ATTENTION: Story Hour in Print? (Authors and Readers, come in!)

[Broccli_Head]

It would be very nice to see some of the authors published. I like the idea of an anthololgy best of all--Micah's idea-- , highlighting episodes, and adding game related material. Recently, I've seen a trend to and art to short story collections. I think that the Story Hours would benefit from that as well.

 

[Celtavian]

re

Very nice offer Wulf. Leaves out most Story Hours set in published settings, but there are quite a few original settings that could be put into print.

For a very motivated author, this could be a great opportunity to gain a publishing credential and possibly some name recognition.

 

[Fieari]

I would pay good money for Lady Despina's Virtue in paper form. I haven't finished reading it yet simply because I like reading in bed, and I can't carry my monitor to bed with me. Seeing maps and all kinds of other supplements would be wonderful, and if it were professionally edited... comments about delays removed, just as an example, and supplementary notes OUTSIDE the main storyline (like at the end of chapters)... yes, I'd buy that. Pay a hefty sum for it too.

 

[Old One]

A bit late to the party...

As a SH author...I would have a keen interest (due to vanity, if nothing else), but am under no illusions that my writing is anywhere near the league of Sep, Destan, Jonrog. I just wonder how you would do this, logistically, given the giant page counts of some authors.

I do think you might find a market for this, as a broad-based selection of SHs, with a variety of campaign types, notes, maps, etc could be amazingly useful to DMs.

Keep us informed !

~ Old One

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I just wonder how you would do this, logistically, given the giant page counts of some authors.

Print a bigger book?

But seriously, page count is largely a matter of font size-- and a "novelization" can afford a smaller font size than an RPG rulebook.

Word count is what... err... counts.

Though of course a certain amount of editing will be required.

Wulf

 

[Zaruthustran]

If one of the goals of this project is to let readers pay SH authors, then an easy step in that direction would be to get SH authors to sign up for Amazon Honor System. Then we readers can chip in a buck (or $5, or whatever) to the authors whenever we want.

I know I'd gladly give $5 to a number of SH authors right now as thanks for their hard work and fun entertainment. $10 (or more) to a select few (Contact, Sagiro, Sepulchrave, Wulf, Capellen, and Piratecat).

If 9 other people on this board agree, that's an easy $50-$100 bucks (less Amazon's cut) for each author. Not a lot, but not bad either. And I bet way more than 10 people would want to send a 5 or 10 buck thank-you to these authors.

Just a thought.

-z

 

[dogchild]

If one of the goals of this project is to let readers pay SH authors, then an easy step in that direction would be to get SH authors to sign up for Amazon Honor System. Then we readers can chip in a buck (or $5, or whatever) to the authors whenever we want.

I think that's a point, but not the point. In fact, I think that might delay this project on the whole.

I would like to see novelizations (or, ah... "stories," Wulf) with appendices that include game content. I think this would be the best balance between the demands of the established audience, while allowing for growth in the audience.

I would pay more than market-value for this: because of their dual-nature, they could be read and enjoyed as stories, or as game supplements, or both. I think that's the best way to sell 'em.

I don't like serialization. It's a pain in the ass. I hate having to "keep up" with stuff. On the other hand, a series of novels is okay, as long as each of them has an individual story-arc.

Oh, and current novels run between 70,000 and 100,000 words. 70,000 would be shortish, and 100,000 would be a "goodish" length. Really long stuff can clock in at up to 250,000 words. Anything longer than 150,000-200,000 and you may be looking at a series, rather than at a single novel, though it really just depends.

Anyway--good luck with this, Wulf. I think it's a great idea, and power to you if you can make it work.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

If one of the goals of this project is to let readers pay SH authors, then an easy step in that direction would be to get SH authors to sign up for Amazon Honor System. Then we readers can chip in a buck (or $5, or whatever) to the authors whenever we want.

It's a kind gesture-- and I can't speak for the other authors, but I don't really think that's the point.

From the authors' perspective, getting into print is a "neato" issue, and not a "for profit" issue.

