to do so, or who are counting on participating and deriving economic benefit from it. But truthfully, it needs to be protected for the long term advantages of doing so.

At this point, I am convinced that serving the e-Storybook via a subscription page is the best approach. There are a few reasons for this. 

Firstly, a subscription page offers better overall monitoring of the product and the audience, making it easier to address numerous issues, known and unknown.

Secondly, it will make it easier to deliver the project. The size of the files makes download difficult because of the GFX. It is more practical to break the e-Storybook into scenes and to present them as such. A subscription page will make this easier, because once a person is logged in, I can utilize links to make each scene flow into the next, while keeping the buffer lower. This will also allow me to integrate movies (animation) into the e-Storybook because the movie will be a separate file (implemented via a link). 

Secondly, the e-Storybook is an evolving presentation. There are many aspects to it which are not yet finished and will take time to complete. It is clear I cannot wait until it is all complete before releasing it to people. The entire concept, including "The Gnomic Tales" is, quite simply, huge. So I imagine that a subscription page will allow the viewer to participate in the growth process. One may or may not desire to follow it's growth in this way, but I think I will need to take that chance, otherwise I'll be dead before anyone gets to see the whole thing. That's another reason for the DRM. The project is still growing and we need to control the level of access, so as to avert interference with the process by nefarious actions.

At some point, the e-Storybook will end up being a full length movie, because it was designed with that in mind. In the meanwhile, segments of the story can and will be presented as narrated video files. That is one part of DRM and the subscription page, being that they are updated as they are completed.

 The concept here is to take advantage of the way the Storybook was designed. Knowing that the story might one day become a movie, I designed the Storybook in scenes, not scenes to match the movie, but scenes that match the stage musical. But since the Storybook is intended as a companion edition to the stage play, I took the opportunity to expand upon the information contained within each scene in order to give the reader a "bonus" over the theatre goer who hasn't read the companion edition.

While doing that I had the cinema in mind. So I structured the pages in the Storybook to serve as storyboards, with embellishment that would help to develop the screenplay. That being said, some work on a screenplay will be taking place after the Storybook is locked in and ready to go to the printers (which is very close to being done). Expanding on the idea of a film;There are two basic types of films that we need to consider - Live Action and Animation. Even though I have been a filmmaker and have a degree in Cinema, I'm not very inclined to produce a live action film. I'm in for it if we build a team of producers, but I'm not going to take that on myself. I'm already swamped with what I am doing and adding that to the mix is a recipe for failure. Producing an animated film is a goal I am more inclined to pursue. The higher levels of animation that is currently occurring with CG GFX is interesting and I intend to explore it further, but I will need to graduate into that level of operation. For now, I am looking at integrating classic animation with puppetry. Doing that is within the range of my current resources and abilities, but even that is to be considered experimental and not something that can be put into a competitive marketplace. None-the-less, creating a product based on those techniques can be very useful. As it stands now, I am still building the studio facilities, equipment, and operating systems, so adding some degree of cinema/video activity using the Gnomes is appropriate for refining those elements of IMS. I am also creating a traveling exhibition to go with the opening of the stage show, so there's that.

In my mind, making the e-Storybook part of a subscription page will create some income to continue with assorted production activities, but more than that it will allow the subscriber to be part of the process and check in from time to time to see how the GFX and video animations are proceeding, because they will be integrated into the e-Storybook as we are able to include the finished visuals.  I am also thinking that the fixed illustrations will gradually be replaced by GIFs. Of course there are scenes that will in fact be videos, rather than GIFs, but all this will lead into a finished animated film.

These thoughts are presuming that I will be working from existing resources to gradually move into the full concepts of feature film products, but if circumstances change in that regard, we can easily move into a more conventional methodology, or possibly integrate the e-Storybook into the larger production activity as part of the overall presentation before the public.

Publishing Operations

The goal, for so long, has been to finish the Core Creative Materials of "The Gnomes of New Hope; Zach and Zebby's Grand Adventure". This has been an arduous task, because once a product is released, one cannot go back and correct errors, otherwise it is an exercise in futility, that would ultimately impair your market and the public opinion as a whole.

Publishing the series of Storybooks is only one aspect of the project. Those Storybooks originated in the Libretto for the stage musical, but that stage musical originated in a simple puppet show, which also found it's beginning in a short story.  The progress through these literary expressions is something that has taken time, many years, in fact.

The Illustrated Storybooks are the culmination of this lengthy process. Certainly, releasing a final product into the marketplace represents a clear statement about the value of the product and doing so reflects, not only the quality of workmanship, but also the ability of the person or persons involved. 

