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| Saturday, May 19th, 2012 | 3:01 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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Announcing the NEW 2012 WLP CUSTOMER SURVEY!
Hey, WLP fans of various types! Five years after the last one, we're doing another survey to see what WLP fans and customers think about various (mostly dirty) things! And this time it's NOT limited to our female fans- we want some answers from EVERYBODY WE CAN GET! (Though there are a lot of gender-specific questions...) Anyway, please answer the survey- we'll be giving out free shirts or comics to those who do so at conventions, and those who answer online will be marked down to get a similar freebie with any order from WLP's website(s). (Like, for example, the WLP Shirts sale going on through the end of Memorial Day...) You can answer either by posting a response here or by emailing it in!Here's the questions: ( Quite a few more questions than last time, too... )Answers made by comments will be screened and will NOT be made public unless you SPECIFICALLY authorize us to! | | Friday, May 18th, 2012 | 7:09 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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Update on update on Memorial Weekend plans...
Got an email from Animazement today- YES they have vacancies. I'm going, if it can at all be managed. I NEED to- I just had to spend $250 to replace the monitor for WLP's main work computer with an HDMI-capable one. Also, I'll need some dough if (as looks likely) I switch web hosting services in the next few days. And also, it's not looking good at present for any refunds from UltimaCon... ... so yes, if you're going to Animazement in Raleigh, NC, space some money for old Belisarius WLP... ... and if you're not, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ORDER A SHIRT WHILE THEY'RE ON SALE (and still available)! | | Thursday, May 17th, 2012 | 8:40 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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Update on Memorial Weekend plans...
... looks like I'm staying home. I can't get any response from Animazement, and UltimaCon officially announced cancellation today. All other alternatives have been explored and have failed. Feh. | | Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 | 1:31 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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PitW Update, and Convention Decision...
First, new PitW page (and last week's finished page): http://www.peteristhewolf.com/Second... as you may have heard, UltimaCon in New Orleans next weekend (Memorial Day weekend, I mean) lost its hotel venue at the last minute. Sometime today they're supposed to announce either a replacement venue or a rescheduling. I've already requested a refund for WLP's space, but I may go to the remount provided the refund is agreed to and the new booth cost isn't too much. At this point there's only one convention that still MIGHT have space available for the same weekend- Animazement in Raleigh, NC. That's normally outside my driving range, and expenses... well, between booth, food, gas and hotels, I figure my expenses before I sell the first item would be about $1100. That means I'd need to sell, roughly speaking, at LEAST $1600 to break even (merchandise costs money). Last year I hit that mark at less than half my conventions on the year. On the other hand, there are TWO Anime Hells at Animazement, so I'd probably have a good time there... Or I could just stay home and write off the weekend- and the month of May- as lost. This is tempting for one major reason: preparation for A-Kon and the Cream & Sugar TPB have got WLP's coffers tapped out. What I need is a guaranteed profitable convention, and that's exactly what I don't have. All I have is a choice of two different desperate gambles, or surrendering my initial bet and staying home. What's your input? Were any of you going to either convention- UltimaCon or Animazement? Willing to subsidize a trip to either? I make my final decision tomorrow (Thurs. 5-17), so please speak up NOW! | | Saturday, May 12th, 2012 | 2:25 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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UltimaCon Loses Venue... And WLP
WLP was going to have a booth at UltimaCon Memorial Day weekend in New Orleans. I say was, because the odds are very good I won't be going. Here's why, from the email sent by UltimaCon: Good evening. We have urgent news to give you. Due to lack of interest within our host hotel but not within the convention itself, the Sheraton has decided it was in their best interest to cancel our upcoming event at their venue. We are currently looking into finding another, more suitable venue to host our convention on the same dates (May 25-27, 2012). We will update all of those involved with UltimaCon 2012 once we have more information on the situation. We intend to include, within whatever new venue we procure, a space for both Dealers and Artists. As such, we are inquiring to ask whether, given that we secure a new venue, you and your assistants will still be interested in attending UltimaCon. My response: Not without a full refund. You couldn't get enough people to cover the room-nights? You're going to relocate the event with less than two weeks to go? You've got fewer followers on both Facebook and Twitter than Louisianime- an event I already know has low attendance and sucky sales? And yet, after I paid way too much for a booth- one of ONLY FIVE DEALERS to do so- you want me to set up at the relocated event? Refund my money. Then we can talk- mostly about much, much cheaper booth costs for an event which is going to be TINY unless it's rescheduled for a later date. (And if it is rescheduled, odds are it's going to conflict with another event I'm committed to, so refund my money anyway.) This is bad for WLP for a number of reasons. I've had to pull money out of my personal savings account to prepare for A-Kon- until checks come in on wholesale orders of Cream & Sugar, WLP is very hard up for cash right now. We still have some credit, but I want to pay balances down, not run them up higher. Losing UltimaCon means losing Memorial Day weekend- where I had a choice, at the beginning of the year, of three other events I could have attended instead. Now it's highly probable I won't make any. Why not go anyway, you ask? Because it'd cost another $400 in gas, hotel, parking and food to make the trip to New Orleans. I needed, roughly speaking, $1000 in sales to make the trip even close to worthwhile. There is no way on God's green earth I can make that with an event that didn't have enough interest to cover the minimum hotel room count, and which will