best rpg print size?

[Moon-Lancer]

A high end publisher really will not use your formatting. In fact, even small publishers will have their own set of standards and no matter what you give them, they will convert what you give them to their preferred format.

Really, spend this time making sure the writing and the mechanics are true. Page layout is not the writer's job and is certainly not his concern. You are going to lose sales over the writing. Not over choosing A4 instead of US Letter.

and let them have all the fun? no way

the time they take formating i shale be doing what? writing what they should be formating? I have already written it, so i might as well format it too eh?

time really holds no substance in a case such as this, so its not really a problem . I have no deadline so the writing can be as good as it needs to be.

This isn't a novel where the formating holds no artistic measure value, so if i have the skill and time, why should I leave leave it up to someone else?

 

[Yair]

This isn't a novel where the formating holds no artistic measure value, so if i have the skill and time, why should I leave leave it up to someone else?

You have an editing error.

Since it seems like you are doing it for fun, rather than profit, go ahead and format if you like to. I sure do format my "books" (for use by me and my players). Keep in mind, however, that if you approach a high-end publisher he might actually prefer the unformatted text, perhaps even with formatting notes ("[START INSET]" etc.). Don't confuse what you do for fun with what people do for a living, where plenty of other concerns (such as box size...) may be an issue. Don't worry about printing costs, transportation costs, the preferred size of Barnes & Noble shelf over that of the shipping company... let the publisher worry about formatting.

 

[greywulf]

Pocketmod sized!

That's what Microlite20 uses and it's perfect for backpocket gaming.

Frivolity aside, I find the size of the Core books just perfect. Big enough to be impressive yes small enough to tote under one arm.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

High end publisher (hopefully), with my own art and formating

Are you completely clear on the difference between a publisher and a printer?

A proper publisher, particularly a high end one, works in the most logical way. They take raw, unformatted text, they edit it (usually including developmental editing) to improve your writing -- which they can do, because a fresh pair of eyes catches things you don't even notice -- and proofread it, they commission the artwork, they fit it all together and only then do they go to layout.

They will have their own house style which includes matters such as font, line spacing, kerning, header style, page margins etc. and the layout will be done in a proper layout program such as Quark (whatever you do, it's vitally important not to bother trying to lay out a printed document in Word).

If you want to control the font, line spacing, kerning, header style, page margins, choice of artwork etc., then you should skip the publisher and go directly to the printers'.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

The reason why you don't format it while you're writing it, by the way, is because editing will typically change the wordcount by 10%-20% of the total. It makes a huge difference to the layout so formatting it in the writing stage is a massive duplication of effort.

 

[GravyFingerz]

and let them have all the fun? no way

the time they take formating i shale be doing what? writing what they should be formating? I have already written it, so i might as well format it too eh?

time really holds no substance in a case such as this, so its not really a problem . I have no deadline so the writing can be as good as it needs to be.

This isn't a novel where the formating holds no artistic measure value, so if i have the skill and time, why should I leave leave it up to someone else?

You are paid to write and that's it. Anything beyond that is a waste of your time. If you have so much extra time, write something else. Maybe send a proposal to your publisher. You're not being efficient with your time.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

You have an editing error.

you will be glad to know that i have someone to check my spelling and editing.

 

[RFisher]

As a retailer, I really prefer US Letter size, or whatever WotC uses. Shorter, pamphlet sized books get lost in the racks and are best displayed bookshelf style - spine out.

For practical at-the-table, I find I prefer my classic Traveller digest-sized pamphlets. (The LBBs or "little black books".) I can lay four of them flat on the table in front of me open to relevant bits without taking up a lot of space. The layout tends to ensure that the stuff you need to reference during play is concentrated into two page spreads to facilitate this. Breaking things up into small booklets means that there's less flipping between two sections you need at the same time in the same book.

Although, the closer to A4/US letter sized booklets of Starter Traveller & classic D&D work pretty well for me as well. I think Starter Traveller's separation into a rules booklet & a reference booklet (layed out with practical considerations in mind as carefully as the LBBs) is genius.

Unfortunately, these formats aren't good for retail. What's good for retail always depends simply upon current practice. & even in their day, these books tended to end up in boxed sets for retail considerations. On the other hand, brick-&-mortar retail may not be important to your product.

For PDF, I think it's best to choose the shorter dimensions from A4 & US letter. i.e. 210mm wide by 11 inches tall.

 

[Kesh]

Personally, I think Wizard's size is "standard" for the industry, but not my favorite. My two preferred sizes are:

1) Whatever All Flesh Must Be Eaten uses. The new Star Wars Saga Edition is close, but more square (wider and not quite as tall as AFMBE).
2) "Pocket" edition, 6"x9" like Mongoose's Pocket Modern Handbook. Just a ton more convenient to carry around, and tend to be cheaper (though that may be due to lack of artwork, as well).

 

[GrumpyOldMan]

A4 is my preferred size. Why? Because I love maths:



Other interesting info here:

http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html

Cheers

A man after my own heart