Worldbuilders: Geeks Doing Good

I hope everyone had a lovely Fourth of July, whether you did it in a big national holiday way or not.

Despite a crushing deadline, I took the time to head downtown with Oot to watch the fireworks this year. We ate fair food, listened to music, and I bought him one of those cheap plastic toys someone’s always selling at events like these. It cost me $10, but I thought that was worth it to see a bit of joy on my child’s face.

20140705_214622

I clearly wasted my money.

Pretty much as soon as I bought this thing, I realized my ten dollars would have been much better spent if I’d given it to Worldbuilders. Ten bucks can change someone’s life forever if you spend it in the right way….

That said, let’s be honest here: Everyone likes making the world a better place, but sometimes it’s nice to get something cool for your ten bucks, too.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could buy something cool AND make the world a better place?

Yeah. I think so too, which is why we’re trying something a little experimental this year with Worldbuilders. We’re firing up an IndieGoGo Fundraiser that’s only going to last a week. You can come in, buy something fun, then sleep well at night, content in the knowledge that the money is going to a good cause.

We’re doing this with IndieGoGo because, unlike kickstarter, they allow non-profits to do fundraising.

Also, unlike kickstarter, they allow you to buy things at more than one pledge level. And I’m thinking a fair number of you are going to be tempted into multiple purchases.

What do we have? Well I’m glad you asked….

  • Princess and Mr. Whiffle Coloring Book

Princess Coloring Book cover

Nate Taylor did special doodles on the inside of all of the lettered editions of the second Princess and Mr. Whiffle book.  Nate really went above and beyond for them, doing full page inked illustrations, where a lesser man might have been content with just doing a little sketch.

When I saw the art, I loved it and wanted to share it around. When someone in the office suggested we compile them into a coloring book, we jumped on the idea.

You can see more of the art over here.

  • Princess and Mr. Whiffle T-shirt.

Princess-Tee

Yeah. You want it.

  • Ultra Fair-Trade Artisan Roasted Coffee.

Mug and Coffee promo

These guys actually travel to Kenya and Mexico to harvest their own coffee, literally picking them bean by bean with the farmers in the area. Then they bring it back to the Stevens Point area and roast it. Seriously.

They’ve given us our own special blend of coffee to sell off: Tinker’s Blend. You can grab some with or without a matching Worldbuilders Mug.

  • Mystery Book Bundles.

Book Bundles with box

There are two different book bundles – one that collects books from each of the Prime Book Bundles we sold back in November, and one comprised entirely of new books.

Grey Riders

This is one of the pieces of art Shane made for the Modegan Pairs deck in our most recent kickstarter. It shows the Grey Riders. They haven’t shown up in the books. Yet.

This poster is going to be signed by both Shane and myself. And we’re only going to be selling them here through this fundraiser.

So if you want one, you better grab it now….

  • The 2015 Calendar.

Page samples 13

This year, we’re putting out a calendar full of Karen Hallion’s mash-up art. We’re still designing some of it, but this can be your official pre-order and chance to check it out. Once the calendar is fully finished and polished, we’re going to ship them out right away, so you’ll have them in time for the holidays.

It’s a 14-month calendar, including a bunch of the favorite princess and police box mashups, and a newly designed Kingkiller mashup. That’s one we’re not showing anyone for a good long while, so the best way to be sure you’ll have it early is to pre-order the calendar.

  • And much, much more!

All the Rest

For the first time ever, this sentence isn’t just BS marketing. We actually have a ton of other stuff over in the IndieGoGo. Too much stuff to show here without making this blog irrationally long.

You can head over there right now if you want…

One snag: one of the reasons we decided to go with IndieGoGo is that they accept PayPal, which was a concern for some folks that don’t have credit cards. The other reason, as I mentioned above, is that they allow non-profits to run campaigns.

What makes this even better, is that IndieGoGo gives us a big discount on the fees they normally charge for a project because we’re a non-profit.

But here’s the downside. Because we’re taking advantage of that discount, it turns out we can’t use PayPal after all. The two just don’t work together.

I know for some people outside of the US, credit cards aren’t an option, or they’re just unduly complicated. For those people, who absolutely can’t particpate unless we have PayPal, please feel free to email us at fundraiser [@] worldbuilders.org and we’ll work something out so you can buy what you want using paypal instead. Just tell us what item you’d want, and we’ll do our best.