With this Storybook series, the design has been a large part of the presentation. As I have said before, that design is comprised of hundreds upon hundreds of interlocking components. It has been a monumental task to coordinate those components and to assure that they are balanced and correctly integrated. One aspect of doing that is corrections. When an error is detected, sometimes it is easily corrected, other times it is a major effort to rectify. 

Only yesterday, I was daunted, once again, by searching throught the files to find an original design document, only to conclude that it was gone. I have had many files disappear inside of failed hard drives. Fortunately, I have  devised  other methods of recovering the work if necessary and have profusely saved the material in various revisions, with are represented by the current and final layout being Rev 225.

So, now that the final layout materials are ready for press/digital presentation, my effort is focused on getting the production line set up in the studio. I want to be certain we are capable of publishing and binding a basic amount of books in-house. In that way, we will not be dependent upon vendors to produced a finished product. That is the goal, but that goal does not exclude using suppliers to publish the finished product. Rather, setting up for in-house production offers us security in being able to deliver once the product is introduced into the marketplace.

I have pointed out elsewhere the parameters of selling the books. I intend to publish somewhere around a thousand units in-house, anything more than that will likely be jobbed out, but that depends on the version being sold. All hand-stitched books will be produced in-house at Image of the Mind Studios, while perfect bound versions will be produced by my service vendor(s).

Look for other posts to expand upon Publishing Activities.

AG 🎭🇺🇸

HDTV

Garden Gnomes continue to be available on special order for the purpose of fund raising to support the illustration work. Inquire via email to:

Image.if.the.mind.studios@gmail.com

Well, after a VERY long and arduous task of preparing the e-Storybook, the HDTV format book has been created in a PowerPoint format. Numerous versions were produced, all of which had an assortment of problems that needed correction. It took a long time, between corrections, for me to figure out just how to compress the files to reach a manageable file size. The entire collection in now presented as a Three Volume Set without any audio narration or videos. 

The narration greatly increases the file size, when it is included in the PowerPoint, so the narrated version will be done in Final Cut Studio and be presented as a film. This will be an advantage for inserting videos also. But the narration will be presented as an Audio Book. I expect that to be the next focus of attention, since an audio book can be distributed on it's own. I do want the entire collection to be available in multiple formats before we begin any serious marketing push, because I don't want to deny anyone the choice to have the visual art along with the audio narration. As I write this, I think the Audio Book will need to, at least, be offered simultaneously with the Hard Copy books. With the hard copy books to follow along with the narration, a person can turn the pages themselves, as opposed to the HDTV e-Storybook, where as a film, the pages will turn with the narration. Making this happen via Final Cut Studio will take longer to implement.

Still, the Hard Copy Books will also take some time to release, because there is artwork and illustration panels that need to be completed in the center sections if the collection. 

That artwork primarily pertains to stories contained in "The Gnomic Tales", which are briefly alluded to in "Zach and Zebby's Grand Adventure". Moving forward with that artwork will also advance other stories from The Gnomic Tales. When that happens, I'll all be buried back in the hole writing, which I don't mind, so long as "Zach and Zebby's Grand Adventure" has been released and is providing me with income, so I can just write.

As I often say elsewhere, 

check the 

Facebook pages titled:

Image of the Mind Studios

and 

The Gnomes of New Hope

or the main blog:

The Gnomes of New Hope 

or the main page for IMS:

Image of the Mind Studios Virtual Studio

Each of these pages adds to the overall picture, since I post at different times, discussing an assortment of subjects, sometimes the same subject with a different perspective.

More later, AG

Marketing and Distribution

The image above is part of The Industry Review Package. I'm posting it here just to make it interesting and will change it later

I'm beginning this post and have yet to address any of the points involved on this subject. I can say that Volume One; An Introduction to The Gnomes of New Hope is available for purchase. I am setting up links to PayPal to implement purchases both of individual books and reseller quantities. Those links can be found on www.thegnomesofnewhope.blogspot.com

For resellers, do not expect a full keystone on any quantity less than a gross and it may even be higher than that. There are different editions of the books and until I have enough orders for 5K books, all production is on demand and hand stitched bindings. The cost of producing the books in this fashion disallows a full keystone. So to make up for that extra cost, those books will be signed. If I build inventory sufficiently to allow that keystone I may offer it. Look for a sales flyer and an order form to appear here and elsewhere.

More later. AG

The e-Storybook

I've been preparing a PowerPoint presentation, more than one actually, for the Gnomes of New Hope. I'm absolutely amazed at how cool that program is. Beingvan occasional filmmaker, it's very akin to making a cinematic presentation. In fact, it rather expands upon that process by including a full range of other mediums into a presentation format that works quite well for what I am doing with the Gnomes project as a whole.

So I have decided to use PowerPoint as the tool to present the e-Storybook. For quite some time, I have struggled with how to present the e-Storybook. The main difficulty being how to release it without making too much of it public before we get the ball really rolling in the production management end of things. Well, I think I have come up with a solution to that problem; a subscription page.

I'll get back to this later. AG

Read-Out-Loud Reading Sessions, Libraries & Bookstores

One of the aspects we are pursuing is Read-Out-Loud Storytelling Sessions. Since The Gnomes of New Hope was designed as a read-out-loud book series, that only makes sense. From a production standpoint, the design of a session is such that optimally, it should include using some of the puppets we are planning on using for a number of our presentations. I am trying to focus (as much as possible with all else that is happening) on constructing the first three puppets: Constable Warren, Zach & Zebby. Now that I write this I think maybe that, since we are doing Garden Gnomes and releasing one garden Gnome with the release of each book in the series, it sounds like a good idea to make certain that we finish one puppet in the same time frame. The only flaw in that idea is that we need the three puppets mentioned to make a reasonable read-out-loud session interesting. We could maybe get away with one puppet, but that doesn't sound too good. Unless... Constable Warren was the storyteller! Then one puppet might work.

Well the point of this post is to address another aspect of the storytelling sessions. As you may already know- we are releasing the first book in a series of seven books. The first book is "An Introduction to The Gnomes of New Hope". The remaining six books tell the story of "Zach & Zebby's Grand Adventure".

The books are being released in two editions The Gnome-sized and The Big People Books. You can see the other posts for information about all that, but...

Sponsorship Proposal
 ... It was suggested that we might find a sponsor for the Storytelling sessions. What exactly that sponsor might pay for is not yet clear. But the main idea is that the sponsor would provide the funding to produce a run of Gnome-sized Books that would be given away to the kids who attended the Story-telling sessions.

I think that is a great idea.

I would be able to, as that was part of the plan anyway, take the second page in of the books and craft a customs page giving the sponsor credit for supporting the reading program, which would make that edition of the books even more special and collectible.

 Here is the first page in the book.

This is the last page in the book

(from the first prototype)

The pages show above represent the design of the pages. The first one has the twine border which was added to the final design. You can see that the second image does not have that twine, but it does in the final edition. So, the back of the first page would look like this second example, only with the twine. The text of the page would be crafted to reflect the information, and graphic desired by the sponsor. It would be crafted so that it is in keeping with the design of the book. If desired, we could have Jency create an Illustration, or if you like, we could use this graphic and replace the text for Gnome Gnog with the sponsor's information. The same goes for the Image of the Mind information, which could be replaced with the sponsor's. Or I might create some variation of this page using other artwork we have.

As I write this and think on the subject, I do think that if a sponsor was willing to provide funding for the books, then maybe we should add the cost of paying someone to supervise and/or conduct the reading sessions, which should include touring that read-out-loud storytelling sessions around. I guess I will craft a budget and an outline for doing that  using Bucks County as a test. If that works, then we can apply that budget on a per-county basis.

There are two options for sponsorship, as I see it now. One is to fund a budget for the Reading Tour. The other is to sell a License for distributing any one of the Ancillary Markets and use that money to fund the Reading Tour. Funding the Reading Tour would essentially be a License for all the reading sessions which may arise. In some circumstances, there may be an income opportunity for the sponsor, selling product at an event, but for the initial Library tour, there would not be any selling. The Gnome-sized Book would be given away and people would be directed to a bookstore if they want to acquire the Big People Book.. In that instance, the Big People Book would be sold by the bookstores, but in the instance where, say there is a museum exhibition of the artwork, etc. combined with a Storytelling session, if the sponsor provides publishing funds for a Gnome-sized Give-away, the sponsor could partake in the profits from selling Big People books on-site. The same could be said of outdoor festivals, given that the sponsor is partaking in the expenses of presentation. All these details need to firmed up in a Production Approach Summary crafted specifically for these venues.

In the mean while, I suppose I need to hop to on getting the puppets finished up.

