This is a tentative proposed draft of the budget for the Aether Beyond the Binary crowdfunding campaign. As we finalize decisions and get closer to actual launch (currently projected for fall/winter of 2023), we’ll reprice, reassess, and update this accordingly.
All prices are in USD.
Book Printing Budget
| Item | Number Needed | Total Price | Source/Notes |
| Front Cover Art | 1 | $250 | Artist to be determined |
| Manuscript Formatting | 1 | $200 | Hermit9 |
| Payments to Authors | 20 | $1,500 | Flat rate of $75 per story, plus estimated transfer fees |
| Editing by Duck Prints Press Staff | $1,000 | ||
| “Aether Beyond the Binary” Book (Digest Size, 5.5″ x 8.5″) | 100 | $710 | BookLogix |
| Book Shipping from BookLogix to Us | $150 | (estimated) | |
| ISBNs | 3 | n/a | These were paid for as part of a prior project |
| Protective Packaging for Mailing to Backers | $30 | Papermart; estimated, as precise packaging hasn’t been decided on yet. | |
| Total to Produce Books | $3,840 |
Merchandise
This is a tentative list of proposed merchandise; we may end up reducing or increasing how much merch we produce for this campaign. All prices include associated costs (such as commissioning art, shipping of the merch to us, packaging for distribution, etc.).
| Item | Number Needed | Total Price | Source/Notes |
| Bookmark (2″ x 7.25″) | 50 | $134 | Artist to be determined; printed by Uprinting. |
| Dux Sticker (3″ x 3″) | 50 | $106 | Art by Alessa Riel; printed by Vograce. |
| Holographic Sticker | 50 | $82 | Artist to be determined; printed by Vograce. |
| Glitter-Filled Key Chain (3″ x 3″) or Light-Up Key Chain (cost approximately the same amount, we haven’t decided yet) | 50 | $362 | Artist to be determined; manufactured by Vograce. |
| Enamel Pin (1.75″ x 1.75″) | 50 | $355 | Artist to be determined; manufactured by Alchemy. |
| Total to Produce Merchandise | $1,039 |
Shipping Materials
Because we anticipate having only more-or-less “flat” merchandise for this campaign, we will not need as much variety of shipping materials, and we have extra of a lot of packaging material we’ve used in previous campaigns.
| Item | Number Needed | Total Price | Source/Notes |
| Bubble Wrap (Small Bubbles) | 1 roll | $37 | (Source) |
| Adjustable Shipping Boxes | 100 | $113 | Papermart |
| Total to Purchase Packing Materials | $150 |
Totals
| Item | Total Price |
| Book Production | $3,840 |
| Merchandise Production | $1,039 |
| Shipping Materials | $150 |
| Estimating Processing and Platform Fees | $750 |
| Estimated New York State Sales Tax Owed | $50 |
| Estimated Shipping to Backers | $1,200 |
| Total to Produce Merchandise | $7,029 |
We anticipate seeking funding with an initial goal of $7,500 for the crowdfunding campaign for Aether Beyond the Binary. Given the number of authors participating in the project, and that we’ve raised at least $10,000 for every book launch we’ve done, we don’t expect raising this quantity of funding through crowdsourcing will be an issue.