D&D 4E Constructive Advice for Breaking into 4E Publishing

[Malchior]

I'm wondering if those of you amongst us who have experience publishing 3rd party material might supply tips, pointers, or other _constructive_ advice on how those of us interested in trying our hand at publishing under 4E can break in.

I've seen some disparaging comments about "upstart" newbie publishers, but the truth is that 3E publishers had to get their start, and surely there is lots of new talent out there that should be given a chance.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

PRINT: Don't start out as a publisher, start out as a freelancer for an established publisher.

PDF: Buy layout software. Buy clip art. Produce product.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

Run your material off of a website with a "donate" button.
People will get a feel for what you can write, and can also pay you if they think its good.

 

[tensen]

I'm wondering if those of you amongst us who have experience publishing 3rd party material might supply tips, pointers, or other _constructive_ advice on how those of us interested in trying our hand at publishing under 4E can break in.

I've seen some disparaging comments about "upstart" newbie publishers, but the truth is that 3E publishers had to get their start, and surely there is lots of new talent out there that should be given a chance.

Thanks in advance!

Step 1: Start as a freelancer... or at least have previous freelancers as part of your company staff. Use the knowledge.
Step 2: Find a way to get a lawyer (preferably that accepts barter)
Step 3: Have starting capital to afford to pay for at least 3 products and other related fees.
Step 4: Decide what your starting focus will be.
Step 5: Contact other publishers that you like their work... build up a working relationship. Most of us are quite willing to help one another out.
Step 6: Plan out marketing strategy and advertising.
Step 7: Hire a layout artist or buy and learn how to use appropriate software (also purchase Adobe Acrobat.) Whether you go to print or stick to .pdf you still need to work on layout.
Step 8: Get a stunning logo created.


Anything beyond that and you have to be more specific on where and what you are intending to do.

 

[hong]

Expect to get paid in ego bucks, as opposed to real bucks, and you'll never be disappointed.

 

[Malchior]

Well, I am part of a small gaming group of people who work in graphic design, web design, and programing. Two members of the group have owned and operated their own businesses, and two of them are artists. We have all DMed, and a few of us do a lot of writing (Adventures and non-D&D stuff as well, though none of us have been published yet, unless you count the university newspaper).

We were throwing around the idea of doing adventures only (at least to start) and offer them as PDFs for download. I understand there are some companies that offer print-on-demand for those who want it?

We do not _at all_ think of this as a "get rich quick" thing, we don't even see it as a way to earn a living (we all have day jobs) we just want to try our hand at making good adventures for people to play and maybe leave our tiny little mark on the D&D world.

Thanks for all the input so far!

 

[pawsplay]

Adventures are good for establishing a rep, as well as a good test run for the editing process before you tackle something tougher. They're also low profit enough to test your resolve.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Well, I am part of a small gaming group of people who work in graphic design, web design, and programing. Two members of the group have owned and operated their own businesses, and two of them are artists. We have all DMed, and a few of us do a lot of writing (Adventures and non-D&D stuff as well, though none of us have been published yet, unless you count the university newspaper).

It sounds to me like you have the makings of a first class PDF company.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

See im more of a rules guy. I like to write rules and only rules. Writing fluff is ok, but I really get bored easily doing it.

 

[robotron666]

I'm wondering if those of you amongst us who have experience publishing 3rd party material might supply tips, pointers, or other _constructive_ advice on how those of us interested in trying our hand at publishing under 4E can break in.

I've seen some disparaging comments about "upstart" newbie publishers, but the truth is that 3E publishers had to get their start, and surely there is lots of new talent out there that should be given a chance.

Thanks in advance!

As a good friend once told me - if you want to make a small fortune in the RPG business, start out with a large fortune.

You'll be doing this for very little return, unless you have a killer hook with some awesome presentation and rock solid rules.

I started out as a freelancer for Sword and Sorcery Studios, and that helped to land me gigs that eventually got me into video game development.

So, when I say this, please take into account that I have looked at doing what you're thinking of doing.

Unless you have a captive audience like Wizards does, publishing RPG material is not worth it.

You get very little return for a tremendous amount of effort, e-book copies are notoriously easy to pirate, and ultimately your efforts will be spent on satisfying your own desire to produce something - whether or not it is of quality is really no matter.

Every single RPG company I can think of that is successful because of d20, is doing their own thing now. D20 publishing was a gateway for business success.

But if you're really going to do this then form a solid business plan, get all the cash together that you want to burn on your product up front, budget carefully and stick to it, and follow your dream. If you're smart, dedicated, and lucky you might be succesful.

Good luck.