The poll, at least, seems to bear that out.

If I were to publish these in my professional capacity as "Bad Axe," in the "gaming supplement at standard paperback price" format that seems to be the front runner, I'd like to pay the authors under my usual terms-- which includes the fact that the authors retain copyrights to their own work. (Our standard contract is written in such a way that you essentially grant Bad Axe a license to publish.) In such an arrangement, it would allow me to cover the costs of printing and payment to the authors, and it would allow the authors-- should they gain some notoriety, God willing-- to carry on with their intellectual property under a more "normal" arrangement at a later date.

I'm still thinking about the details, of course.

I do have a few other important things on my mind right now (*cough Grim Tales* cough).

Wulf

 

[Steverooo]

Okay, I didn't vote. Here's why:

I'm an author and a reader. I have three (finii) story hours, here, and have contributed to yet another. Of the three that are mine, one is short-short, one long (but too short for a book, and based on someone else's post), and the only "long" one has copyright issues, as it's based on a published (Non-WotC) adventure. The one I contributed to I wouldn't want to see in print.

So, while I can't vote that I'd never want to see anything in print, none of my story hours, currently, are ever likely to see the light of day on their printed pages...

As a reader, I'm not interested in paying high prices for a story hour... Some of the "game book" ideas sound worthwhile, but I'd want to see a copy before buying it (especially if it was priced above the norm, for small print runs). I have read some of Bad Axe's stuff, though, and thought it worthwhile, so that's a help. I like what Wulf's posted about their licensing contract, too, so that's a plus... (I have one short-short story hour, A Tale of Sorrow that might work as a two-page or so filler in an anthology).

Anyway, since I don't really have a story hour to get published (and have seen print enough for the vanity press to have no pull), and since I'm uncertain how much I'd like to see a story hour in print, I didn't vote... None of the listed options really seem to fit me...

I would consider submitting the short-short, if Wulf's interested, so I won't say "never", but it certainly is *NOT* worth $100, to me, to see it in print! As for someone else's work, I might or might not want to buy a book of it, depending upon the format and contents... I can't put a price on it, unseen, so can't vote on what I'd be willing to pay...

I know, I'm no help! ;-p

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

If you forced me to make a decision today, here's what I would do:

I'd publish Piratecat's Story Hour as a single volume.

1) It has the highest number of readers.

2) It has the fewest license/PI issues.

3) It's large, fairly complete, and for the most part, well-edited.

4) It's extremely well documented with "gaming" materials-- maps, NPCs, templates, pantheons.

As for the printing details, it would go something like this:

1) I'd print as much of whatever Kev wants to whatever stopping point he thinks works best.

2) I would print it in its entirety as a piece of fiction in the first half of the book.

a) Short notes would be printed in smaller footnotes at the bottom of each page. These could include "reader comments" if such still exist, or it could include shorter DM notes that don't warrant a more complete treatment later. The purpose of these footnotes is to make a clear distinction between a work of fiction and... "game table fiction," which is a different kind of beast.

3) The second half or portion of the book would contain game-related material.

4) If such material was extensive enough to warrant it (meaning, it could satisfy the terms of the license), I'd publish under the d20 logo.

5) I wouldn't use print on demand-- I'd invest in the print run as an entrepreneurial enterprise, fronting the money for a longer, cheaper print run. (But ultimately not that large a print run.)

6) I'd sell the book to hobby AND bookstores.

7) I would pay the author a flat freelance rate for the material up front, with additional incremental payments at certain milestones of sales. (I would avoid a straight royalty as I've done it before and it's a headache).

8) I would be willing to invest a bit more for a few illustrations.

9) The format would be trade paperback-- it will look and feel like a novel, not a game supplement.

If Piratecat's Story Hour proved successful-- and to be honest, I'd define successful as "breaking even"-- then I'd publish additional Volumes in a series. If a particular author warrants a single volume to himself, that's fine; if it takes several smaller authors to complete a volume, that's fine, too.

Further comments?

Wulf