Puppets
I have not finished the work on the puppets, primarily because of work on publishing the books, but also, I am trying to come up with the best method of operating the puppets. Marionettes or stick puppets? There are numerous applications for the puppets. Reading Sessions, Concert Presentations, Stage Presentations, the Parade Float, Cinema and Television Production. So I have bee trying to determine what is the most universal design that I can come up with. The size of the puppets is another issue. A Storytelling session, in an intimate setting doesn't need puppets that are as big as the ones needed for the stage and parade presentations, but sculpting numerous sized puppets will be time consuming and costly. So I am looking into 3D printing, which ultimately links to the 3D animation programs we anticipate using. So there's another level of complexity and cost. If I can acquire the scanning technology required to scan our sculpted puppets, then we will be able to size the 3D renderings in the computer for printout, depending on the application. Puppets and figurines of different sizes would be much simpler to make.

Zach has been laid out in the shop waiting for me to work on him.

I'm sure he's bored staring at the ceiling.

So that's a bit of an update. That's all for now. If you would like to become a sponsor, let me know. I will be pursuing that, because I definitely think it is part of our game plan for introducing the product line into the marketplace.

AG

Books on Consignment

I've begun scoping out book sellers in the Bucks County region. The second organization I contacted owns two outlets. As it turned out, their modus operandi was only to sell books on consignment. If that wasn't bad enough, the person I was dealing with was, for lack of a better description - a millennial. What that means in this context, is a young person who has yet to have learn the meaning of respect.

Here's my assessment of consignment.

Not only is consignment a total waste of my time, because I'm not in the business of giving books away or spending my resources to stock someone else's shelves, but in this case, this retail outlet had the audacity to demand a percentage cut that gave them twice the profit than any other participant in the project was getting and to do so without discussing the merits if the project.

My experience with retailers who only deal on consignment is that - 1) your product ends up on the back of the shelf, after only a short time, because the seller is not vested 2) in all cases they display their paid-for product inventory in preference 3) they disrepect both you and your product  4) you have to eat the product they damage because they didn't pay for it and they've got-you-over-a- barrel 5) you don't get paid in a timely manner and the effort to monitor the inventory and seek payment ends up wiping out any profit and, in fact, costs you 6) they loose your product 7) you are expected to accept returns 8) you are expected to refresh their old inventory with new product at your expense 9) you end up loosing your product, your time and the value of your product in the selling environment, because they do not put the effort into displaying or selling and consequently your product goes stale.

So consignment is a bad deal all-the-way-around. It reminds me of the way some theatre groups scam actors into working for free, because "it's good for your" (nonexistent) "career"

So I was disappointed at the "consignment" response. But
add to that; the fact that less than a week after I provided a review package, when I contacted the "buyer" for feedback and to pick up the package (if they were not interested) he tells me he threw the package away. Claiming he read the material, which I doubt, because I know how long it takes to consider the material. Before even talking to me, he threw away my presentation? What kind of business person is this? An outrage and an insult! That package cost me between $50 & $75, plus the time and expense to hand deliver the package and personally check in twice, and he presumes he has the right to throw it away before even talking to me. I'm livid. I'm tempted to sue.

I'm also tempted to revel who that was, but I will withhold my wrath. If you communicate with any bookstore who works on a consignment basis, particularly one with two outlets in Bucks County; be forewarned.

I made the mistake of thinking that respect is to be presumed. I will not make that mistake again. It's not worth it to deal with these retail outlets.

I expect to concentrate on the showroom and sales office in my studio. If you are a retailer, of any kind, who has interest in showing or selling any of our product-lines, you will need to reach out to me.

I will not be pounding the bricks. I may, possibly, do it once in order to create an initial contact. If that results in respect, then great. We can move forward.

If it comes even close to what I just experienced, then that retail outlet will be banned for life from acquiring any of my products. So if it becomes extremely successful, you're out.

The only sales efforts I will make is direct, from my showroom, or online.

From now on any of sales effort that services an outlet directly at their location will need to be via sales reps. So if you are a sales rep and want work, let me know.

The disrespect that I just experienced, and that seems to be increasingly with this younger generation, is not acceptable to me. I'm appalled.

AG

Limited Edition, Signed & Numbered Garden Gnomes

This program was sketched out with the idea of it being part of distributing the books. Now that I have had discussions with Book Sellers, I find that this is even more desirable than I thought it would be. So I am crafting the details of the program and preparing the materials needed to implement this. Expect to see me posting more on that subject in the various blogs, both here and on other forums. AG

p.s. see the terra-cotta version of the Constable Warren Garden Gnome by looking on the sidebar of The Gnomes of New Hope blog.

Special Offer to Book Sellers

     As you will see, when looking below at the Order Form, the discount schedule is such that the highest discount comes from buying a quantity of 144 units. Even though the retailer seeks a larger reduction in cost, that simply is not possible without significant quantities, which, I understand, few retailers are willing to buy. I can't change that fact, no matter how much the book seller would like that to be the case. 

