This is a list of useful links for those thinking about e-publishing. If you are planning on publishing a d20 product, you should also take a look at the
D20 Publishing FAQ. I also strongly recommend that you purchase RPGNow's
e-Publisher Guide for $20.
Online vendors who will sell your product:
Think of these places as the e-publishing version of your friendly local game store. Right now there are not very many options, but this could change in future:
RPGNow (20% / 25% for Gold Member options)
SV Games (50%)
These vendors will take a cut of your profit in exchange for their services, as indicated by the percentages in parenthesis above.
Note that
Amazon.com also sells e-books and are interested in increasing their range. To sell at Amazon, you need an ISBN number for your product.
Useful Threads What kind of Sales can you expect from PDF? (also see the later
update).
Keep an eye on this forum, asnd feel free to ask questions.
About PDFs
While not the only option available, the PDF format is by far the most common format for e-publishers. PDFs can be read by using the (free)
Adobe Acrobat Reader. You should always try and ensure that you are using the latest version of Acrobat Reader, or you may have trouble viewing some PDFS as publishers try out the newest and latest features offered by the software.
Going from PDF to print
By looking at the
What kind of Sales can you expect from PDF? thread, you will quickly realise that the odds on your raising enough capital for a print run are very slim. HOwever, there are one or two options available to you:
1) Hope that a print publisher offers to print your product. This has happened once or twice in the past (most notably with Ambient Inc., Natural 20 Press and Vigilance Press), but it certainly shouldn't be relied upon. Don't start you e-publishing venture with any expectancy that this might happen, or you'll probably be disappointed. If it
does happen, then that's just icing on the cake.
2) RPGnow currently offers a
Print on Demand service. You will need to ask RPGNow to make this option available to you.
3) Mystic Eye Games are currently offering a service they call
Cover 2 Cover. For a fee, they will handle various aspects of bringing a product to print for you. Note that this will still cost you, although it is likely to save you some money in the long run.
Promotion
Promotion of your product is important. Make sure you submit news items about it to EN World's
PDF & e-Publishing News Page. Please make sure you
review the policy regarding promotion here at EN World - basically, if you're going to use EN World to promote your products, you need to give EN World the credit for that promotion.
You can
buy advertising at EN World; other sites like
RPG.net and
RPGHost also sell advertising space. Don't just rely on RPGNow for your promotion.
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