Mearls' Latest Thought on the Industry

[Wulf Ratbane]

Just to be clear, the risk is mitigated by not having to produce a print run, which will then sit in your warehouse for X amount of time. The risk is mitigated because you don't need to deal with a distribution channel that will certainly insist on not paying you for a month or three. The risk is mitigated because you don't have the risk that you will not be paid through your distribution channel.

Well, you glossed over the big one.

The risk is mitigated by not having to commit $5,000 (or more) up front to a print run that may or may not sell enough units to turn a profit.

 

[hexgrid]

Are you one of them? What open source software have you written? There are generally two types of open source software writers. 1) brilliant programmers who don't care about making money and 2) those who are stickin' it to Microsoft. Which one are you?

Nope, I'm not an open source developer. I was just observing that such people exist.

 

[Atavar]

Wikis?

Hello fellow gamers,

Forgive my ignorance, but what are wikis?

Thanks,

Atavar

-----

"I walk slowly, but I never walk backward." -- Abraham Lincoln

 

[Vigilance]

Well, you glossed over the big one.

The risk is mitigated by not having to commit $5,000 (or more) up front to a print run that may or may not sell enough units to turn a profit.

And even when the book does turn a profit, will you get paid?

That's really the clincher for me. I am willing to bet on my ability to create a good product that will sell enough to break even. But if the books sell and you still dont get paid- well that's kind of a tipping point as far as supporting the distribution system.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

And even when the book does turn a profit, will you get paid?

No, in point of fact, I did not get paid...

 

[BSF]

Well, you glossed over the big one.

The risk is mitigated by not having to commit $5,000 (or more) up front to a print run that may or may not sell enough units to turn a profit.

Well, in all honesty I don't know the numbers for publishers. As such, any numbers I throw out would be pure speculation. I'm speaking mostly from my experience with wholesalers and distribution channels and the policies that come about with those.

 

[Vigilance]

No, in point of fact, I did not get paid...

Exactly... but us groundlings are supposed to support the retailers and the distribution dinosaur, print nothing but modules and give PDFs away for free.

Oh rolleyes how I miss you (but at least I got to say "groundlings").

 

[JVisgaitis]

Is this because of the "30 day" mentaliity so common to the distributors these days that in essence block reorders with misinformation?

I'm not really sure what you mean. I can tell you that initial orders in the first month were 650 something. Restocks were less then 100 the next month and we sold nothing through distribution since.

 

[SWBaxter]

Forgive my ignorance, but what are wikis?

Broadly, a free-content, freely-editable website. The grandaddy and most famous is Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page), an online encyclopedia product. It's become a favoured format for storing and organizing text and image data online.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'm not really sure what you mean. I can tell you that initial orders in the first month were 650 something. Restocks were less then 100 the next month and we sold nothing through distribution since.

It used to be that stock was frontlined for 90 days but now common wisdom is that after 30 days orders in essence, disappear.