Clueless new author looking for advice

[Jolly Giant]

First of all; a big hello to everybody! This is my first post on the publishers' boards, since I've never really had any reason to go lurking here before, but I'm guessing I'm about become a regular.

I'm currently working on a project I hope to see published in the near future, something that should be ready within the next 3 to 4 months (or there abouts ). The thing is, I have no clue on how to go about the practical matters of publishing the completed product.

The project in hand is intended for the D20 system. Or is it D&D? Or OGL? What's the difference between those terms anyway?

There is so much I need to know, and I'm hoping the friendly folks here at EN World can give me a pointer or two. Please..?

 

[arwink]

Unless you're being published by Wizards (or Kenzer), your product is intended for the d20 system or OGL.

As a general rule, d20 system games require the use of wizards products (Players handbook, d20 modern, etc) to play. They don't contain character generation rules or talk about the process of acquiring levels, they follow the guidelines for using the d20 logo outlined in Wizards d20 liscence, doesn't make wholesale changes to stats or other aspects of DnD, etc.

An OGL product uses the rules from the SRD, but includes things that don't fit into the d20 liscence. Character generation rules, leveling rules, things that don't fit into the good taste clause, or wholesale changes to stats.

Compare your standard Green Roning fantasy product, for example, with something like Mutants and Masterminds (which is OGL but not d20).

There's a pretty good guideline at the wizards site, under the d20 section. It's well worth reading before you start looking at anything.

And, of course, it's time to set aside your DnD books and start working directly from the SRD.

 

[Jolly Giant]

Thanks for the swift reply, Arwink!

"Character generation rules"... New classes are ok, right? What if those classes cast spells in a different way than the "normal" spellcasting classes?

I'm working on mana-type system for a few of my new classes, where spells of different levels have different mana-costs, but spellcasting otherwise follows the standard D&D rules. Would that be OK for a D20 product?

 

[Roudi]

New classes are fine, and even new spellcasting mechanics, under both the d20 System License and the OGL. The one place you really should be looking is WotC's d20 System Information page. Specifically, browse the FAQs for both the d20 System License and the Open Gaming License. Most of the answers to your questions will be found there.

 

[DragonSword]

Following that you need to either choose to publish the product yourself, or to find a publisher. There are lots of d20 publishers who produce products as downloadable PDFs using www.rpgnow.com, and other online delivery systems. Also, quite popular is Print-on-demand publishing. Try looking at different publishers websites (lots of them are linked from ENWorld's very own d20 Reviews pages), and reading their submission guidelines.

 

[TheLe]

If you decide to shop around for a publisher, give me a hollar at TheLeGames@yahoo.com we can talk more.

Self publishing is good too, if you're up for it.

In anycase, releasing the book as D20 is your best bet for sales. It sells the best at rpgnow.com, and I would recommend it. Simple OGL is not a bad option either as it gives you more flexability.

If you are the d20 route, please look at the offical documents for details:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/20040121a

~Le, aka The Le Games

 

[Jolly Giant]

Thanks for your replies, everyone.

I've browsed around the SRD/OGL/legal pages over at WotC, and though I can't say I've had time to study it all closely, my book seems to be a d20 product.

I'm still undecided about wether to publish it myself or look around for a publisher. When the books starts nearing completion I'll ask around a bit, see what kind of deal existing publishers can offer (if anyone's even interested!). I also need to find out how much hassle it is to publish it myself, and weigh the pros and cons, before making a decision.

 

[DragonSword]

An average cut for a sole writer of a product is around 20-30% net profit in royalties. I'd recommend finding a publisher, because going it alone means all the hassle of finding artwork, online retail sites/a printers, and generating a customer-base. If you find an existing publisher, you get the benefits of their experience, their customer base, good editors/copy readers, and no hassle in the post-production stages of the book. You can expect to sell more copies with an existing publisher.

 

[Jolly Giant]

Well, my product is nearing completion! I've posted some details here: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=124879

So far my plan is to publish it as a PDF through RPGnow, but nothing is definite. If any of you publishers out there see this and is interested, let me know at vsolaas@hotmail.com

I'd dearly love to see a print version of it...

 

[flyingmice]

An OGL product uses the rules from the SRD, but includes things that don't fit into the d20 liscence. Character generation rules, leveling rules, things that don't fit into the good taste clause, or wholesale changes to stats.

I agree entirely with everything you said, arwink, but this seems to imply that any OGL product is generally compatible to d20. OGL is a license, and can be - and is - used by anyone wishing to put out Open Gaming Product. There are several OGL game systems out there like the Action! system or our own F20 system which don't use much at all from WotC's SRDs, and are thus not particularly compatible with d20 products. You could easily construct an OGL system with the only thing taken from WotC being the OGL license itself. Most people use the term "OGL" to mean "something very much like d20, but a bit further out from D&D," but that can lead to incorrect assumptions. Otherwise, everything you have said is very good advice.

-mice