Tony Brasunas

My dear friends,

After over a decade of writing and revising, after a year of publication planning, after an amazing kickstarter campaign and countless hours’ work with an editor, a proofreader, an illustrator, a book designer, and a cover designer, I’m humbled, moved, and delighted to announce…

The publication date of Double Happiness
12/12
December 12, 2013

That’s the day!

Double Happiness Day.

The day will arrive on the heels of an incredibly busy month for me and for the Double Happiness Team.

On that day, in addition to many other amazing moments, I will have perhaps my best chance to place Double Happiness on Amazon’s bestseller lists. Please mark the date on your calendar now. If you or anyone you know is going to purchase a copy, please consider making the purchase that day.

I’m compiling a list of First Readers, people who are going to buy the book the day it comes out. They will receive special treatment and a gift from me (as well as a reminder!). I hope to have 200 people on that list so Double Happiness can pop up the Amazon lists right away. Would you be willing to join in to help push the book up the charts? Can you find others who might be? To be a First Reader, just sign up!

Double Happiness Day
12/12
First Reader List

This is an amazing feeling. I have the first copy of Double Happiness in my hands!

It’s not a publication copy of the book. Those don’t exist yet. What I have in my hands is what is often called a Galley or an Advance Review Copy (ARC).

To get to this point, the last month has been unbelievably busy. And not just for me. The whole Double Happiness team that I’ve been blessed to assemble (thank you generous Backers) has been very busy.

First, after I completed the final manuscript in all its countless respects, I sent it to the book designer I hired, the famous Joel Friedlander, who had already worked with me in August to design the interior. Joel then flowed the final text of the book, inserted the gorgeous maps hand-drawn by my illustrator, Estelle Kim, and produced the first proof. I received that proof and sent it to my proofreader, the amazing Nicole Francois, who set to work on the final manuscript with her fine-toothed comb. Meanwhile, after a back-and-forth that many of you participated in via polls, the talented cover designer, Laura Duffy, created the photographically beautiful front and back covers. With those covers, and that proof, I was able to do it — make Galleys.

When the box of Galleys arrived at my door, I was overcome with gratitude and delight, and I chose to capture the moment of opening that box and holding the first copy in my hands. Here is that moment in a video I created to share with you: Video at Kickstarter.

If you didn’t click over to the video, here’s what that Galley looks like:

Yes, it’s just the ARC. But still, here it is, Double Happiness.

Already, since receiving them, I’ve sent ARCs out to authors and reviewers in the hopes of getting endorsement “blurbs” for the final cover. And the proofread proof is now back with the book designer, who is busy creating the final proof for the final publication version of the book.

Wow, my dear friends, it won’t be long now. It will be in your hands soon.

The results are in! To all of you who voted in the poll, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

It turns out one cover won both polls — the public poll I held here on the blog, and a smaller informal poll I carried out with two dozen people in the publishing industry.

And the winner is…

The cover that features a photograph shot in Tiananmen Square…

The cover that depicts the political events in Chapter 7…

So, yes, this is the cover I am refining and enhancing now with my cover designer!

The truth is, this choice was one of the hardest I’ve had to make during this entire journey to publication. It isn’t easy to choose a single image to represent an entire book. A proverb suggests that a picture is worth 1,000 words, but like many books, Double Happiness has over 100,000 words! At first, I was split, and favored another cover, the one listed as #5 on the poll.

But I’ve come to like this one far more over the last month. I find it bold and iconic, and it manages thematically to balance depictions of both a sedentary and a peripatetic traveler (me), a narrator who is neither just a backpacker on the roads, nor just a teacher in a classroom. I’m a young man, adventurous and curious in a changing China. It also looks great in thumbnail, which is how people who shop online for books these days see the cover first.

Not far behind, taking second place in both polls, was the cover that appeared as #3 in the poll. That cover has a lot of appeal to me, too, and I know it did to many of you as well, and it is now the leading candidate to be featured on the back cover of the book. It’s a beautiful and elegant image. The issues with #3 are that it doesn’t provide quite as iconic a cover, in my opinion, and that it depicts the book as perhaps solely a story of backpacking, when in fact nearly half of Double Happiness takes place in Guangzhou where I am a teacher in a high school.

