MongooseMatt
First Post
Hi guys,
We have to face up to things - we have recently released a couple of books with mistakes that I find, frankly, embaressing. People expect much better from Mongoose Publishing and, to be honest, they are right. I have never bought into the idea that just because a book comes from an RPG company it should be second rate in any shape or form, nor should this be used as any sort of excuse.
So, we have had some massive changes instigated in the way the editing and layout of books are handled, all designed to ensure those 'silly' mistakes never, ever happen again. We are now, for example;
1. Double proofreading. Two eyes are better than one, and every major release will now be proofread independantly by two professional proofreaders.
2. A common filing system has been set up so editors can work much more closely with the writers, despite them being continents apart. We have the technology, we are now using it.
3. A Statistical Analyst has been brought on board. Every stat, no matter how minor, will now be checked, double-checked and then run past this guy.
4. The number of playtesting groups has been doubled and we are still recruiting more.
5. A database of high quality artists has been established, allowing us to filter out lower quality artwork.
6. Department 'heads' have now been officially made for every game line, thus allowing the buck to actually stop.
7. The production schedule among the editorial staff has been changed to a 'rolling system', giving a greater time allowance for each individual project.
8. A new full-time editor has recently joined us, thus dividing the work load.
9. A new expanded management structure is now in place, smoothing out the internal organisation of the editorial team and Design Studio.
10. I have now witnessed one (!) Mongoose book whose binding was not all it could be. On the strength of a few reports on various forums, we are now in the midst of changing the process used in printing and binding our books. If you have noted these problems with our books in the past, I am hoping this will resolve things for you.
Most of these changes have been implemented fairly transparently, but there will be a small number of casulaties in delayed books as they move through the new systems. In particular, the long-awaited Lone Wolf RPG looks like it will now be released at the beginning of May, rather than the end of April, as we had hoped. There are one or two other titles that may be affected but everything should be back in order within a month or two.
It is our hope that these changes will allow Mongoose to stay ahead as the top d20 publisher and, of course, retain your good custom.
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing
We have to face up to things - we have recently released a couple of books with mistakes that I find, frankly, embaressing. People expect much better from Mongoose Publishing and, to be honest, they are right. I have never bought into the idea that just because a book comes from an RPG company it should be second rate in any shape or form, nor should this be used as any sort of excuse.
So, we have had some massive changes instigated in the way the editing and layout of books are handled, all designed to ensure those 'silly' mistakes never, ever happen again. We are now, for example;
1. Double proofreading. Two eyes are better than one, and every major release will now be proofread independantly by two professional proofreaders.
2. A common filing system has been set up so editors can work much more closely with the writers, despite them being continents apart. We have the technology, we are now using it.
3. A Statistical Analyst has been brought on board. Every stat, no matter how minor, will now be checked, double-checked and then run past this guy.
4. The number of playtesting groups has been doubled and we are still recruiting more.
5. A database of high quality artists has been established, allowing us to filter out lower quality artwork.
6. Department 'heads' have now been officially made for every game line, thus allowing the buck to actually stop.
7. The production schedule among the editorial staff has been changed to a 'rolling system', giving a greater time allowance for each individual project.
8. A new full-time editor has recently joined us, thus dividing the work load.
9. A new expanded management structure is now in place, smoothing out the internal organisation of the editorial team and Design Studio.
10. I have now witnessed one (!) Mongoose book whose binding was not all it could be. On the strength of a few reports on various forums, we are now in the midst of changing the process used in printing and binding our books. If you have noted these problems with our books in the past, I am hoping this will resolve things for you.
Most of these changes have been implemented fairly transparently, but there will be a small number of casulaties in delayed books as they move through the new systems. In particular, the long-awaited Lone Wolf RPG looks like it will now be released at the beginning of May, rather than the end of April, as we had hoped. There are one or two other titles that may be affected but everything should be back in order within a month or two.
It is our hope that these changes will allow Mongoose to stay ahead as the top d20 publisher and, of course, retain your good custom.
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing