FAQs

The mailing list has expanded greatly lately (thanks!!!), so I thought I'd get everyone up to speed who missed the early days.

1) Somebody just forwarded this email to me. How do I subscribe? Send me a note here and I'll add you to the list. You are then eligible to win a piece of original art when the book is finished.

2) Can I send you pictures of my dog for inclusion in the book? You have phrased the question incorrectly. The correct phrasing is, “Should I send you pictures of my dog?” The answer is “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”

3) If you draw my dog, do I keep the drawing? Sorry, no, because it's part of the book and may therefore become a prize for someone. But I will email you a high-resolution JPG, suitable for printing and framing. And I will credit you in the emails, blog and in the book proper when published.

4) Will you draw my dog on commission? Yup. See this blog entry for details.

5) Do you have a dog? Nope, but I'd like one. I mentioned to my wife that if I sold 10 commissions, we could get a dog. She said that if I sold 10 commissions, we could get a maid. If I sold 20 commissions, we could get a dog.

6) Your wife sounds pretty together. She is that.

7) This Dog is not even remotely Daily. Does it really take you a week to draw these pictures or are you just lazy? First, you could have thought of a more diplomatic way to ask that. But no, not even close. I'm a pretty fast hand when it comes to drawing. But getting this email out is fairly time-consuming. Here's how it goes: I draw the new story page and dog picture, scan 'em, clean 'em up, and color 'em in Photoshop. Then I import them into InDesign, make a PDF of the book so far, and post it. Then I take the Photoshop file of the story page, and reduce it in size and resolution for the web. Then I write the blog post, which includes the new image and a link to the story so far. Then I create the email with the new image in Dreamweaver, updating all links. Then I update the Welcome page on my website. Then I ready the email for all members, making sure to remove anyone who wanted off the rolls. Then I prep a Welcome email to all new members. Then I email everyone all 1,200 current subscribers. In between, I have to do some work. And also, commenters tell me that getting the email once a week is a pleasure, once a day is an annoyance.

8) You go through all that for bupkes? Are you insane? Possibly. I started this as a way to get my friends to communally bug me to finish this project, but the list (and the work involved) has expanded greatly. I do it now because I love, love, love to get the comments and emails every week. So please send more.

9) You do realize that this picture this week is gross, right? Yes, I do. And yet I drew it anyway. I could blame the story, but I wrote the story.

10) But it is a pretty awesome illustration. Is there any possible way I can make it my screensaver? Yes, there is and thank you! Click here to download.

11) Also, the web version of the book is pretty cool. Do you have any other books online? Yup. Here's a link to my latest portfolio. Feel free to hit the subscribe button on that page, and you'll be notified of any other work I publish.

12) Is this the longest email you've ever sent? Yes, but it ends abruptly.

More soon, promise. In the meantime, keep sending in dog photos (thanks to all of those I got this week!!), write me emails, make some comments on the blog, read the story so far or check out seltzerstudio.com.

Open publication