PatrickLawinger
First Post
Cazundae said:
Hmmm, how to approach this nicely and gently ...
I have been a freelance writer, editor, and developer for about 7-8 years now and I am presently setting up a publishing company (actually making an official announcement on Monday but I have been setting things up for a while). I am saying this because you do NOT want to try to set up and self-publish without really looking at what you need to do for this. Even though I have been "in the industry" for a while, and even though I have helped people set up and run companies before, the electronic publishing business is a whole new ball of wax
My previous post might have been overly gentle, don't take me for a "meanie" but it really looks like you don't know what you are getting into or what sort of financial compensation to expect. Please understand that nothing below is meant as an attack on you in any way, shape or form. I plan to scare you first, but if you get to the end I actually have a few suggestions.
First, a campaign setting needs LOTS of support and it definitely, definitely, positively needs art and cartography. (was that definite enough for you?)
Second, anthropomorphic material has a very small market, you are talking about a niche, of a niche, of a niche (continued about 10 times) market.
Third, if you combine the 2 points above, you will have a VERY difficult time finding a publisher, I am sorry, that is simply a fact. The art and support required for a campaign setting are huge expenses and without a sure market for sales an incredible risk to take on.
Blah, no more numbers, but if I haven't made you pause and start looking up additional reading material, here are a few more points
-> self-publishing still has a lot of expenses associated with it, sometimes unseen, you can not, in all honesty, take a simple word doc, .pdf it and expect it to sell. You will need artwork, for 250 pages I would say well, one hell of a lot of artwork.
-if you want to get paid you will probably have to set up a business, even a sole-proprietorship with a DBA (doing business as) is going to cost you some $ to set up (mostly time, you'll have to deal with the government-for me this was suprisingly easy and fast, but maybe I had a negative view on how long it would actually take)
-selling with some retailers is going to cost you some money to set up (it depends on the retailer-I have waited to set this up myself yet but I have the email addresses, lists of what to do, etc. already lined up.)
-art, even clip-art, is going to cost you money, usually you figure at least a 1/4 to 1/2 page piece of art per 5 pages, this means 50 pieces of art for a 250 page book. It will be really, really hard to find clip art for all of the illo's you will need.
-layout, if you can do it yourself, great, if not, well, I can tell you it isn't trivial and will cost you $ to get someone else to do it unless you have a friend proficient with good layout software
-bank accounts, EIN, if you are in the US you will need to either use your own SS# to set up your accounts (not advisable) or get an EIN (Employer Indentification Number) to get an account and arrange payment. Truthfully, not all that difficult, but it consumes time.
-Cover Art: if you want to sell a 250 pg setting, you will need a good cover. (okay, I got nice here, truly, your cover for a campaign setting can have a major effect, sad, but true)
Right now you might be thinking this isn't so bad, right? The above expenses can total you anywhere from $200-1000 and probably lots more. Honestly, $200 is the low-ball that presumes you have artist friends, layout buddies, and generally good friends willing to do stuff for free. Frankly, doing a 250 pg campaign setting well for $1000 doesn't sound likely to me either.
->how many copies do you think you will sell?
This is the key, if you can't sell enough to cover your costs, well, then it is time to set up some sort of freebie website (likely with ads) to host your free MS Word doc converted to .pdf free download.
You need to very honestly consider your market here, it doesn't matter if you are the greatest writer in the world, what is the market for your book? Who will buy it? Why? How much will they pay.
geez, haven't scared you away YET???!!!
Suggestions:
First, look at what you have and decide what parts can be split out and highlighted as their own small products. Aim for 18-22,000 words or less and think of publishers that might be interested. Smaller products are better, and there are lots of reasons for this I don't have time for.
Second, do you indeed have friends with good artistic talent, someone that can do layout, etc. If you think you can create a product with low or no cost make it. Then, (making certain all legal issues are cleared and taken care of) search for someone willing to distribute your book through their online stores. They will certainly take a cut to cover their costs (such as sending you checks once in a while if you are really lucky), but it will save you tons of future hassles.
Becoming a publisher is not trivial. I am in the process of doing this right now and I am being very cautious as I step into it. You should be too, possibly even more as it sounds like you don't have a lot of experience in this industry.
Well, I am out of time and really should be doing something else...
Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
Patrick
