New Publisher With Questions about GSL and OGL
Seamus:
Quote from: Luke on April 01, 2009, 07:33:01 PM
Quote from: Ron Edwards on April 01, 2009, 04:05:01 AM
Hi Seamus, (If anyone has, or if they can point out a company I know but am forgetting, please speak up.)
I admit that I'm cringing when I read you writing about your "novel idea" that no one can lay eyes on and that you're laying down a "chunk of change." Man, I've seen this more times than I can count just in the past six years.
Again I do apologize if I came of overly defensive. The idea is novel and topical; something I have been pretty with as a freelance writer. Unfortunately I had a bad experience with a publisher responding to my query letter and fishing for more information only to take the idea. I know most people out there aren't going to do this. But I am a little guarded now when it comes to something that this. And since you can't copyright an idea, there isn't much one can do. Just let me be clear though, if this were just a really cool setting, or a cool game system; I would happily explain everything about it. Its just that this sort of relies on its novelty to make sales.
Don't worry; we are starting small. When I say chunk of change, I mean enough to print 1000-1,500 and place a few inexpensive advertisements in the magazines. This first launch is sort of an experiment for us. Its just as much about getting our feet wet, as it is about selling lots of books. If we bomb, we are okay with it.
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Not one of those companies is still around. There's no more big splashes in RPG land, my friend, unless you're devoting MILLIONS and probably have a swanky license. I doubt you're putting together a marketing campaign to crack the mass market (and if you are, shame on you, invest wisely!). All the novel ideas are out there. Devoting $10,000, $20,000 or ::gasp:: $50,000 to this is just an unnecessary risk. Make your game. Print 50 copies. Go to conventions. Play your game. If you sell all of those copies, make 100. Go back to conventions. Run your game. Sell all 100 copies. Print 200. Etc, and so on. This way you get to run your company on every level and have complete control and no risk. In fact, the greatest risk is that you'll have a rabid fan-base. And, at the end of the day, if you're still in love with you game, you love the travel and the conventions and you're selling well. Then print a whole mess of them and do a little advertising. If you discover that you've fallen out of love with the whole thing and you haven't lost anything. You've had some good times and learned some good lessons.
Our goal is steady, slow growth. Actually we have two worst case scenarios: 1) we sell 1 book and have 1499 books lying around, 2) we sell more books than we can afford to print, and have to expand faster than we are able. We don't mind taking the risk for 1,500 books; but that is about as much as we can do safely right now.
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I'm sorry to be a wet blanket. I know you're going to prove me wrong with your novel idea. And, honestly, I hope you do.
Good Luck!
-Luke
Don't worry. I need honest feedback. And I'll be the first to admit we are taking a big risk (albeit one we can afford).
Eero Tuovinen:
Do start a new thread about your business plan if you'd like to discuss it. I think that I might have something to say about printing 1500 copies of your book and taking out advertisements in magazines. But that's just in case you want to hear different viewpoints about that.
Seamus:
Quote from: Eero Tuovinen on April 02, 2009, 09:12:31 AM
Do start a new thread about your business plan if you'd like to discuss it. I think that I might have something to say about printing 1500 copies of your book and taking out advertisements in magazines. But that's just in case you want to hear different viewpoints about that.
Very Interested to hear it. Everyone seems to disagree on whether it should be 25 books or 3000 the first time around. For me, what is key, is getting reasons. If someone tells me you should only do x number of books, and explains why, that is more helpful than if they just say I should, but don't go into any detail. We are still in the planning stages. Trying to stay flexible too. I just had a meeting at the chamber in my city of commerce meeting with some business advisers and one of them said we should do direct sales, one said we should do marketing. They disagreed on the quantity to print; on where we should advertise. Still they gave some useful feedback.
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