Cost of running a vanity press?

[msd]

I know this is a difficult question to answer without engaging in generalities, so let's engage in generalities...

Hypothetical:

I am writing my own adventure, doing all the editing, doing all the "art" and cartography. I own a licensed copy of Adobe capable of producing a .pdf file.

What is the cost to "set up shop" on RPG as a "publisher"?

What do I need to pay rpgnow.com or whomever else? How would I establish some kind of identity as a publisher (does that require the formation of a company, or something else?).

Totally clueless about this kind of stuff,
Matt

 

[Vascant]

You can head over to RPGNow and pick up the information regarding them, if I recall correctly there is no upfront out of pocket expense however the fees will be taken from your initial earnings in addition to the percentage from doing business with them (Thats based on the plan you select).

There are also other shops around you can use, each handle themselves according to their own policies so probably best not assume they are all the same.

Hopefully someone with a little more experience will chime in though because I am very new at all this myself (Day 18 of my first commercial product)

 

[arwink]

The biggest cost, overall, will be time. I started CGW in February of this year, and it's eaten way more time that I thought it would (and far less time than I hoped I'd be able to give it).

From there, the details are fairly well laid out in the e-publisher guide PDF's available through RPGnow. Your local council/government agency may also have a small business guide available, so it could be worth contacting them and asking what services they have for fledgling business start-ups. Most of them probably wont be all that interested if you're only doing things on a hobby level, but they can at least point you in the direction of relevant tax laws for your state and country.

The best advice you can get, however, is to ask yourself whether what you really want is to write and see your products in print or become a publisher. If it's the former, try shopping your ideas around to a few PDF and print publishers before going it alone - they can take care of the hassles, and you can focus on creating products.

 

[GMSkarka]

Everything you need to know about getting set up with RPGNow is here:

http://rpgnow.com/sales.php

All vendors must first pay a $40 set-up fee, although you get a bunch of stuff with it:

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=3417

arwink is spot-on correct, though. You really should think about this. As RPGNow says at the bottom of the publisher info page:

"Potential publishers need to examine their goals. Do they want to be published, or publishers? Being a publisher means running a business. It means creating a website, coordinating art, editing, and layout, marketing the product, keeping finances in order, and so on. What it leaves little time for is actually writing."

To put it even more succinctly: If you're not serious about running a business, don't do this. We have too many hobbyists trying to do it already. Just find an existing publisher who takes submissions, and release through them.

 

[jmucchiello]

I can answer this, my company motto has the word vanity in it.

Seriously, before the "startup" cost at RPGNow of $40, you probably will want to register some form of legal enterprise depending on the laws where you live. At a minimum file a DBA (doing business as) with your county clerk's office. This can be cheap and it can be expensive depending on how elaborate a company you wish to form and how much your local officials rip off startup companies. Again depending on how elaborate a company you are forming you might get away with talking to a tax accountant (if you use one) in lieu of an actual attorney. Or at least if you know an accountant he might recommend a lawyer.

On the legal front, if your work involves the d20 and OGL licenses, make sure you know how they work and/or consult an attorney in your jurisdiction.

The next biggest (and ongoing) money outlay is a company website. This is also a time sink to go along with the marketting, advertising, etc expenses that detract from time writing.

Getting known requires getting something out there and getting people to know about it. This is where most businesses fail. If you are truly a vanity press, you don't care about this.

Me, I don't mind wearing a lot of hats. I also don't produce a lot of material. (Heck, I'm mostly coasting on good word of mouth from my first releases. You can't really do that since I did it when there were far fewer vanity d20 PDF publishers around and you could release an unillustrated PDF and still get good reviews.) Although I am about to release something written by someone else. A first for me.

Finally, you should read these boards, industry boards at rpg.net, and the publisher boards at rpgnow and familiarize yourself with the industry. (Another time sink.)

Oh, and if you go through with this after all. Hire an editor. Don't do it yourself. Don't hand it to a friends to read over. Hire an editor. Do not scrimp on this expense. There is nothing worse than good material buried under bad editing. And first impressions do matter.

And if all that is too much work, submit a proposal to an existing publisher. Visit websites to find out which publishers accept such proposals.

Good luck.