Pre-orders open!

Transparency

(last update: 2026.08.04 | 2026.07.06 | 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

Target suggested retail price for book = $20 for softbacks (based on ~280 pages at 5.5" x 8 x5")

Target amount to sell to cover all costs:
45% net per book is $9 per unit.

Our retailer receives 55% to 60% of the unit retail price.

1590 books: target number of sales to achieve break-even

After that DILIM will be able to have cash flow, to re-invest in the remaining works.

2026.08.04 Update

We're now closing in on the final payments owed. In our case there are 4 more authors to pay (they submitted toward the end of the open reading period). They are owed contributor fees before October 15, 2026, and one by October 30, 2026.

There is also upcoming fees for our Volume 2 contributors, of which there are now two. They have taken a risk, alongside us, in deferring their participation.

We've also put in two payments toward printing. Our printing costs are confidential, but the provider is a reputable printer in the Midwest. We'll do our initial print run and be ready to fulfill any initial pre-orders through our initial e-commerce link:
https://creaturesofkwento.com/products/galleon-dreaming-preorder

What remains is: the final editing fee, additional costs for *SHIPPING* freight to our retailer in Ohio, as well as to the Filipino American International Book Festival where we'll be distributing advance review copies, and handling for our earliest Kickstarter supporters. We'll ask for shipping costs for those and will most likely share those through a print-on-demand link or possibly figure out how to ask for shipping.

An unexpected complication is that we are going to go for the Human Authored Mark; however, this is proving difficult to certify with our folks abroad. We'll keep dialing this in so that by the time the hardcover releases we have as much as possible certified.

All in:

$11,732.39 paid toward the first volume and prep for second and third volumes

$2,585.32 still owed to complete the first volume

57 books out of 1533 books sold to hit break-even: currently pre-ordered through Kickstarter and our distribution partner/s.

Production cost update v1

effective 2026.08.04

Production cost update v2

effective 2026.08.04

2026.07.06 Update

Our banking system is almost up-to-date and we now have the following past costs. Our fundraising Kickstarter has reached its goal, which is great news to support with ongoing final costs.

The Kickstarter (less administrative fees) will then help with paying out all authors and the final editing fees. As much as we can do with pre-orders will also help us get a sense of how we can move forward with consignment/wholesale with retail partners, vs. what we'll need to do as print on demand.

$7542.33 paid toward the first volume

$2229.21 still owed to complete the first volume.

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 we 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.

This estimate has broken out v1 vs. v1, v2, and v3

The actual total spent if all-in is $5250.57

$5250.57 paid toward the first volume

$2805.87 still owed to complete the first volume

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.

$5250.57 paid toward the first volume

$2876.43 still owed to complete the first volume

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.

$3198.25 paid toward the first volume + startup costs

$7356.94 still owed to complete the first volume

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.
For a print-on-demand version a distributor like IngramSpark in the United States will mean we do not bear the original costs of printing.
A distributor to support sales in larger quantities is also on our list once we have a bigger catalog.
Included in the research list:
* Independent Publishers Group in Chicago, Illinois
* Asterism Books in Seattle, Washington
* Consortium Books

Wishlist:

We have found an audio producer for the audio book.

This page to be updated as publication progresses.

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

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