Benefit poem for Mindanao Earthquake relief

Transparency

(last update: 2026.06.07 | 2026.05.31 | 2026.05.18)

For full transparency, we'll be sharing our expenses and costs here.

Production
For the current budget, we have the following estimated:

0.07/word to the author for publication
0.02/word for copyediting (grammar, spelling)
0.01/word for layout to get the manuscript print-ready

0.05/word to pay staff

2026.06.07 Update

We've now confirmed payment using our check system and have paid out the majority now for authors. Additional items due for authors + the remaining amount due for editing is $2805.87.

There is a Kickstarter that I have ready to go and plan to start in June/July based on how this month goes.

For printing, we've discussed quotes with a handful of United States printers and have also reached out to Philippines printers.

We have one confirmed stockist in the Philippines! and will be recruiting initial stockists for a founders edition that will print earlier than the mass-market release, which will be made widely available.

2026.05.31 Update

We are using a new account for checking and have sent out paper checks from this. Based on how this goes we may have to change to only electronic payments.

Due dates for author payments stretch out through the rest of the summer so we have some breathing room.

There is a Kickstarter that is in-development to allow for community involvement.

2026.05.18 Update

Here's the update so far of what has been paid out vs. what is owed. We'd like to get the first set of books out the door or have pre-orders as soon as possible as that will give us a good sense of how much printing costs will be. If we are unable to do a full printing run we'll offer the book Print-on-Demand.

Printing
For costs we're exploring the following.

We are seeking a book printer and distributor for the Philippine-based print runs.
If you have suggestions, please contact us.
For the United States-based print runs, for the limited edition version we prefer to use family-owned, union-led or employee-owned, BIPOC-led printing houses.

The top printer on this wishlist is:
Versa Press
Radix Coop in Brooklyn, New York (union, Black-led) for limited edition special run.
For a print-on-demand version a distributor like IngramSpark in the United States will mean we do not bear the original costs of production.
A distributor to support sales in larger quantities is also on our list.
Included in the research list:
* Independent Publishers Group in Chicago, Illinois
* Asterism Books in Seattle, Washington
* Consortium Books

Wishlist:

We are seeking audio producers.
If you have voice talent or are already involved with audiobook production, contact us.

This page to be updated as publication progresses, expected October 1, 2027.

Artwork:
Raf Banzuela is cover designer for all volumes of the DILIM Anthology of Dark Fiction.

Here are current expectations of the market with respect to covers in the genre (also included some music covers for a concurrent project) Miro Board of current published covers

Page updated

Report abuse