New Indie RPG released - The Blight
Gregor Hutton:
Ah, I too thought it was referring to MJ Young's Multiverser.
You can read about Multiverser on the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverser or at the sites linked from it.
Ron Edwards:
Let's focus this thread.
1. It can be about publishing (based on the last post) or development, and either way, belongs in the right forum. Darkvell, this is a discussion site, not a place for press releases. We can help you with your publishing decisions by providing information and accounts of our own experiences. Is that what you'd like?
2. It cannot continue in its current form because it does not meet forum requirements. The rules for what's required in each forum are posted as the first thread in each one.
3. My perception is that Darkvell is trying to participate here but is very uncertain about how. The distraction about Multiverser, which was my fault, is not helping and needs to be abandoned immediately.
No more posting from anyone besides Darkvell until he or she answers my question #1.
Best, Ron
darkveil:
Quote from: Ron Edwards on January 20, 2011, 05:38:50 AM
Let's focus this thread.
1. It can be about publishing (based on the last post) or development, and either way, belongs in the right forum. Darkvell, this is a discussion site, not a place for press releases. We can help you with your publishing decisions by providing information and accounts of our own experiences. Is that what you'd like?
Hi Ron Thanks for the clarification (and accurate analysis). The game is "developed" (as far as it can be at any one time) and I am happy to do this side of things. Where I am in desperate need of advice and help is in the publishing and basically "Where to go from here?" question.
I hope this is the right place for that.
Thanks
Iain
Ron Edwards:
Whoops again - "darkveil" not "vell" - geez. Let me know your first name if that's OK by you, because I am very awful with internet handles. Oh shoot! you did. Damn I am getting senile. Iain. Got it.
So, yes, you are in the right place, or so I hope after ten-plus years of draining my energies into it for this purpose. The issues are:
Production
- final writing, layout, physical design
- product: print, electronic, both, something else
- if print: on-demand vs. traditional, local vs. off-shore
Venue for sales
- on-line
- retail
- other (e.g. conventions)
Primary financial return
- direct sales
- distributor-mediated sales
Legalities and finances
- copyright and trademark decisions
- payment for services (art, layout, et cetera)
- managing the books
- taxes
A lot of the above issues use specialized vocabulary that doesn't always make literal sense. For example, "direct" sales include retailer sales if you didn't use a distributor to get the books to the retailer; and "print on demand" includes short (in the 100's) print runs. So it's probably best to pick one thing at a time and dig into the commonly-used terms and the current means of checking out the options.
Here are some points which I've found are most important to keep in mind throughout the whole thing.
1. Many of the above options are not exclusive. It's not a matter of using stores and only stores, vs. using your own on-line sales page. You can do both. The issue is how much of your business you want to conduct in which venue.
2. Details and options change at least yearly, if not seasonally. So I can't recommend "the" printer or "the" way to do things; we have to find out which ones are most troublesome or immediate for you and then open it up for multi-publisher discussion here.
3. You may find that you are not ready to launch yet. As examples, many people who arrive here with similar announcements have, upon inquiry, not playtested their game outside themselves and a couple of friends at most; or they have spent a ton of money on art and have no idea how to make a printable file out of it, and have not yet begun layout. I'm not saying this is your status because I don't know; I am saying that it's wise to be prepared for such discoveries and not to be committed at this moment to a particular production date.
4. "Success" is defined by you and by you alone. There is no magic number of books sold or money made that applies to everyone. Although no one here expects you to agree with their personal benchmark, we need to know more about yours to help you.
I'll make the already-presumptuous assumption that you do not want actually to beggar yourself by doing this, and that you do not want to print up a zillion books only to have to mulch them to avoid paying inventory taxes a year later. These are real-world, actual possibilities if you go into this blindly, and we definitely can help you avoid them.
Welcome to the Forge!
Best, Ron
darkveil:
hey Ron
Thanks for the direction - glad I'm in the right place.
So to try and get some sort of idea out there as to where I am in the process.
1. I currently have a sourcebook and a first (introductory) scenario done (done explained below)
2. I have a website with all the commerce stuff and coding sorted. Commerce via paypal - automated scripting to provide secure downloads.
3. I have 3 supplements and 2 more scenarios in production.
So on to the "done" word.
The system and background setting is complete and play-tested. The layout is done to a good standard and the PDF is pretty professional (IMO). I am not 100% happy with the artwork, but that was because I had to do it all myself and didn't have an artist on hand.
I am confident that the system stands up. The issue lies with whether the write up in the sourcebook is sufficient to relay this to the reader. I took the call that I would not truly be able to answer this question with the resources I had without releasing it to a larger audience, getting feedback and then releasing updates. It was because of this that I decided to go down the independent online PDF route with the intention of hopefully building a small community where I could address any issue that arose.
Where do I want to get to?
I want to publish a darn good RPG. I would love to see it in print (what writer wouldn't) but thats about it. If I could get a solid community and following for the game without charging for it I would, but I cant afford to so I have 2 choices (as I see it):
1. Sell enough on line to fund a independent print run and try and distribute it independently.
2. Attract the interest of a publishing house and hope they run with it.
So that is where I am with all my (admittedly un-informed) thoughts.
I would be really interested in anyone elses opinion and in fact I am probably a bit pathetically keen to follow someone else advice.
Many thanks in advance.
Iain
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