FFG staff openings

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

Doesn't surprise me at all. Very small companies require employees to possess a lot of varied -- and valuable -- skills.

Oh, no doubt. I am, for instance, a writer but I've been teaching myself InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. Still, I found it odd that a company able to offer multiple positions at once and big enough to have dedicated marketing positions would be doubling up such duties in a writer/editor position.

 

[GMSkarka]

That statement is completely false and misleading at best.

No, it isn't. It really isn't.


I had typed up a long, point-for-point rebuttal of your post, but I realized that you'd probably just take it as me insulting you, your company and your products (since that's what happens every time I make any comment that contradicts your position). So, I decided it's just not worth it.

I will say this, though: In my *first month* of full-time PDF production, I grossed a little over half the number you cited in your post as what was needed. First month. It wasn't hard, and it's been on a steady climb ever since.

Yes, it takes time, dedication and work. That should be obvious. I didn't say it wouldn't. I said it was "relatively easy" --- relative to packing up an relocating to Minnesota to take an entry-level position for another publisher. It is *absolutely* easier to stay where you are, and run your own business out of your home.

Never accuse someone of being "false and misleading" when it's actually just that you didn't understand what was being said.

 

[GMSkarka]

Use of layout, vector/lettering and graphic software isn't something I'd normally associate with either a writer or an editor.

Oddly enough, the two editorial positions I held in mainstream publishing (when I lived in NYC), did consider layout as part of the editor's job. I thought it was strange at the time, as well, but I guess it's just an issue of job consolidation or something.

 

[TheLe]

I still disagree.

Thank you for your response, GMSkarka, but I still can't agree.

$3333 per month in gross sales is a staggering number. It's not easy, it's not relatively easy, nor is it somewhat easy.

As for everyone else, if any of you wants to contradict me or argue against my reasoning, I welcome it and will be happy to keep it civil. I love a good discussion and I am more than happy to listen to reason. However I will not engage in discussions that includes personal insults against me, my business, or other vendors -- I especially don't appreciate when vendors are belittled in public as I have seen countless times in the past. I am not singling out anyone -- but in the past if someone is rude to me, my business, or vendors as a whole, without justification, then I'm not going to have anything to do with the discussion. Keep it civil, and I will be there to listen to whatever you all have to say, good or bad.

$3333 per month in gross sales is a staggering number, and is not as easy as some people may think. As a vendor who is not affiliated with Rpgnow, nor is a holy Platinum vendor, I stand by my arguements. (and I welcome all opposing arguements)

~Le

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Incidentally, I've been told that the cost of living is from 15-20% lower than where I live now, and that seems about right based on the costs of goods and services I've been able to sample. The apartments are bigger too- two bedroom apartments out on the east coast don't usually have both a living room and a den. Whether I get a job at FFG or not, my family and I have decided to move to the area for the upgrade to our standard of living.

If that's the case, come on over! Metrowide public transportation is among the worst in the country for cities of about 2-3 million, but if you have your own vehicle getting around is a breeze compared to the East Coast. If I may recommend my FLGS, The Source Comics and Games, for when you get here. I have been told it is owned by the same holding company that owns both Atlas Games and Fantasy Flight Games and it is close to Roseville (where FFG is located).

 

[GMSkarka]

As a vendor who is not affiliated with Rpgnow, nor is a holy Platinum vendor, I stand by my arguements. (and I welcome all opposing arguements)

By insinuating that somehow my successes are based on my affiliation with RPGNow....nice.

I think I'll be the one who walks away from this particular discussion. I'm not interested in sitting here and "being civil" while somebody commits libel against my company.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

$3333 per month in gross sales is a staggering number, and is not as easy as some people may think. As a vendor who is not affiliated with Rpgnow, nor is a holy Platinum vendor, I stand by my arguements. (and I welcome all opposing arguements)

The only thing necessary to be a Platinum vendor is to be one of the top-10 companies in total sales. (It's not like it's some kind of exclusive Masonic order.)

Even if you were a Platinum vendor, I agree that maintaining $3500 a month in gross sales is no trifling matter.


Wulf

 

[RangerWickett]

Damn, I missed these sorts of threads. *grin* Pardon me as I watch people argue and get heated tempers over such a mundane thing as giving financial advice. *wink*

 

[TheLe]

Groovy.

You are all correct.

For the record, I apologize, GMSkarka, if you felt that my comment was a slight against you or the company you work for. It was not meant to be.

For the record, my comment, "As a vendor who is not affiliated with Rpgnow, nor is a holy Platinum vendor, I stand by my arguements", was not meant as an attack against anyone or any entity.

Rather, it is simply to point out where I am coming from.

I am not affiliated with rpgnow.com in anyway, so I don't have any inside information that may help with my products or company in any way. This is not to imply that having that information is ethical or unethical in anyway, but the fact is that I am not affiliated with Rpgnow.com, and therefore I am not an insider.

I am not a veteran of the industry. I have never been previously published nor have I freelanced on an RPG product before.

I am not a platinum vendor -- I am not making $1000.00 dollars a month in sales. This means I am part of the other 99% of the publishers out there who make less than that.

I am not a full time publisher. I have a day job, and so does my wife, and our joint-income helps sustain our happy home and 2 crazy kitties (who I swear poop more than they eat).

I am just an average joe who decided to jump into the pdf business because it looked like fun.

And that is where my arguement comes from. As someone not affiliated with any other company, not a veteran of the industry, not making $1000 or more a month in pdf sales, and not doing this on a full time basis, I stand by my arguements.

I got into this industry because it looked fun... and believe me it is. If I wasn't haven't fun, I wouldn't be doing it. But I still have to work hard to get just 1 book out a month. Even that is not simple, nor is it relatively simple.

Is it possible to make $3333 per month in gross sales?
Absolutely.

Is it probable to make $3333 per month in gross sales?
Not really, no. There is a reason there is only a small handful of platinum vendors, and even if you are pdf publishing full time that is just a staggering number to reach monthly. We other non-platinum vendors are not lazy, and we are not bad companies. We are average folk who love the industry and just happen to be publishers.

Is it easy or relatively easy to make $3333 per month in gross sales?
No. Not at all.

I stand by my arguements.

~Le
P.S. You can help me reach $3333 in gross sales by buying my newest (d20) book, 17 Magic Armors, available now here!
(End Shameless Plug)

 

[GMSkarka]

A couple of things:

I am not a platinum vendor -- I am not making $1000.00 dollars a month in sales. This means I am part of the other 99% of the publishers out there who make less than that.

Doing $1000 a month in sales does not make you a platinum vendor. That was, at one time, considered the minimum, but now, platinum vendors are the top 10 publishers in sales per quarter. $1000 per month doesn't get you in to the top 10 any longer.

Just wanted to clear up that misconception.

I am not a full time publisher. I have a day job,

You know, the fact that you're doing this part time *just might* have something to do with the fact that you think that earning 20K a year in PDF publishing is "staggering". Just a theory.

If you did the FFG job part time, I doubt you'd earn 20K either. Makes sense, right?