Hits and Misses (or, Striking a Nerve)

[The Sigil]

I just checked my sales figures at RPGNow.com and found something interesting. My latest release, Buy the Numbers, has been up for a little more than 48 hours. Already, it's sold more copies than my previous two releases have over their entire lifetimes!

Now, I expected the OGL-Lite: Fantasy Player's Guide (around for about 2 months now) to be a niche product so it's not a surprise that it's been beaten out quickly (its relative youth helps too), but frankly, I'm surprised that BtN has already outstripped the Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse, which has been around for 11 months (though, admittedly, saw no huge sales, I thought there would be something of a market for ranger sourcebooks, since AFAIK only Masters of the Wild was around at that point - and it was available on sale for GM's day back in March, so I would think that all the people who wanted to grab it on the cheap did).

I guess that makes Buy the Numbers a "hit" and the other two products "misses." Frankly, I'm (pleasantly) surprised that Buy the Numbers has gotten the reception it has... either the subject matter is a hit or it "touched a nerve" or something. And it's getting more discussion than any of my products since the Enchiridion of Mystic Music almost 3 years ago got! This is (again) a very nice surprise for me.

Anyone else care to share your experiences on what products have surprised you with how well - or poorly - they've done? No sales figures if you don't want to provide them, just what kinds of "sleeper hits" and "surprising busts" have you had?

--The Sigil

 

[mroberon1972]

Yup!

Valley of Frozen Tears is a top notch product, as good or even better than ones released by some 'real RPG companies'.

Sales are terrible. Only around 24 copies. And now I know why.

It's a setting. Settings don't sell unless they have a huge name behind them. People only buy settings that have either had a huge marketing push, or from companies they know/trust.

Small publishers don't have the resources to push a product. For this reason, Ancient awakenings will have to follow the same path as all the others before them: Cruch books that fill a nitch no-one else is.

When we decided to make our setting, we were sure that the clamor we heard for adventures, stories, and settingss would mean we could sell such items.

They didn't.

I'm not bitter. I created it. I have a print copy. I would have bought it if somebody else would had made it.

The point is, if you're a small beginning publisher: Don't do adventures or settings. I don't say this to scare you, but to warn you.


The buyers have spoken. At least to me.


Later,
John Bowden
The Fool
Mr. Oberon

 

[madelf]

Perhaps I have an odd viewpoint, but I'm not surprised that Buy the Numbers is taking off.

The Class/Level system of D20 is a sticking point for a lot of people (IMO at least), and (despite several claims to the contrary) no one has really come up with a way to cleanly get rid of it. Always, either there are no classes but there are skill groups that might as well be classes, or there are no levels but there's some other system of stages that affect ability. It's all the same, trying to be different.

Some of us have been keeping an eye out for a system that finally (and effectively) breaks out of that straight jacket. And now that it seems to be here, we're all buying it.

Conversely, this same group that wants to get rid of classes (and even more importantly prestige classes), sees yet another class source book and utters a collective "meh".

Like I said, I may have an odd viewpoint... (so don't count on my opinion) but I think as far as sales of Buy the Numbers goes, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

 

[trancejeremy]

I do think crunchy stuff sells a lot better.

Personally, I love mini-settings and adventures. But I don't think they sell well. No one makes adventures anymore for d20 except Goodman games and Necromancer. And very few people make mini-setting sourcebooks.

Of course, part of it is also that the potential buyer pool is much better for crunchy stuff. Player's vs GMs.

FWIW, If it were a print product, and I could buy it from someplace like FRPGames at a discount, I would buy Valley of Frozen Tears. I bought 7 Cities. I bought Redhurst. I bought Briarton. I bought Briarton. (Twice, due to a massively delayed ordered at RPGMall). I bought Freeport. I bought Bluffside.

OTOH, I can't seem to get rid of my extra Briarton. I've been trying to trade it off since I got it (which would be over a year) and no takers.