If you want to check out all of the other things we’re selling (because there’s lots of it), head over and check it out. Our promo video is worth the watch, if nothing else.

There will also be a lot of opportunities to ask us questions on Reddit on Wednesday night. A few folks from the Worldbuilders Team and I will be there, doing an AMA starting around 6pm. We might even be joined by some of the cool geeky celebs that have kicked things into the campaign…

Thanks for being awesome everyone,

pat

This entry was posted in Geeks Doing Good, WorldbuildersBy Pat77 Responses

77 Comments

  1. killerladydog
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 1:41 PM | Permalink

    Awesome Pat, Thanks!

    • killerladydog
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 1:55 PM | Permalink

      Grabbed that awesome poster. Cant wait to read about them in the next book. Let me know when the next version of the cealdish currency comes out (or if you have any in reserve) and ill snap that up as well for a good cause

  2. Brady Dill
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 1:53 PM | Permalink

    Pat’s nemesis holds onto the rocks on the cliffs of insanity, having failed to fall to his death.
    Pat: “COMPRISE!”
    Brady Dill: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
    https://www.google.com/search?q=comprise+definition&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

    Yay, Worldbuilders! Will it also be happening later, for more than a week, as usual?

    • Amanda
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:02 PM | Permalink

      Yup! The usual annual fundraiser is still a go, but we’re hoping this will help keep it a little shorter…

  3. Siddhin
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:09 PM | Permalink

    Will the t-shirt be available in a men’s size S? Just to be sure.

    • Amanda
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:09 PM | Permalink

      Yup! Thanks for checking.

  4. Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:09 PM | Permalink

    Great! We’re going to participate right now. Let’s hope many spanish readers participate as well. Good luck!

  5. Ruhne
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:11 PM | Permalink

    I think this is so cool.. I’m so excited to be part of this.

    Cheers Pat. Thanks for doing this.

    And job well done everyone involved / going to be participating. :)

  6. TreffnonX
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:13 PM | Permalink

    10.000 Dollars goal? – A week? – You should know better by now =D

    • TreffnonX
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:39 PM | Permalink

      Buuuuuuut… it’s a non-profit and can only be paied by credit card… c’mon :(

      • Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:39 PM | Permalink

        Read the rest of the blog. There are other options.

        • TreffnonX
          Posted July 8, 2014 at 9:44 AM | Permalink

          Whoops,… I guess this falls under ‘read the fucking manual’ =D – sorry for complaining ^^

  7. Amy
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:18 PM | Permalink

    Loved it. Was disappointed because I couldn’t put things in a “cart”. I just made two orders instead. Have you thought about doing this quarterly?

    • Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:41 PM | Permalink

      Right now we’re seeing what works best, events like this, or just putting stuff up in our own store.

      After the fundraiser wraps up, we’ll have more data and be able to make some informed decisions.

      Either way, there will continue to be cool stuff. It’s just how we’re going to end up making it available to people…

      • SporkTastic
        Posted July 8, 2014 at 4:42 PM | Permalink

        Yay, data points!

        This could be a great way to give people a chance to pick up some of the popular items/rewards/awesomeness that they couldn’t get during the yearly fundraiser itself, but which don’t necessarily lend themselves to being readily available in the store. Maybe?

  8. Rob De Santis
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:19 PM | Permalink

    Now that I’ve finished my own book. Please do the Worldbuilders auction on agents and editors to read manuscripts again. Please??? It’s a high mountain to climb to find an agent. From where this Canadian/Toronto boy stands the mountain looks mighty tall. (intimidating)

  9. NAMDORG
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:30 PM | Permalink

    There are a few things on this blog I’m not seeing on the fundraiser or the tinker’s pack. Namely (pun intended) the rings in the last picture. Any more info on those?

    • Amanda
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:35 PM | Permalink

      They’ll be coming, along with a bunch of other cool stuff that we’ll be adding throughout the week :)

      • kitty713
        Posted July 8, 2014 at 1:25 AM | Permalink

        This is an awesome idea as it seems I always come to these things too late to snag any cool prizes as they’re always sold out. Need to check the blog more regularly I guess :)

  10. Constance
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:34 PM | Permalink

    Calendar! Calendar! EEEEEEE. Kingkiller mashups?!

