Monday, June 27, 2011

I'm going fulltime with the Wormworld Saga!

I'm sorry that it was so quiet here on the blog over the last four weeks. The reason for that is that the last month was such a crazy hotchpotch of stuff that happened, which made me leap from here to there and which I just wasn't able to comprehend into a form that I could share with you. Now that I just had the chance to relax on a short trip to the Munich Comicfestival (which was a great event by the way) things have settled down a bit and I'm able to break the news to you about some decisions that I made. And boy are there news!

I was approached by a big investor a few weeks ago. To put it into a nutshell, they wanted to give me the money that I needed to work fulltime on the Wormworld Saga. That of course got me totally thrilled. My goal got within reach! So I created a business plan for a production company, we talked about the details and in the end it was up to me to sign the deal. It would have meant to create a company, earning a good salary as CEO and ... to hand over the major share of the Wormworld Saga property to the investor.

Relax! I didn't do it.

I realised that I hadn't worked my ass off over the last 18 months only to hand my rights over to someone else. But I'm deeply thankful for their approach because it made me crunch my numbers and it got me thinking about the financial potential of the Wormworld Saga project. And I realised that it could work. There still is a gap in the cash flow for the rest of this year and I will have to dive into my savings in order to bridge it. But next year, when the app has been in stores for several months, I'm optimistic enough to hope for a complete yearly income generated by the Wormworld Saga.

Especially because the app won't be the only way to generate income from!

The next big news is, that I found a publisher for a print adaption of the Wormworld Saga Digital Graphic Novel. That really wasn't an easy thing to do because there needs to be some serious editing done on the material and I had to find a publisher who would let me retain the rights for the digital version AND who would let me keep on publishing the free online version on the website. Fortunately I found a forward thinking publisher who would agree on these terms. The German Tokyopop publishing house will bring the Wormworld Saga books into stores from next year on. I'm thrilled and I think a book will be a nice artifact for fans and with it I will be able to reach people with my story who don't like to read comics on a screen. It will be published in Germany first and international contracts will be negotiated over the next months. I hope that it won't take too long until readers outside of Germany will be able to enjoy the Wormworld Saga in the printed edition.

Well, all this ultimately lead me to the decision to do the leap of  faith. I quit my job and will be working fulltime on the Wormworld Saga from 1st July on. I'm scared of course since I'm venturing into unknown territory here. I don't know how things will turn out. But how much sense this all makes! "The Journey Begins" is the title of the upcoming chapter two. The journey begins indeed and I begin to understand how Jonas must feel on the brink of his great adventure. I'm joining him and I hope you join us, too!

Oh, and I think I don't need to mention that the second chapter will be relased WAY before the end of the year now, do I? Feast your eyes on my rearranged schedule!


Compared to my old schedule I now I have FIVE times more hours per day to work on the Wormworld Saga AND I'm actually going to see my family in the evenings. That's pure craziness! Prepare to see the milestones fly by!

Thanks for all your support and encouragement over the last six months! If this all was just the prologue, I'm wondering what's going to happen now that things are really getting started. I'm going to work hard in order to meet your expectations.

61 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I hope it all works out for you!

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  2. Wonderful to see a great dream come true! Wishes of success from Brazil!

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  3. Hey Daniel, CONGRATZ for reaching that enormeous goal. I'm pretty sure, you'll go your way. Good decision remaining independent!

    And of course for all your efforts the COM's gonna back you buddy! (=

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  4. Congratulations, I know that it is a leap of faith, but you will not regret it. You will have all our support. If you are still needing to raise some capital you can always turn to http://www.kickstarter.com/ to raise the funds, you'll find there are plenty of people willing to help!

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  5. Wow Congraulations!!!

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  6. Congratulations!
    I'm really looking forward to the next chapter. :)

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  7. Congratulations! I'm so happy to read the good news!

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  8. those are good news I hope I can buy the printed version over here soon.

    greetings from Mexico

    Edgar.

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  9. Congratulations...great news.
    Love to read more of the story......

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  10. Great news!
    I hope everything turns well for you and of course your familiy but with this creative captial in your hands you should not be disappointed.
    Looking forward to the printed version!

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  11. Wow, thanks for all your nice comments! I'm really happy that I was finally able to share the news with you.

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  12. Congratulations for myself, as the wait will be shorter! And congratulations to you!!! It's going to be a nice journey indeed, so sit tight and enjoy the view.