Yes, the cover is getting there. One final question for you, if I may:

Are you, or do you know, an author or a book reviewer who might be interested in reading or reviewing Double Happiness now, with the possibility of a quotation of theirs appearing on the cover?

I would be delighted to communicate with them about any terms they might have. I have one quote ready for the cover and would love to add another.

A final time, my gratitude! Thank you so much for your thoughts and contributions. These are exciting times, and Double Happiness will be in the world very soon.

Yes, thanks to all of you, we kicked the Kickstarter. We are making this book!

We raised $11,808, far surpassing my goal during the official Kickstarter term, and then eight last minute pledges came in, and the Double Happiness Kickstarter finished with an amazing 183 backers and $12,048.

I will publish Double Happiness and share the story with the world. I’m overwhelmed and inspired. Words fail me.

Thank you!

I’m now moving into the exciting (and completely different) phase of making the physical and electronic book. I’m assembling a Double Happy team of a cover designer, interior designer, illustrator, and proofreader.

I am also attempting to somehow express the depths of my gratitude to all of you. I’m planning and creating all of your rewards. Most rewards, of course, won’t ship until September, when the book is complete, but a select few will ship in the next few weeks. For now, all of you Backers at the TEACHER level or higher: You will be receiving a survey from me so I can gather the information I need to complete your rewards. Please complete your short survey when you get it, so I can move forward on schedule. Thank you!

That’s it for now.

Towards double happiness,
Tony

Here are 3,000 words expressing my gratitude to you.

Tonight is it! If you would like to take part in the creation and launch of a labor of love and tale of transformation, this is it! Your great and final opportunity to participate and receive a pre-release copy of Double Happiness is now. I would love to have you on board.

The Kickstarter campaign ends tonight at midnight Pacific Time, 3am East Coast Time.

    >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << Words cannot express my gratitude to all of you for following this campaign, for reading all my emails :-), and for -- so many of you! -- becoming Backers and supporting Double Happiness. We've reached 10k and 11k, so the Double Happy Book Tour will visit at least: San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington DC., and New York, as well as Claymont, WV, my childhood home, the place featured in the book's Prologue. If I can reach 12k tonight, I'll add the West Coast cities of LA, Seattle, and Portland! The Double Happy Tour:       9k - [Happening!] San Francisco Bay Area     10k - [Happening!] St Louis, MO     11k - [Happening!] New York and Washington DC (+Claymont)     12k – [Not there yet] Los Angeles, Seattle, and Portland

    >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << Words cannot truly express the depth of my gratitude. But of course I'm a writer, so I'll try. I feel as if I set sail on a boat alone, not knowing how long it would take to reach a distant shore, or whether I would make it. You were the strength in my hull and sails that sustained me, you were gusts of wind that propelled me, you were enormous unexpected swells of the ocean that carried me all the way into port. My deepest gratitude to you, Tony

Making the book, going to St. Louis, and closing in on the East Coast: It’s your generosity that is making all of this happen! Thank you!

If you have not yet become a Backer, please consider doing so now! Just 32 hours remain, and I could still add New York to the Double Happy Book Tour. Everything ends tomorrow night at midnight! I would love to share this huge moment with you, to have your support, and to send you a pre-release copy of the book the hot moment it’s published.

      >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << If you have already become a Backer, and are inspired to send me and the ideas of Double Happiness to New York, please consider increasing your pledge! Let me send you another sweet reward…

• A trade paperback copy of the book
  (ADVENTURER, $30 or more)
• An invitation to the Book Launch Party & Celebration, which will take place in late September or early October at a gorgeous urban winery in Jack London Square.
  (PATRON SAINT OF HAPPINESS, $50 or more)
• Your name in the acknowledgements printed in the book.
  (PATRON SAINT OF HAPPINESS, $50 or more)
• A hard cover copy of the book.
  (GRAND HERO OF THE TAO, $75 or more)
• A second invitation to the Book Launch Party for your guest
  (SILVER SAGE OF LEARNING, $150 or more)
• A trip to China!
  (EMPEROR OF EAST & WEST, $5000 or more)
• And that’s not all….

