Need some feedback on book layout

[Living Legend]

I'm working on an RPG called Blood, Wits & Steel that I plan on publishing in a couple years. I'm looking at options for having some printed books to sell at cons. I want to be able to sell the book, which should be around 200 pages, for about $20. Making the book hardcover adds $10 to the production costs, which I would have to pass on, so I don't really want to do that. However, I have never been a big fan of soft bound books because they don't stay open very well at the table.

That made me think back to the old battletech technical readout books, which were softbound and landscape format. Because of that format the books would lay open at the table much better. I looked into this and it wouldn't cost me much extra to do that. Another benefit of this would be that my pdf would also be laid out landscape by default, which seems the way people prefer them now since everyone has wide screens.

So my question to you all is: is this a good idea? Would this make the book seem more valuable to you, or would you think it's too gimmicky?

 

[Haltherrion]

I don't think the landscape versus portrait would in and of itself make much difference to me. I guess I'm not as opposed to softcover although you are right it can be a pain.

Another way to look at it: I would be less inclined to pay hardback prices for a book from an unproven source. The converse is, I'll accept the softback binding in return for being able to try out this unproven source at a more reasonable price.

My focus would be more on content, proofing (any errors cast suspicion on the whole work), and page layout. The latter in the sense of how easy is it to access the information? Are the pages "clean", text easy to follow, fonts, headings and spacing easy on the eyes? Of course, content matters the most. It has to have something that seems well worth having. While once upon a time, I bought anything that momentarily caught my fancy, these days I'm choosier about what fills my book shelves (giving away hundreds of books will do that to you.)

On another note, in RP texts, folks appreciate artwork but a lot of bad artwork is worse than no artwork. Better to have a few nice pieces, even if you have to commision someone on deviantart or the like, then to fill it with your girl friend's pencil sketches if her sketches really aren't all that good.

Good luck; it's a very big project

 

[Living Legend]

While once upon a time, I bought anything that momentarily caught my fancy, these days I'm choosier about what fills my book shelves

That is why I'm doing this. I too had a huge shelf of unused books, and I just felt like none of those games were being written by people that were really asking the right question...

"how does this product make the experience of the people at the game table easier, or better, or more enjoyable?".

My day job is running a manufacturing business, and I have to constantly adapt my product and how it is used to make it better for the customer. I have to make sure that I think of every detail of how the customer will use my product so I can make sure I am meeting every need he has... or I will lose a customer.

So that is what I'm bringing to the table. When I design a game mechanic I make sure I keep in mind that while a player on has to run one character, and DM has 5 or 7 bad guys to run all at once, so the mechanic has to be easy to use in both situations. When I design a power I think is really cool, I make sure I take into account how hard it will be to track the duration or effect of that ability, so it isn't a chore for the player to use his cool tricks. When I think about the printed product, I try to keep in mind how annoying it would be for your rulebook to keep flipping shut because it isn't laid out properly.

I can't guarantee that Blood, Wits & Steel will be a success, or even that I will make back the money I have put into it. But what I can guarantee is that no one will be more devoted the customer and their game experience than me. From what I've learned from my time in the business world, that should count for something.

Oh, and thanks for the sentiments, I need all the good luck I can get.