    I'm anxious to spend another afternoon translating the next chapter into Spanish!

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  13. Daniel, that's incredible news! I'm SO happy for you! Wormworls saga have indeed great potential, and you deserve all the best for your talent and courage. I look forward to live this adventure. Me and my GF are spreading the word here as much as we can. Keep goin'!

    Venice - Italy

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  14. You're courage is an inspiration! Congratulations!

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  15. Congratulations and the best of luck!

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  16. this is amazing news!!! congrats and it's going to be awesome!

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  17. I just stumbled across Wormworld from the Boltcity site and fell in love with the comic imediately. My first through was "I hope there's a print edition" and lo! I can't wait for it be available.

    And congratulations on being able to create full time. You're living the dream.

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  18. This news just made my day. I'm so excited for you (and all of us fans)!

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  19. Congratulations! You have successfully built a community, have been approached by a big investor and made business with a publisher. I'm pretty sure The Wormworld Saga is in the road to success!

    Also, I've found your color-keyed schedule very useful, it makes it very easy to visually how time is distributed.

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  20. Good news to hear. Cant wait for the second chapter. and congrats for your decision.

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  21. Awesome!
    I'm looking forward to compare the online and the printed version. I'm really curious how that one will be edited.

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  22. wow, this is really exciting! go for it and keep up this inspiring spirit of yours!

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  23. Congratulations, excellent news! Looking forward to buying the next chapter.

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  24. Congratulations! I'm really excited for you! :D

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  25. Wonderful news! Congratulations and looking forward to all the lovely artwork you'll create!

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  26. It is great to see your big dream grow and prosper! It is amazing how you transfuse your euphoria to others again and again!
    Congratulations and good luck (even if you don´t need it) ;)

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  27. That's amazing news, more time for the story AND more time for your family. Great news for you as much as for us readers! Very much looking forward to chapter 2.

    All the best!

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  28. Go for it! :) I'm so looking forward for the final app.

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  29. I'm so happy for you! Please try to let the fans know if you need additional support!! Best of luck.

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  30. Congrats! I wish you much success, you're an inspiration. This post really touched me, (also got me out of a gloomy mood) and I think it's about time I started my journey. Or at least, quit procrastinating. ^.^

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  31. Congratulations! Such exciting news! :D

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  32. Hallo Daniel!
    I'm joining the already long list of comments to warmly congratulate you, and encourage you further in you choice of going full time with you project! Just think where you were same day a year ago! And see what's happening now! Really amazing! You believe in your independence, you worked hard with perseverance (who could possibly tell that you didn't?), so you definitely deserve it.
    I almost had a heart attack when you told us that you would basically sell your project out to others, so if you want to keep your fans and readers alive don't try to scare them that much next time (just kidding). More seriously, you can come back with good news like this one as soon as you want!!
    Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

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  33. We are with you, Daniel! Keep on the good work.

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  34. your doing something great Daniel. As a fellow artist, I'm looking forward to experiencing your story beginning to finish. Keep doing what you love and let your world develop around you...

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  35. How extraordinarily brave of you, Daniel. However, with your talent and persistence how could you ever fail to succeed? I add my voice to the chorus of faith and admiration. Do it, man.

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  36. YER THA MAN!!! I cant wait for chapter 2!

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  37. Congratulations Daniel, can't wait to read the next chapter!!!

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  38. My warmest and biggest Congratulations! Can't wait for the following chapters!

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  39. Wohohoou!
    Ein Halleluja für Dich und eins für Deine Familie ;-)
    Wünsche einen guten Start! Ich fange in diesem Monat ebenfalls mit meinem Graphic-Novell-Projekt an, aber mal nur mit einem Tag pro Woche... Deine Story ist aber ganz schön ermutigend, dass da noch mehr drinliegt!

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  40. Man, I really can't tell you how much it means to me to receive all these encouraging comments. Yesterday was my last day at work and I had my short moment when I thought that my decission was terribly wrong. But the next moment I felt so excited about all this again and your comments help tremendously to keep up the spirit.

    I'm currently on a short trip about which I will tell you in the next blog post. Again it's exciting news but it also serves as a kind of transition into my new life. I'll return home in a week and then everything will start to become very different to what I'm used to. I will keep you updated, that's for sure!

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  41. The idea of your blog, right now, being a story of exploration as a mirror to Jonas's exploration is very inspiring. Daniel, your actions on every front seem very solid, and chapter 1 was outstanding. I see Jonas fulfilling his destiny.

