How did you arrive at the total project cost?
About 8-10% of total costs are Kickstarter fees. The travel costs are estimated to be at between 10-15% of the total, depending upon what sort of “obstacles” or “adventures” appear along the way. The rest – the vast majority – of the funds will cover the design, prepress, printing and distribution of the books. We want to make these books really amazing, so we are not going to cut corners. Last updated: Sat, Jun 20 2015 10:54 am EDT
Where did you ever get an idea like this?
Actually, given the turn of relations since 2008, we have been considering some kind of grand trip for a long time, to capture an interesting, unusual slice of Russian life, to take the sort of coverage we do in the magazine and go deeper, longer. Then, about a year ago, Nicky Gardner, in her article for Russian Life about the Murman Coast, mentioned the E105 and how it stretched from Kirkenes in Norway to the Black Sea. It was a perfect fit for the mission. Last updated: Mon, Jul 13 2015 2:25 pm EDT
When will the book be released?
We don’t have a firm date yet, obviously, but the plan is in the spring of 2016.
Will you be producing an e-book version?
No, there is no plan for that. We very much feel that this book needs to be a physical product that lives in the world, that can be touched and passed from hand to hand. We don’t feel that an ebook can have that same impact. We may, however, put on some electronic “exhibitions” of the photographic work. Last updated: Sat, Jun 20 2015 3:41 pm EDT
Why are the shipping costs outside the US so high?
Reliable international shipment of books is expensive. We have projected out the weight of the book that will be produced, then simply calculated what it will cost to pack, fulfill and mail those copies to Europe, Asia, etc. in a reliable manner. Yes, there might be cheaper ways out there, but we have chosen to be conservative, to use a service that has a track record of actually seeing the packages get delivered. (And, yes, we are a bit jealous of Kickstarter projects that only must ship a 2 oz. gadget somewhere in the world, rather than a 3 or 4 pound book.)
This is the estimated shipping date for the final book. Several premiums have already shipped.
Last Updated At: 03/29/16What is BackerKit?
BackerKit is a service that crowdfunded project creators use to keep track of hundreds to tens of thousands of backers—from shipping details, pledge levels, preferences and quantities, whether they have paid or had their card declined, special notes, and everything in between!
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