D&D 5E DM's Guild: The Advice You Didn't Ask For

I can live with the typos, but I can't stand the lack of good page design. Don't start a header on one column, near the bottom of the page and finish it on the other column or next page. For the love of all that is holy put in a page break!
 

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I can live with the typos, but I can't stand the lack of good page design. Don't start a header on one column, near the bottom of the page and finish it on the other column or next page. For the love of all that is holy put in a page break!

That brings me to some other very basic layout advice. I say basic because I'm no professional, but some lessons learned:

* no Orphans. This means if you have one line or less left in a paragraph, make it fit in the same column as the rest of the paragraph. Don't let one lines stay out there by themselves in the next column, or worse, a new page

* Don't be afraid of white space. This doesn't mean leave giant blocks of blank pages, but don't feel like you have to use every single millimeter of of the page to cram things into. The key is to make the page uniform, and avoid chunks of text here, but a big blank space there. Good usage of white space breaks up the subject and allows your eyes to "catch their breath", so-to-speak

* Use text wrap sparingly. Cool feature, sure. But used too much and it's more of a challenge to follow the text.

* Use fancy design features sparingly. Putting a fancy scroll-work image below every header for every section can be off-putting. Waste of space as well. You don't want your product looking like a 90s Geocities webpage

* Somewhat related, but use fonts sparingly. Don't put a dozen different font types in your product, especially if they are completely unrelated in theme. You'll need to embed them all, and it can be a distraction.

* Definitely related, use a font for the media type. I.e., if you're intending for it to be read on a computer, use something like Arial. If you're intending for it to be used in print, use Times or similar.

*When doing a PDF, USE BOOKMARKS. They are easy to set up, and most people expect them


*Edit* One more piece of advice I find helps me a lot. Don't write your product in the same software you're using for layout. I write everything in Word. I have horrible spelling, so it helps a lot and is much easier to spell check a large document in Word than it is in something like InDesign where you have individual text boxes to check.
 
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I think that's a better attitude to have. But there are people out there who have sky high expectations from what are essentially amateur efforts. And that's a touch on the unfair side, to me.

True enough. I don't expect professional artistry or graphic design from a free product, or even a dollar or two. I do expect the grammar to at least be up to a level that I understand what the author is trying to say without reading and re-reading a number of times. Basic high school graduate stuff - at least it was when I graduated high school.

I'm not an English major. My work isn't grammatically perfect, but if it is important I get a fresh set of eyes to proof it for me.
 

This is all very exciting to me, and i want to encourage more, and promote the feeling people have something to contribute, rather than push a sense that only refined, pro stuff is worth putting out there

Yes please! More choice is always a good thing.
 

It's also worth noting that this is why you should RATE AND COMMENT ON PRODUCTS YOU BUY.

If you got burned by something awful on a product, let everyone else who looks at that product know, and by the same (perhaps even more important) token, if the thing is really solid, bump it above the cruft.

I agree with this sentiment whole-heartedly. As someone who's experimenting with content on DM's Guild (the Monster Mausoleum, and another mini-book going up soon), seeing reviews--both of my stuff and of other people's stuff--helps guide me when I'm trying to figure out what to do next.

Reviews improve visibility on the site, too...and that's going to be key as more of us create content for it.

--David Noonan.
 

By the way...

170981.jpg


Actual picture of a product on the DMs Guild!
 

We have this thread already??

It took months to get to this point with the first SRD glut.

At least we got those Avalanche Press covers.

Anything like that this time?
 

We have this thread already??

It took months to get to this point with the first SRD glut.

At least we got those Avalanche Press covers.

Anything like that this time?

Not yet. Actually, it's going to be tricky because you have to buy the art outright to put it up on the DM's Guild - you can't use art you don't own all the rights to. (Although I'm sure that will be a thing...)

BTW, here's my review of the adventure I linked to above...
http://merricb.com/2016/01/16/dd-adventure-review-goblin-slavemaster/

Cheers!
 


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