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  42. Damn! You are GOOD! Everything about you -- your novel, your art, your website(s), your ideas, your blog, your style, your talent, your work ethic, your videos with the engaging spontaneous commentary, your giving personality -- EVERYTHING is GREAT!

    I stumbled onto your website for the first time late last night and have since read every one of your blog postings and watched all your videos. I hope you make a million dollars with Wormworld. I'll be ordering some prints -- as soon as I choose a few from the many outstanding choices.

    Keep up the magnificent work, Danny boy. You've given me inspiration to dust off my old artist easel, unpack my paint brushes and oil paints (which are probably all dried up from years of disuse) and see if I still have any of the knack for painting I once had. Maybe I'll even turn one of my unproduced screenplays into an online graphic novel. I'll let you know if I ever do.

    Thanks for the hours of fantastic entertainment you've just given me. Now, hurry up with the next chapter.

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  43. I'm wondering why you haven't tried Kickstarter to fund your project?

    http://www.kickstarter.com/

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  44. @Anonymous:
    Have a look: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daniellieske/the-wormworld-saga-app

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  45. congrats David! Im so happy for you. Cant wait for the next chapter. And get them international releases of the paper version sorted soon, I'll be getting one of those as soon as I can.

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  46. thank you! for not signing that deal Thank you for looking for a publisher who'll let you publish your work whatever way YOU want. Thank you for letting me hope that people still create stuff for reasons other than money. I can't wait for the next chapter and the app. I keep coming back here to see if it's already available.

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  47. Wow that's really a big step, but I think you and your porject deserve the attention you get! :) Keep it up and all the best for you in future!
    Best wishes,
    Matty

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  48. This made me really happy to read! I absolutely loved the first issue and I think your art, writing and style is amazing! To take that leap of faith must've taken a LOT of courage and it's so encouraging to see you do it! Just hang in there, keep believing it and it will be a success!

    Thanks for inspiring us wanna-be artists to follow our dreams!

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  49. I was out of town for a couple of weeks and oh man isn't these some great news.
    The print was waiting for me to pick it up in the post office for more than a week. Pure joy.
    And now this..
    I'm so excited for you Daniel.
    I think that the idea of publishing a book deserved attention from the very beginning.
    I believe that The wormworld saga have the potential to become a classic story like "Winnie the Pooh" or 'Wizard of Oz" and a book would really become a nice present for a parent to give to his child.
    I would surely be glad to buy one for myself.
    Good luck in this new venture.

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  50. Congratulations! From Argentina!!

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  51. Congratulations! Good luck, and may your adventure continue to thrive!

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  52. Kudos Daniel! This digital comic will be phenomenal and that's for sure.

    I just stumbled also in your wormworld saga and i can't help my self but be amazed with the storyline(even if it's just the chapter 1)and should i mention the ever coolest illustrations!

    We'll be right behind you and our hands are ready to render any help we could possible offer to you.

    Can't wait for the chapter 2 and every time i think of it, it's killing me :)

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  53. Hey Daniel,

    I would love to have a copy of the printed version. There is something special about being able to hold a physical book with real pages in my hands that no e-version is able to deliver. Also, I can display the book on a shelf for my visitors to notice and inquire about.

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  54. This absolutely made my day! I'm so very, incredibly happy for you! I hope that you're getting more comfortable about working on your comic full time as time passes.

    Best wishes,
    Kathrine

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  55. Oh my goodness! I'm glad I checked the site today and read this blog post! Dude, that is AMAZING news! I'm so happy for you! You have a lot of guts to take a huge step like that, but I know it'll all pay off, and in spades! My exclamation marks and I are rooting for you all the way, Daniel!

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  56. Hi Daniel.

    This is very exciting for us and you continue inspiring. I hope that yours and Jonas journey will be a great one.

    After I get my pay at the end of the month I hope to buy a print for my 9 year old brother, he like me loves the first chapter. I'd like to thank you for that. I'm not sure If I can thank you for he's continues natter while waiting in anticipation. He his more inpatient than I am :-)

    Again, thank you. You bring us plenty of joy.

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  57. Congrats! This is such great news. I've been following this project since the site launched and I'm very glad to know you are happy with your decisions! The best of luck.

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  58. I just dropped by your blog after a few months to see how things are going for you, and boy, have there been some good news. Congratulations!

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