     So for the sake of making the lower pricing available to the book seller, I make this offer: At all times, all orders must be prepaid, that is a given, but I am offering the 144 unit price to all book sellers, under the condition that the prepaid order will be published and delivered only when my pending orders reach or exceed 144 units. meaning to say that the thirty day turn around is not in effect.  Delivery of prepaid orders for units under 72 qty will be delivered by parcel post or may be picked up at the studio when the order is ready. 

     Since shipping is extra. Pick-up or delivery must be determined at the time of the order.  I will accept a prepaid order if the order is a pick-up. I will accept paid and unpaid orders, pending shipping calculations, if required, on the condition that no product will be shipped without the shipping being paid first. Under the prepaid condition the option to pick-up can be determined when the product is ready to ship. 

    All unpaid orders are invalid until they are paid. No product will be produced for any unpaid order. On orders pending shipping calculations, the bookseller will be informed when the costs are determined. The shipping schedule will likely cover those costs when it is completed.

    I will post a shipping schedule based on the quantity pricing here shortly.

     Since the unit cost is reduced, I cannot deliver the product personally, unless I happen to be in the area for other business.

    Since I am under the opinion that this project will result in significant book sales as the theatre aspect of it gets up and running and since the publicity for these books includes the marketing and publicity that is needed for the show and films, I consider this to of benefit to the book sellers. It is important to remember that these components are something that is not common to most books being sold and that this is of great advantage. 

     So I am offering this book to Book sellers at a price that accommodates a reasonable profit to all involved. That means; 1) the creator 2) the publisher 3) the manufacturer 4) in-house wholesale operations 5) the distributor 6) the book seller. as you can see the profit needs to be divided six ways and the pricing structure must accommodate those divisions, no matter how much any one given category wants more for themselves. The reality is that the market will only tolerate so much as an MSRP. Therefore the pricing structure shown is calculated on fixed percentages. More profit will only be derived from more sales. It's that simple.

      So the 144 unit price is available to all book sellers, contingent upon elimination of the thirty day turn around and acceptance of the term that the quantity will be delivered only when the composite of orders meets or exceeds the 144 quantity. Of course you will be able to check in to see how that is going at all times and I will issue updates when it is appropriate. With any luck, four book sellers giving me an order of 36 books will achieve that end. In fact, I will sweeten the pot by saying that an order of 36 books will get you a "Constable Warren Garden Gnome" to display with the books. 

      There are terms regarding the Garden Gnomes. We will display the concrete Garden Gnome and take silent bids on the Gnome. When the store selling books reaches an agreed upon milestone, say 1000 books, the highest bidder gets the Signed and Numbered Garden Gnome. The funds from the silent auction of the Garden Gnome are donated to the local library (or library of the bidder's choice) for children's reading programs. When we do donate that money, we will have a read-out-loud session at that library, which may include a puppetry presentation.. Remember that there are seven books in the series and we will be issuing a different Garden Gnome for each book. So we will do this for each new book issued. 

More (and/or updates) Later.  AG

The Gnomes of New Hope, Illustrated Storybook

Here is the flyer & Order Form for Book One of the Illustrated Storybook Collection

    You  can print these out and use the order form for mail in or email, however PayPal is the preferred payment method, so The Gnomes of New Hope Blog it really the place for online sales. Possibly in the future I will build up this site and use it for the eCommerce related to selling books.

    I hope that we will release the remaining books within a reasonable time frame, but that depends largely upon completing the Illustrations and conforming the books to the publishing layout. Since this blog is rather new and has not been used much, it is best to keep an eye on www.thegnomesofnewhope.blogspot.com

 

Welcome to IMS Publishing

Thank you for locating this page.

There are no posts here, because all the previous posts to IMS Publishing ended up on a page created within The Gnomes of New Hope blog. The link should take you to those posts.

I am working on restructuring these blog pages, but that may take time. So for now, I will depend on the link to redirect you to those posts.

And I will begin the new year by building new posts on this blog.

AG

Restrictive Covenant Agreement

The RC Agreement is a necessary evil (as they say). It sets down the parameters for understanding and agreeing to ownership of the creative content of the project. I think it's a drag to have to require it to be signed, but after the books are released to the public and officially enter distribution, that agreement will be less critical. Still, it outlines certain understandings, like, the storyline and characters cannot be changed in any way shape or form, without prior written approval.

It rather also serves to shows me who can be trusted. Anyone giving me grief over the RC clearly doesn't get it and is not someone I want to deal with.

I'll post the most recent Revision here. I made some minor structural changes, which are more or less final, noting that changes the previous ones we've used.

AG