    Ahem, exuse my fangirl like squee.

    I’m just picturing a Bast / Captain Jack Harkness image in my head and it’s ALL kinds of yummy…

    • rhidana
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 4:14 PM | Permalink

      I need someone to draw this. Or write this. Yum!

  11. Darth_Let
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:48 PM | Permalink

    I have a question about the book bundles: Is it possible to get a second book in a bundle without getting the first? I don’t mind anthologies, but I wouldn’t want to get, for example, Wise Man’s Fear without The Name of the Wind also being in that same bundle.

    Also, are the bundles all the same books? If I bought two of the new bundles of books, would I be getting two of a bunch of different books, or a bunch of books with a smattering of doubles?

    • Amanda
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:38 PM | Permalink

      There are no second-in-a-series books, so you’re safe there. All the books are readable without going out to buy another one.

      Also, the bundles are primarily made up of the same books, so if you ordered two of one, you’d get a lot of duplicates. Not all, but mostly.

  12. TLadd
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 2:57 PM | Permalink

    The handle on that mug looks like it would fit a Master Kilvin-sized hand, which is much appreciated by those of us with similarly large mitts.

    • Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:42 PM | Permalink

      A big-handed person, I hear you. That was one of the main reasons we went with that mug.

  13. Eduardo
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:03 PM | Permalink

    The Princess Book 2 is the Trade Edition? The Limited? Or which one?

    • Amanda
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:31 PM | Permalink

      Trade edition – thanks for asking!

      • Eduardo
        Posted July 7, 2014 at 11:34 PM | Permalink

        Thank you! :)

      • Thousand
        Posted July 9, 2014 at 10:23 AM | Permalink

        Is there any chance that the limited edition will be on the igg campaign?

  14. GregK
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:06 PM | Permalink

    Thank you Pat and the rest of the team for making my life easier for gifts for my wife: birthday gifts (July), Christmas gifts (December). You guys are awesome and are doing great things. Any chance we can get a fund raiser in May for our anniversary? ; p

  15. Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:09 PM | Permalink

    Well, that goal didn’t take long to meet…..LOL

  16. He without a clever name
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:12 PM | Permalink

    Karen Hallion Disney/Doctor Who Mash up Calendar!?

    I have one Doctor and Alice t shirt, one Beauty and the Beast…and I think four of the Ariel/Doctor Who mash up shirt. Yeah, so I’m usually like a cartoon character wearing that shirt everyday, only every once in awhile switching it out for a Pokemon, Batman, or Chrono Trigger shirt. My Mom asked when going through my pictures from my last trip to Disney World, “Why are you wearing the same shirt every day?”

    So yeah, I’m basically really excited at the prospect of having a calendar.

    And a King Killers/I assume Tardis crossover!?!? 90’s Disney, Doctor Who and Fantasy novels are like the three pillars of fandom that make me, me. Today I am a happy fan indeed!

  17. allisonshoe
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:16 PM | Permalink

    Can you point me in the direction of a press contact? I contacted Pat’s publisher but haven’t heard back. I’m hoping to write a story about Wordbuilders.

    • Amanda
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:39 PM | Permalink

      Contact questions [@] worldbuilders.org and we’ll set you up :)

      • allisonshoe
        Posted July 8, 2014 at 1:57 PM | Permalink

        Great! Just sent something. Thanks so much!

  18. Wousje
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:23 PM | Permalink

    Will the mystery book bundles be available for other countries then the USA. I’m from the Netherlands and would love to order one!

    • Siddhin
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:33 PM | Permalink

      Last time they had book bundles they decided against it because of the insanely high shipping rates. Living in your country, I’ve felt your pain. ;)

      • Amanda
        Posted July 7, 2014 at 3:40 PM | Permalink

        Yeah, shipping was going to cost us as much as $75 a box – we would’ve lost money on them. The box is something like 18 pounds, so it’s almost impossible to ship it cheaply…

  19. Tabz
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 4:07 PM | Permalink

    Ugh.. so many tempting things. I’m so glad this is for a good cause.

  20. rhidana
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 4:16 PM | Permalink

    So sad about the book bundles not available outside the US, but I’ll happily spend my money on all the other geeky goodness! Thanks for doing this!