likely lose a third to half its attendees due to the change of venue and possibly weekend. If I go to New Orleans under these conditions, I'm throwing money away. If I do get a refund, and if booth space is ultra-cheap (or, as I said in my email asking for the refund, free), I may end up at UltimaCon anyway... but don't bank on it. I have very little expectation of ever seeing the $325 I spent on the booth back again- not because I distrust Club Bishi LLC, who run the con, but because I don't expect them to have the money after paying penalty clauses on contracts to the hotel and to the guests in case of outright cancellation or rescheduling. I've asked Comicpalooza in Houston if they still have space. Failing that, I'll ask the Forge (a small gaming show in Kentucky). I already know the World Steam Expo is full up, and even if it wasn't I need more than one day home between a Memorial Weekend show and A-Kon the weekend following. This has burned me at a time I can least afford it. Help. | | Wednesday, May 9th, 2012 | 3:30 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012 | 5:57 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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Cream & Sugar books have ARRIVED! Financial report
 COST OF PRODUCTION: Printing- $4590 Advance on wholesale orders to artist - $250 Total - $4840 Wholesale order sales total: $1056 (Solomon's share of this doesn't quite cover the advance, but it's close) Total still to go to break even: $3,784 Bear in mind the artist, Solomon Russell, gets 20% of ALL sales of the book- wholesale and direct alike. That money is HIS and well earned, too- he put in work on this book he didn't need to, helping with touch-ups. The other 80% goes to paying off the print bill and, eventually, paying WLP's bills (I hope). If I ONLY sold wholesale, at maximum discount I'd need to sell 565 of the remaining copies- more than half- to get my money back. If I ONLY sold direct (no more Amazon, no more anything else, only mail order & convention sales), that number drops to 226 copies. Which is still a lot, under the circumstances. What I'm trying to say here is: for the artist, and for me, if you haven't already bought the book, either buy it now or buy it the very next time you see WLP at a convention... EDIT Or just donate to WLP. Because until I get enough income from SOME source to pay this off, Book 2 of Peter is the Wolf can't happen... | | Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 | 9:57 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 | 9:09 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Thursday, April 19th, 2012 | 9:13 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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WLP Shirts on the Chopping Block...
Preparations are now under way for A-Kon, with only one other convention for me between now and then. A-Kon is WLP's biggest convention each year, and it's the one where I decide whether or not to keep a shirt design in print. This year there are quite a few designs on the chopping block for low sales. Over the weekend I'm going to put these shirts on sale. I'm also going to add some designs to the store that, up to now, haven't been listed. I'm even going to start taking pre-orders on a design that might- or might NOT- be ready in time for A-Kon. Officially the sale will begin Monday, April 23 and run through the end of Monday, May 28. I will make the final decision on whether or not to discontinue these designs after the sale ends- that is, right before A-Kon. That means if you want to save any of these shirt designs, or if you just want one for yourself, order NOW. A-Kon may- probably WILL- be too late.The shirt designs being considered for cancellation are: Rule 34AYou Are Not An Anime Heroine...How to GlompWhat's the Point... NinjaNo Glomping ZoneTentacle Saturday NightThat's Not Gone WellThingsHave You Seen My Time Machine?No, I'm not going to tell you how many each need to sell to make it above my sales minimum. Act as if your sale is the only thing standing between the shirt and oblivion. Feel free to start buying now, but the sale proper begins Monday (unless I get the stores updated sooner). | | Tuesday, April 17th, 2012 | 10:42 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Wednesday, April 11th, 2012 | 7:01 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 | 10:01 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 | 11:28 am
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Friday, March 16th, 2012 | 12:36 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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WLP Boards, Online Stores Down... For No Apparent Reason
While I was driving to CoastCon something happened to the WLP website. All PHP function has apparently been deactivated- attempting to go to the boards or the online stores results in browsers saying, "I don't recognize this- what do you want me to do about it?" I've tested my laptop on other PHP sites with no trouble; likewise, I've had others try to get to the WLP sites affected, with the same result. I've put in a trouble ticket with WLP's web host, but based on comments on their status page it could be DAYS before I hear back from them. In the meantime, all I can say is it's NOT the same kind of hack as last month- the actual PHP files, at least the ones I can see, are dated from the fix I made in February. For those with web host knowledge, suggestions on what I can do or check are appreciated. For everyone else, please be patient- I'll announce all around when things are working again. | | Tuesday, March 13th, 2012 | 10:52 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 | 10:42 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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PitW Update
Guess which parts of this page's horrible dialog are Kris's, and which are Ben's! www.peteristhewolf.com | | Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 | 10:15 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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| | Friday, February 24th, 2012 | 8:55 pm
[redneckgaijin]
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Malware purged from WLP sites... for NOW.
OK, with no thanks to DreamHost (grumble) I think the website is fixed for the moment... that is, parts are less functional than they should be, but the malware has been purged. The boards are definitely working again... but I'd appreciate it if some brave soul would order things through both the all-ages and SBO online stores to make sure those are functional ENOUGH until I can get them fixed via upgrade. | | Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012 | 11:14 am
[redneckgaijin]
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