Ouch.I backed ... kickstarter projects launched by Ken Whitman.
Ouch.I backed ... kickstarter projects launched by Ken Whitman.
It's super cool to get digital product the day a campaign closes . . . . but it isn't something most folks expect, I think. I think going in with the product fully, or mostly, written, just needing editing, layout, and art, is a good way to go. And it takes time to do all of that, and do it well. One neat thing campaigns have done is to offer preview files to backers right away, the product sans editing and art . . . both to get something into backers hands right away, reward backers with an exclusive sneak peak . . . and to get lots of eyeballs on the product to hopefully find any issues that need correcting!All great advice, thank you. I can assure you, my KS will be all digital at this point in the process. I have one idea that might be a really good hardcover, but that won't be one of the first ones I do.
I'd guess 100% of the revenue on my early projects would go to art (and, if I get enough money, someone else to do layout).
My goal is to do a Morrus, and release the product the moment it closes, but given I'll be buying art based on what I sell (see goals, stretch), that won't happen.
Again, great stuff. Thanks!
I have like, 13? on DMsguild already....and am close on my next one......Agreed on the preview version, that is my plan. (some of those 13 need serious re-work.....)It's super cool to get digital product the day a campaign closes . . . . but it isn't something most folks expect, I think. I think going in with the product fully, or mostly, written, just needing editing, layout, and art, is a good way to go. And it takes time to do all of that, and do it well. One neat thing campaigns have done is to offer preview files to backers right away, the product sans editing and art . . . both to get something into backers hands right away, reward backers with an exclusive sneak peak . . . and to get lots of eyeballs on the product to hopefully find any issues that need correcting!
There have been discussions here on ENWorld, and elsewhere, on the importance of paying visual artists (and other support folks) a fair wage . . . . but you should include yourself in that as well. You should be able to pay your artists, editors, and anybody else who helps out, but YOU should also make a fair wage! I think that's a large reason why digital products have been going for more on Kickstarer ($25-30+), is for everyone involved to be paid fairly, and produce a slick product! Some folks will always bitch about high costs of digital only products, but more and more of us are acclimating! If you want your initial product priced more affordably, $10-15 . . . it's okay if it's a small, focused project.
Of course, another way to get some cred with the TRPG community before your first Kickstarter . . . is to not start with Kickstarter. Put up some products on drivethrurpg.com and/or dmsguild.com, low risk, low investment (potentially), and a venue for feedback and growth. Do you already have some products out there we can look at?
In my defense, he had not, quite yet, screwed the pooch quite so publicly at the time of those kickstarters. Which is why Jolly was willing to partner with him, he seemed to know what he was doing.Ouch.
Same for meOnly two, really.
1. Do I want it?
2. Will I actually use it?
For me, if it's all ready to go, that's a disincentive. The total opposite also is.Yeah, we do that too. Final PDFs within seconds of the KS ending, physical books within weeks (basically physical printing/shipping time only).
I was towards the front row of he and Courtney Soloman's debacle known as Imperium Games... publisher of T4: Marc Miller's Traveller. I knew better than to trust Ken with any money at all.I backed both the Knights of the Dinner Table Live Action Series and Spinward Traveller TV Pilot kickstarter projects launched by Ken Whitman.
I hit that point in 1998. He ran Imperium Games for Courtney Solomon. IG still owed many freelancers money when Ken finally walked away. Marc Miller keeps trying to get Ken to actually follow through with Spinward Traveller and KoDT.On the other hand, if I lived next door to Ken Whitman, and he told me personally that I would get as a stretch goal a lawn chair that I could clearly see in his backyard, I wouldn't believe him.
Well, then Marc must be a man of infinite patience, because that seems like a Don Quixote-style windmill to tilt at!I was towards the front row of he and Courtney Soloman's debacle known as Imperium Games... publisher of T4: Marc Miller's Traveller. I knew better than to trust Ken with any money at all.
I hit that point in 1998. He ran Imperium Games for Courtney Solomon. IG still owed many freelancers money when Ken finally walked away. Marc Miller keeps trying to get Ken to actually follow through with Spinward Traveller and KoDT.
It is. And Marc does seem to have a lot of patience...Well, then Marc must be a man of infinite patience, because that seems like a Don Quixote-style windmill to tilt at!