  21. Bruenar
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 4:50 PM | Permalink

    Just checking on the Digital Wallpapers, what resolution will you guys be rolling them out as? I’m assuming 1920×1080, but thought I’d check first.

    • Brett
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 6:42 PM | Permalink

      Hey Bruenar, we’re doing three different resolutions: 2560 x 1600, 1900 x 1200, and 1920 x 1080, all at 96 dpi.

      They’re all jpeg format, so if you choose the wallpaper as a perk, you should get something pretty close to your monitor’s resolution. If not, the 2560 x 1900 should be relatively re-sizeable if you need it just so.

      Hope that helps!

  22. kdculb
    Posted July 7, 2014 at 6:21 PM | Permalink

    Am I missing a joke or something? I can’t watch the promo video, it says it is private.

    • cw5h2o
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 6:38 PM | Permalink

      Ditto here…did we crash the video?

      • cw5h2o
        Posted July 7, 2014 at 6:51 PM | Permalink

        Figured it out! You can’t see the video until you contribute.

    • Brett
      Posted July 7, 2014 at 6:40 PM | Permalink

      Sorry guys–in the frantic rush to get everything absolutely perfect, we clicked the wrong button!
      It should work now. It’s worth checking out.

  23. kitty713
    Posted July 8, 2014 at 1:22 AM | Permalink

    Really really torn now…. Do I:

    a) wait and see if there is something cooler added which I want, risking the book packs selling out

    b) get the book bundle, but due to living abroad get it shipped to my mother’s house in Wisconsin and not get to pick it up until May 2015

    Hmmmmmmm

    • pacifist
      Posted July 8, 2014 at 7:55 AM | Permalink

      Whenever you can’t choose between two options, pick both :)

      • kitty713
        Posted July 9, 2014 at 10:38 AM | Permalink

        I don’t have the money for both :) If it weren’t for charity I wouldnt even be considering it.

  24. Kristofva
    Posted July 8, 2014 at 4:53 AM | Permalink

    Hi,

    I wanted to buy some coffe, but I live in germany and nowhere does it add or show shipping costs.
    How is this handled?

    • tarvik
      Posted July 8, 2014 at 7:30 AM | Permalink

      International shipping is covered in the cost of the item (except for book bundles and anything else they add which is stated as US only).

      • Amanda
        Posted July 8, 2014 at 8:15 AM | Permalink

        Yup!

        • Posted July 8, 2014 at 4:21 PM | Permalink

          That said, shipping things anywhere other than Canada *does* cost us between 15 and 25 extra dollars. So if you wanted to include a little extra to help us cover those expenses, it would be kind of you….

          • Holmelund
            Posted July 10, 2014 at 2:00 PM | Permalink

            Oh no…..

            I just ordered 3 things to Europe. Will each of them cost you 15-25?
            Because that just makes me feel horrible.

            If at all possible please lump the 3 things together in a single shipment to cost down on cost.

          • Posted July 11, 2014 at 1:57 PM | Permalink

            Homelund: Don’t worry, we’re going to be combining orders as much as possible to keep our shipping costs down.

  25. Marcus Cox
    Posted July 8, 2014 at 6:30 AM | Permalink

    Just a quick question about the Reddit AMA on Wednesday, what subreddit are you going to do that on? I know in the past Pat has done them in /r/fantasy, but it’s not on their posted schedule. It’s also not on the schedule on /r/iama. Just curious so I know where to look tomorrow night.

    • Amanda
      Posted July 8, 2014 at 8:16 AM | Permalink

      It’ll be in /r/fantasy. They’ve mentioned it over here, and they’re doing a book giveaway for people who’ve supported the IndieGoGo :)

  26. TheFlyingFish
    Posted July 8, 2014 at 10:41 AM | Permalink

    I predict the book bundles will be your best-selling item. By far. The only reason I didn’t buy both of them, against my better judgment, is that one was sold out.

    Also, I like the mug. A lot. But I’m not a coffee connoisseur, and I know that despite every good intention in the world, the coffee itself will just end up sitting there in a cupboard until it a) becomes a feast for ants, or b) is discovered petrified in a thousand years.
    So. Is there anyway I can buy the mug without the coffee?

