Magc8Ball
01-28-2004, 03:14 PM
I was going through the RPGNet archives, and reading as many of the articles by Sandy Antunes (the Soapbox) as possible. One of the articles that spoke particularly to me was The Thousand Dollar Company (http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/nov98.html). It's a highly recommended read for anybody going into this whole thing with the intent to mainly "just put out a book or three", rather than actually expecting to turn a profit on the deal.
Basically, I'm what Sandy describes as a Vanity Press. I have a game that I like and think is good, and I'd like to put it out in book form. I want to sell it, and print it, because there just feels (to me) to be a bit more validation when someone walks into a store and buys the product. I'm not expecting to make money on the deal, but if I do (which is possible with such a low overhead), so much the better.
I have a "real" job, so this is pretty much a side thing for me. I still want to make the best product I can and get as many people to buy it as possible, but I don't have the resources (time OR money) to do everything that larger, more funded groups can do. I'll be able to attend the larger local cons as an exhibitor, and I'll be able to buy some light advertising at places like theminiaturespage.com and RPGNet, but getting a table at GenCon is probably out of the picture. But I do make enough money and have few enough expenses (no kids, car's paid off in a couple months) that I can at least make a run at this working.
Basically, I'm wanting to start a discussion, comparing the current state of things for tiny publishers today with 5 years ago when the above article was written. To my eyes, at least, things are both easier and more difficult.
On the easier side:
The web has made establishing a presence much easier, and it's gotten easier to get on the web. Domain names are cheap, good webhosting is cheap, and it's not hard to put together a competent looking website. There are a number of high-traffic gaming-related sites where you can at least get a press release posted. Hosting discussion forums and releasing free, updated content via the web can help draw traffic and build a strong community.
A fully web-based business can be operated, since people (especially gamers) are used to dealing with it, and it can often be easier to just order a product online than to have to ask your local shop to special order it. Advertising on websites and drawing traffic to your site can sometimes get your title more exposure than traditional means.
Because of the expansion of the internet, playtesting is easier to coordinate, because you don't have to rely on people that you know locally, and you can get a wider number of people to draw experiences from. I've got three good-sized playtesting groups working on Multiverse right now, along with probably a dozen individuals, just from making occasional posts on two message boards that I'm a regular on. It's also easier to find eyes to give your product a read-over, greatly aiding in the editing of a title.
It also seems that there are more places to get published through. POD has at least made a small impact, enough that there are a couple publishers with POD-based imprints (Eureka, to name one). If you can get on with one of these, it can greatly reduce the major upfront cost related with publishing: printing your books. These imprints also have inroads with distributors (though I'm not sure if they're as well-developed as the larger fulfillment houses, like Impressions) which can at least give you a chance of appearing on some distributors' stocklists. Unless something better opens up for me, I'm probably going to go this route with Multiverse, if only because it's much easier to pay (for example) Eureka's start-up fees and have everything from that point be taken care of, compared to having to buy a stack of books, store them, ship them out, etc.
Of course, some things appear to have gotten more difficult over the last 5+ years.
There are more products than some retailers know what to do with. Getting carried by a distributor can be harder than ever if you don't get on with a large fulfillment house, especially if you're not able to put out a book every 3 months. It's also harder to get carried by a retailer for the same reasons.
The market being flooded also makes it more difficult to get the attention of gamers. I think I might be able to sidestep some of this (Multiverse is a miniatures game, and is targeting a subset of the gaming community that's not flooded with a d20-like system's products), but there's still far too many games out there for anything, even "totally new and original!!!" games to get noticed without a great deal of work.
The economy was also in much better shape in 1998 than 2004. :) People had more disposable income, including gamers.
So, just some rambling. Does anybody have anything to add, disagree with, comment on, etc? I'm just trying to get a good feel for where things are at, what I can do better, what needs more attention, and what from that old article may not apply anymore.
Thanks,
-Jason Lauborough
jason@triskelegames.com
www.triskelegames.com
Basically, I'm what Sandy describes as a Vanity Press. I have a game that I like and think is good, and I'd like to put it out in book form. I want to sell it, and print it, because there just feels (to me) to be a bit more validation when someone walks into a store and buys the product. I'm not expecting to make money on the deal, but if I do (which is possible with such a low overhead), so much the better.
I have a "real" job, so this is pretty much a side thing for me. I still want to make the best product I can and get as many people to buy it as possible, but I don't have the resources (time OR money) to do everything that larger, more funded groups can do. I'll be able to attend the larger local cons as an exhibitor, and I'll be able to buy some light advertising at places like theminiaturespage.com and RPGNet, but getting a table at GenCon is probably out of the picture. But I do make enough money and have few enough expenses (no kids, car's paid off in a couple months) that I can at least make a run at this working.
Basically, I'm wanting to start a discussion, comparing the current state of things for tiny publishers today with 5 years ago when the above article was written. To my eyes, at least, things are both easier and more difficult.
On the easier side:
The web has made establishing a presence much easier, and it's gotten easier to get on the web. Domain names are cheap, good webhosting is cheap, and it's not hard to put together a competent looking website. There are a number of high-traffic gaming-related sites where you can at least get a press release posted. Hosting discussion forums and releasing free, updated content via the web can help draw traffic and build a strong community.
A fully web-based business can be operated, since people (especially gamers) are used to dealing with it, and it can often be easier to just order a product online than to have to ask your local shop to special order it. Advertising on websites and drawing traffic to your site can sometimes get your title more exposure than traditional means.
Because of the expansion of the internet, playtesting is easier to coordinate, because you don't have to rely on people that you know locally, and you can get a wider number of people to draw experiences from. I've got three good-sized playtesting groups working on Multiverse right now, along with probably a dozen individuals, just from making occasional posts on two message boards that I'm a regular on. It's also easier to find eyes to give your product a read-over, greatly aiding in the editing of a title.
It also seems that there are more places to get published through. POD has at least made a small impact, enough that there are a couple publishers with POD-based imprints (Eureka, to name one). If you can get on with one of these, it can greatly reduce the major upfront cost related with publishing: printing your books. These imprints also have inroads with distributors (though I'm not sure if they're as well-developed as the larger fulfillment houses, like Impressions) which can at least give you a chance of appearing on some distributors' stocklists. Unless something better opens up for me, I'm probably going to go this route with Multiverse, if only because it's much easier to pay (for example) Eureka's start-up fees and have everything from that point be taken care of, compared to having to buy a stack of books, store them, ship them out, etc.
Of course, some things appear to have gotten more difficult over the last 5+ years.
There are more products than some retailers know what to do with. Getting carried by a distributor can be harder than ever if you don't get on with a large fulfillment house, especially if you're not able to put out a book every 3 months. It's also harder to get carried by a retailer for the same reasons.
The market being flooded also makes it more difficult to get the attention of gamers. I think I might be able to sidestep some of this (Multiverse is a miniatures game, and is targeting a subset of the gaming community that's not flooded with a d20-like system's products), but there's still far too many games out there for anything, even "totally new and original!!!" games to get noticed without a great deal of work.
The economy was also in much better shape in 1998 than 2004. :) People had more disposable income, including gamers.
So, just some rambling. Does anybody have anything to add, disagree with, comment on, etc? I'm just trying to get a good feel for where things are at, what I can do better, what needs more attention, and what from that old article may not apply anymore.
Thanks,
-Jason Lauborough
jason@triskelegames.com
www.triskelegames.com