Also, I have no idea what "Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse" means. A weird title probably doesn't help if the buyer has no idea what the heck it is. Sounds like some sort of food from a Mexican restuarant in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Kaleon Moonshae]

Kinda have to agree here, I didn't know what "Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse" was (and I still have to paste it because I can't remember it from moment to monent). I like your stuff Sigil, and like you personally, but that name just didn't jump out at me when I saw it and there is so much stuff out there that I have to be hooked. It may have helped if it had a subtitle specifying rangers. I love rangers, they are my prefered class, and I didn't even know that's what that book was about I will go take a look at it now and when I get paid I might just pick it up.

Good luck on stuff, btw

 

[Flyspeck23]

Anyone else care to share your experiences on what products have surprised you with how well - or poorly - they've done? No sales figures if you don't want to provide them, just what kinds of "sleeper hits" and "surprising busts" have you had?

Well, our first product, the Complete Spell Cards, was an instant hit too - rocketing instantly to the high end of the "This month" top lists and stayed there for quite some time
It's now on #24 on the "All Categories - All Time" list, and #18 on the "D20 RPG - All Time" list. How's that for a "surprising bust"?
The Complete Monster Cards didn't sell as well, but that was to be expected, as it's mainly aimed at GMs - although I did my best to make it useful to players too (and the upcoming update will make it more attractive for druids and rangers...).
The Complete Psionic Power Cards are hopefully a "sleeper hit". But again, it was to be expected that they won't sell as good as the spell cards, so the sales are fine by me

Now that two non-cards related products are coming up (one of which is a book for GMs, and the other a "niche product"), I'm pretty nervous...

 

[The Sigil]

Personally, I love mini-settings and adventures. But I don't think they sell well. No one makes adventures anymore for d20 except Goodman games and Necromancer. And very few people make mini-setting sourcebooks.

Oddly enough, I have 6 adventures in the hopper. Knowing the adventure market, I may be foolish to publish them, but they're all written for 3.0 for an aborted project with Thunderhead Games. I figure it'll take a few hours to polish 'em up and update 'em for 3.5, but since 95% of the work is already done, I may as well put 'em out. The work is already basically done, and even if they only sell 25 copies... well, that's at least SOME return on my time investment.

Also, I have no idea what "Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse" means. A weird title probably doesn't help if the buyer has no idea what the heck it is. Sounds like some sort of food from a Mexican restuarant in the middle of nowhere.

Mexican food... ROTFLMAO!!! Yeah, I guess that name is a problem.

--The Sigil

 

[Morrus]

I think it's the name, The Sigil. "Buy the Numbers" is short and catchy. It caught my eye, certainly. "Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse", on the other hand, did not.

The name of your product is one of the most important things to consider, because that is what will draw your potential customers in. Only if the name tweaks their interest will they both reading the description.

 

[Prest0]

Our first adventure, Last Rites, was--and still is--a big success. Almost a year after its release, people still talk about it and recommend it to one another. Looking back on it now, it seems pretty amaturish compared to our later stuff. But people still really dig it. That's why we've re-edited it and added some new material for a "Last Rites 1.2" release later this summer.

By comparison, waaaaaaay higher production values went into Bloodlines. We'd learned a few lessons by then, and I'd hold Bloodlines up against a printed adventure any day. The responses, based on RPG Now reviews and forum comments, have been positive but not on the "buzz" level of Last Rites. Maybe it's just early and will take a while to build that kind of following. Still, sales have been disappointingly sluggish.

 

[Bloodstone Press]

Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse, which has been around for 11 months (though, admittedly, saw no huge sales, I thought there would be something of a market for ranger sourcebooks, since AFAIK only Masters of the Wild was around at that point - and it was available on sale for GM's day back in March, so I would think that all the people who wanted to grab it on the cheap did).

Morrus beat me to it, but I'll say it any way. I think the title has a lot to do with the low sales of the "Enchiridion of Elided Enduements of the Expanse." When I read that title, I didn't know what it was. It was only after you said "I thought there would be something of a market for ranger sourcebooks" did I learn that it was a sourcebook for rangers.

In my own experience, I have to say the biggest surprise success has been 22 Talent Trees which is already my #2 all time best seller, and has only been out for 8 months. It has already surpassed the Hero's Handbook and the Book of Broken Dreams in sales. It also outdistances all subsequent releases by at least 100 sales.

The biggest disappointment has been the Bane Ledger. It is a great book and gets good reviews. It just seems that a lot of people aren't interested in more monsters.