    >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << From the bottom of my happy heart, thank you! I’m delighted to be making the book I dreamed of making. I wrote Double Happiness to share a difficult and beautiful story in the hope others might find it useful and find remarkable paths to their own happiness. Now I dream of marketing the book and talking to others all over the country. If you’re inspired, I’d love your support in the next 32 hours!

Meet me in St. Louis! New York area Backers have pulled into third place, and the Double Happy Tour looks currently like this:
    9k – San Francisco Bay Area [Happening!]
    10k – St Louis, MO [Happening!]
    11k – New York and Washington DC [Not there yet]
    12k – Los Angeles and Portland, OR [Not there yet]
    13k – Chicago, Atlanta, Boston or ? [Not there yet]

New Reward! To celebrate the launch of the Double Happy Tour and to thank Backers who might be unable to pledge at the Adventurer level, I’ve set up a new Reward: TEACHER ($22 or more). Claim this if you like, by clicking ‘manage my pledge’ and adjusting your chosen reward or pledge.

    >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << With ever unfolding joy and gratitude, Tony

Yes! I’ve reached the mountaintop, I’ve hit $8888! Yes, we are making Double Happiness! This is your doing, my amazing friends. Thank You!!

It’s almost surreal. I can’t believe we’re here.

Are we done? June 30 is still three days away. After some contemplation, I’ve realized my dream is bigger, and I want to share it with you. The inspiration that called me a decade ago was to tell my story in a way that would be a contribution to the lives of others. Double Happiness is intended to inspire people to have remarkable experiences in their lives. I don’t want Double Happiness, when we publish it, to be the proverbial tree falling in the woods. I want to get out and talk about Double Happiness.

The bigger dream is a Book Tour!

      >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << I've revised slightly the "Stretch Goals" that I outlined when I originally set up the Kickstarter. My new Goal looks like a list of cities. In addition to general publicity and marketing, I want to go to specific cities and do readings and events -- in bookstores for potential readers, and on college campuses for potential teachers and travelers abroad. Which cities will I go to? To make it fun, and so that I can see as many of you as possible, the list will start with the cities with the most Backers. I’ll deliver rewards in person to you whenever possible, and I’ll do several events per city.

What cities are on the list? See the Kickstarter:

      >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << I can't do this without you! We have three days. Can you send me and Double Happiness around the country? Can you bring me to your city? If you haven’t yet, become a Backer, or if you’re able to increase your contribution level and go for a grander reward, please do it!

      >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << Forwarding this email would also be wonderful, as would sharing with any other potential friends of happiness on social media. In deepest gratitude for all you have already done, To double happiness, Tony

Thank you! I’m not there yet, but I’m three-quarters the way up this mountain. And it is because of you, amazing souls. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Double Happiness is coming into view. We’re 74% there, and I’m thrilled. But it’s not enough. I have 8 days left to reach the mountaintop, or it’s all for naught. It’s a humbling and crucial time for me.

If you haven’t already, watch the video. It’s short and sweet, and it’s at the top of this page:

      >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << In other news, this very Monday, June 24th, is my birthday! All I want for my special day is to summit this peak of four 8's! We're about $2250 away. Here's a little birthday math:

• If 10 of you pledge $225, we’re done, Happy Birthday, we’re making Double Happiness.
• If 25 of you pledge $88, we’re done, Happy Birthday, we’re making Double Happiness.
• If 75 of you pledge $30, we’re done, Happy Birthday, we’re making Double Happiness.

Let’s make this! Check out the video, and if you feel inspired, become a Backer:

      >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << As a special additional birthday teaser, I've uploaded a reading I did last week at Sungevity:       >> www.DoubleHappy.be/kickstart << Note: If I don’t get to $8888 by June 30, none of the contributions matter and Double Happiness gets $0. I do need your help to get to $8888 as soon as possible. Thank you!

If you are planning on Backing Double Happiness, please do so today. I would love your support now. If we can get to $8888 in the next day or two, I’ll have a week to aim for stretch goals, the first of which is 10K and enables me to treat you Backers to a wonderful Launch Party & Celebration at a winery!

If you’re already a Backer, my Double Gratitude to you. Now please forward this email to your friends, send an email of your own, or post this to Facebook or your favorite website! Yes, yes, yes! You are amazing.

With joy in the unfolding,
Tony