DTRPG Says 'Don't criticize us or we'll ban you'

[Baron Opal II]

Those outlets don't reach the majority of the customer base, and I find myself doubtful that advertising can make up for missing out on such a large swathe of the potential market.

Irrelevant. You want to business with someone? Make an agreement, stand by it, and don't "defecate where you eat". You don't like the terms and conditions? Re-negotiate or find another venue.

The people that made poor toilet-to-kitchen choices have only themselves to blame.

 

[Jer]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know the process for selling a self-published RPG book on Amazon?

As far as I know the only POD that Amazon does is through their Kindle Direct program. Everyone thinks of it as ebooks but they will do paperbacks and hardcovers POD.

(I don't know anyone who has used it for RPGs. I do know some folks who have explored it for self publishing novels, which is how I even know it exists, but I think they went with other options in the end.)

 

[Alzrius]

But Morrus' point still stands - if that digital storefront model isn't how RPG revenue is realized these days then DriveThruRPG doesn't have significant power over creators or the market.

That's certainly true if you define the market as being digital products for tabletop RPGs, but insofar as this discussion goes I believe that there's merit in considering the narrower, more niche market that I mentioned previously, for the reasons noted before: there are many publishers with quite a few products who don't use Kickstarter.

Being the tallest halfling doesn't make you a giant, in other words.

In a land of liliputians it does.

 

[jdrakeh]

As far as I know the only POD that Amazon does is through their Kindle Direct program. Everyone thinks of it as ebooks but they will do paperbacks and hardcovers POD.

(I don't know anyone who has used it for RPGs. I do know some folks who have explored it for self publishing novels, which is how I even know it exists, but I think they went with other options in the end.)

The Basic Fantasy RPG is available in print via Amazon POD (it's also available via Lulu POD).

 

[Morrus]

Out of curiosity, does anyone know the process for selling a self-published RPG book on Amazon?

Yep!

As far as I know the only POD that Amazon does is through their Kindle Direct program. Everyone thinks of it as ebooks but they will do paperbacks and hardcovers POD.

(I don't know anyone who has used it for RPGs. I do know some folks who have explored it for self publishing novels, which is how I even know it exists, but I think they went with other options in the end.)

We used to use it. The margins aren’t great and it’s a PITA to work with.

 

[Alzrius]

Just for those reading, I’ll quickly reiterate again that this statement is untrue, no matter how many times it is repeated in the face of contradictory information, and that as a premise, conclusions based on it are invalid.

I should likewise take a moment to refute this, as it's based on a different topic to what's being discussed in this thread (i.e. the context of online retail storefronts for pay-for-download products that are stocked in perpetuity).

In other words, we're not discussing all revenue regarding digital TTRPG products; we're discussing a particular type of sales venue.

 

[Nikosandros]

As far as I know the only POD that Amazon does is through their Kindle Direct program. Everyone thinks of it as ebooks but they will do paperbacks and hardcovers POD.

(I don't know anyone who has used it for RPGs. I do know some folks who have explored it for self publishing novels, which is how I even know it exists, but I think they went with other options in the end.)

Stave Jackson Games has a huge catalog of GURPS PODs available through Amazon.

www.sjgames.com/gurps/ondemand/

 

[Alzrius]

Irrelevant. You want to business with someone? Make an agreement, stand by it, and don't "defecate where you eat". You don't like the terms and conditions? Re-negotiate or find another venue.

No, I believe it's entirely relevant, and that when one party has vastly unequal power dynamics when compared to another, it's overly reductive to say it's just about making an agreement.

 

[Jer]

Stave Jackson Games has a huge catalog of GURPS PODs available through Amazon.

www.sjgames.com/gurps/ondemand/

That's interesting because I knew they did POD through DriveThru now as well - meaning they use both retailers as printers. I wonder what the difference in quality is between the two...

(Also I could have sworn that Steve Jackson only sold their stuff through Warehouse 23 at one point. I remember running across them on DriveThru and being a bit surprised that they were even there.)

 

[Morrus]

I should likewise take a moment to refute this, as it's based on a different topic to what's being discussed in this thread (i.e. the context of retail storefronts for pay-for-download products that are stocked in perpetuity).

In other words, we're not discussing all revenue regarding digital TTRPG products; we're discussing a particular type of sales venue.

No True Scotsman.

You’ve been told you’re wrong and you’re attempting to frame the topic in a manner which makes you right.

At some point, you need to accept that sometimes people know more than you. And in this case, you’re digging in against somebody who has worked in this industry for 20 years and still insisting you’re right. I’m as close to an expert on this exact topic as there is in the world.

I know not only more than you about this, I know more than most people about this. I’ve more titles on DTRPG than almost anybody in the industry. I’ve more successful Kickstarters under my belt than almost anybody in the industry. I have my own storefront.

You’re wrong. There’s no way around that. Just back down, man. This isn’t a topic you know about.