    • Siddhin
      Posted July 8, 2014 at 11:59 AM | Permalink

      Yes, I vote for the cup moving to the Tinker’s Packs after this fundraiser.

      (I really can’t spend any more money this week haha)

      • Posted July 8, 2014 at 4:21 PM | Permalink

        Noted. We’ll order some extras….

  27. apeiron
    Posted July 8, 2014 at 12:00 PM | Permalink

    Is there no way to get the book bundle outside of the USA? I live in Canada, there is only an imaginary line to cross to get here, the shipping cost can’t be that prohibitive… Any way for me to pay the shipping cost?

    Geek doing good for the win!

    • TheFlyingFish
      Posted July 8, 2014 at 1:15 PM | Permalink

      If they’re not willing to ship it to you directly, could you have them ship it to a friend in the USA or something, and have your friend ship it to you?

  28. Posted July 8, 2014 at 3:41 PM | Permalink

    I’m so glad to see the campaign is a wild success thus far. I wish I could have donated more, but every little bit, eh?

    Keep up the good work — which, in this case, is more than just a nice turn of phrase!

  29. Posted July 8, 2014 at 8:34 PM | Permalink

    Woohoo! Thanks for the excuse to buy expensive coffee. :-)

  30. leannalynne
    Posted July 9, 2014 at 2:23 AM | Permalink

    I feel like a true Rothfussian, donating to worldbuilders.

  31. s.r.r.s
    Posted July 9, 2014 at 7:43 AM | Permalink

    There are a lot of things in the Tinker’s Packs I want to buy, and I’m quite sorry to see that none of it has made its way into this fundraiser. As it is, I’m not overly excited about any of the fundraiser items and will just hoard my money to use soon in the Tinker’s Packs. But I am so glad that the campaign is so successful!

    • tarvik
      Posted July 10, 2014 at 9:37 AM | Permalink

      Just a reminder that they are continuing to add new things every day. You may want to keep checking just in case they add the things you want!

      (based on absolutely no evidence my theory is they will announce some pretty big stuff towards the end)

  32. Posted July 9, 2014 at 5:07 PM | Permalink

    Ohh… that calendar sounds amazing! And I love the coffee mug! Why am I poor? I want to buy ALL of this. Now I have to pick! >.<

    • NAMDORG
      Posted July 9, 2014 at 6:36 PM | Permalink

      I know how you feel – I had to hold my hand back from picking the copper dice. “You already bought a set of rings you can’t wear. You don’t need copper dice you’ll never roll.” – Me to Myself.

  33. Soren
    Posted July 10, 2014 at 1:51 AM | Permalink

    Just a question: Is the Auri book going to have illustrations?
    I’m sooo buying that thing.

    • midobal
      Posted July 10, 2014 at 4:04 AM | Permalink

      Someone has asked Pat on the Reddit AMA how many illustrations the book is going to have (roughly). He’s said that:

      “I just checked. It’s closer to 30.
      They’re not all full pages, mind you. Many of them are partial integrated with the text on the page.”

      Now I have even more desires for the book to be on sale. I cannot wait until November!!

  34. JJLeggo
    Posted July 11, 2014 at 12:32 PM | Permalink
  35. Milene B.
    Posted July 12, 2014 at 4:23 AM | Permalink

    I tried, and tried again, to order The Slow Regard of Silent Things, for it would be absolutely awesome to get a signed copy for my birthday at the end of the year… but I can’t somehow complete the order. It keeps telling me “There was an error in the information you provided for this donation.”, though I haven’t make any mistakes. I don’t know where it comes from… I kind of get the feeling the world is against me when something like that happens – the same feeling you get when you keep on writing your password, and it keeps telling you “wrong password”…

    More info : I was trying to order the Non-USA Novella, and when I ordered the calendar a few days ago with the same information, there wasn’t any problem.
    I don’t know if anyone else encountered this problem ? If anyone can help ?

  36. kitty713
    Posted July 12, 2014 at 4:13 PM | Permalink

    How big is the Grey Riders poster?

    Please don’t say “poster-sized” :p

  37. gnostic813
    Posted July 14, 2014 at 7:29 PM | Permalink

    Ok where in the world do I go to pre order the your new book, pat? (Or can anyone else please direct me? I would love to order by midnight for one of the special edition. :)

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