Archive for the Yuricon Category


5 Days Left to Become an Okazu Hero!

January 26th, 2015

SubscribeepsThere are five days left in the 2015 Okazu Patreon Campaign!

Subscribe to Okazu and get early access to translated articles from the “Current State of Yuri Culture” issue of Eureka – and our eternal gratefulness. (Well, “eternal”, y’know. ^_^) . And you’ll get us that much closer to launching the new Yuricon Shop (which is looking awesome, btw. We’ll be doing beta-testing soon. It should launch early Q2 at this rate.)

All patrons who join through January 31 will receive access to the articles. Patrons from $5/month and up will get nifty badges and recognition on the Okazu Hero Roll on Okazu! It’s on the right sidebar there. –> Down a bit. Yeah, all those medals. That. ^_^

Thanks very much from everyone at Yuricon and Okazu!





Yuricon Shop Update Project Report!

January 15th, 2015

As I mentioned in my New Year video message,  we’re working really hard to get the Yuricon Shop updated and refurbished so, at last, there will actually, really be a one-stop shop for all your Yuri manga and anime needs. You’ll be able to chose from Amazon, RightStuf (Amazon JP for Japanese items, and other retailers as needed) and it will all be in one place! No more running around the internet to find this book from that publisher over here, and that anime from that company over there. One Stop Yuri Shopping. Finally. 

And, as I mentioned in that message to you, we need – and have gotten – ourselves some help. Our amazing web wizard, Lissa Pattillo and I are moving forward at a surprisingly enthusiastic pace to get things done. ^_^ The English-language Yuri Manga shop page is 90% done and looking so, so so much better. With luck we’ll launch that in Q2 along with the English-language anime page. (The JP manga page is going to take longer, there’s so *much* content to add.) Here’s a screenshot of a new product page – click it for a larger image:

 

Untitled

Lissa has already given Yuricon a face lift, and the Shop is going to be amazing, with easy access to the items that are the most popular, current items; multiple search and browse options including Tags, Categories, breadcrumbs, all designed to help you find what you want.

The Japanese manga page will be the best – you’ll be able to search authors and titles in English (romaji) and Japanese, so you don’t have to guess, you’ll just be able to find Nishi UKO’s work in one click. We’ll be adding in Digital manga from Japan and the US eventually, so you really will have a one-stop shop. If it’s out there, it’ll be here.

To get all this done, I am flat out asking you for your help.

Our Okazu Patreon is climbing slowly, but steadily, We’re just under $300/month.  We just hit $300/month! Thanks JTT for getting us there mere moments after I posted this! My goal for relaunching the Shop is $500. Every dollar helps. I don’t make a cent on Okazu, I assure you. Every cent goes to buy books, media, supporting artists, traveling to events and lectures, paying the artists, speakers, editors, translators, publishers and web designers we’ve worked with over the years.

All Okazu patrons by Jan. 31, 2015 will receive early access to the translations of essays from the “Current State of Yuri Culture” issue of Eureka and my sincere thanks. If you can afford even $1USD a month, you’ll be helping us to keep Yuricon and Okazu on the cutting edge of Yuri Culture.

To subscribe, go here: http://www.patreon.com/Okazu A dollar a month brings us that much closer to this goal which will help everyone. Think about it, the very first all-Yuri, all the time Shop anywhere.

Thank you for your support!

 





Okazu in 2015 – It’s All About You (and Yuri)

January 4th, 2015

Hello! It’s already been an amazing 2015 and we’re 4 days in. We started the year with a look at the comics ecosystem in which we live, and already, we have a Yuri Network that is already kicking into gear with one event report – and another to come – interviews, Guest Reviews and eventually I’ll get to tell you about the cool books I just finished. ^_^ I should be exhausted thinking about it all, but instead I’m excited and energized and inspired.

So, to share with you my thoughts on you – and all that we’re doing here on Okazu and Yuricon, I’ve recorded a video to let you know how far we’ve come and where we’re headed and how you can help us get there! We’re already working on giving the Yuricon Shop the facelift it deserves – I can’t wait for you to be able to you, know, browse and search in different ways and do stuff that the Amazon shop interface never really gave us. When we make that second goal on Okazu’s Patreon, we’re gonna have a kick-ass Shop unveiling, with prizes and lollipops and balloons. (Well, maybe not balloons, they don’t ship well, but lollipops are still a possibility.)

So thank you and I hope you’ll watch this video. It took me 14 takes to get it right. I was halfway to throwing the camera into the street and cheering when it was run over by a car. Rude language may have been used, too. So please watch the damn thing. Thanks. (^_^)





Hard Decisions

March 18th, 2013

Okay, after a really bad week last week, during which JManga closed up and fans everywhere ignored the impossibly complex business of licensing and publishing to point fingers at individual factors which they, with their years of experience in pointing fingers, believe is “the reason” JManga failed, I have made a decision.

In 2000, I started a fan community for Yuri. 13 years later, it’s still a fan community. It’s not an annual event, or a thriving sustainable manga market. You know that old business adage about “do a thing for 10 years and you’ll be an overnight success?” It’s not true. ^_^

I’m stepping down as Yuricon events chair totally. I can’t run a sustainable event with the money in my pocket alone. I kept hoping one book, or one event would be successful enough to fund the next. I’m also giving up, for the moment, hope of publishing  anything new. I can’t afford print, you don’t want to pay for digital, and all the many differences between JP publishers and US fans are so huge and insurmountable. I don’t have the energy or clout or money to bridge the gap.

On the front end, this will make no difference to you. I’ll still be blogging and promoting good Yuri, collecting and disseminating news and research here on Okazu and on Yuricon. I’m available for writing, lecturing and editing. But on the back end, I’m stopping trying to accomplish anything. 13 years is enough. I’m tired. 13 years is a long time to fail at something. ^_^;

This is not to say I’m giving up loving Yuri. I‘m merely giving up trying to create a sustainable Yuri market here in the the US. 

I’ll be back tomorrow with a review.

Extra credit question: How many sales do you think a JManga ‘Best Seller’ made?

Postscript: More well-wishes (and less “you suck” comments) that I imagined came in after this post. Thank you all. I want to reassure you that I am fine. Not suicidally depressed or anything at all. ^_^ It is one of my magic powers to adapt to change  faster than most people can even envision change. For those of you interested in business management, in the last three years I have attempted to “pivot” this business several times. The market just wasn’t there to make anything sustainable. The number of people who download don’t translate to sales at all.

The answer to the extra credit question is about 300 or so. That means a best seller was taking in roughly $1500. That about covered the cost of  producing the thing. When there’s not enough profit and seed money is gone..that’s it for the company.  Once again, it’s not Dawinian failure, neither was CPM or Tokyopop. (You know how crazy people sound when they blame hurricanes on gays and the like? Fans sound exactly the same when they blame business’ failure on random things.) No company fails because they want to screw fans. It’s just business. ^_^

So again, thanks for all your kind words. I’m fine. I’m still here and that means there’s always another opportunity ahead. (^_^)v





Live Online Yuri Panel Date and Time!

April 15th, 2012

The first-ever Live Online Yuri Panel now has a date and time. Check out the details at Yuricon for when, where and how to submit questions!

I’m really looking forward to this, and I hope you are too!