New publication questions: Experience Sought

[Sigurd]

A great deal of thought has come together into a coherant setting. Not necessarily a huge Shatterred Lands or Forgotten Realms Setting but a genuine one.

I have a deal of the crunch and, I think, an interesting backstory and spur for new adventures.

Now I'm contemplating leaving story telling\RPG gaming and enterring the realms of publishing. I am not under the impression that this will make me a lot of money but I would like it not to cost me too much either.

Any sources for good, frank advice????

Some questions:

1. Some of the new races from WOTC would fit in the setting but they aren't crucial or perfect. Should I include them and what sort of licenseing do I have to go through?

2. Ideas that seemed good when I found them have been reworked beyond all recognition to fit into this world. How do you handle thanking inspiration that is not inclusion & what are your guidelins?

3. Fonts and typeface do you guys buy this stuff just for publication so you have a bill or do you trust 'free fonts' etc.....

4. Can you guys recommend a good guide to the copyright and property rules for Canada & the US as it regards gaming? Do I have to get a lawyer?

Alot of this is so much 'not fun' that its a real downer. How do you guys deal with it?


S

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I'm kicking around the idea of formally writing up my experiences. I'm gonna pitch it to Dragon first on the off chance I can get some money out of it, but it'll probably end up on ENWorld or RPG.net sometime in the next month or so.

Any sources for good, frank advice????

My quick advice:

1) Write a 16 page core rules adventure before you do any of this. Don't print it, just leave it as a PDF. You'll go through the exact same process as writing up your book, but it will be fewer pages and a more manageable project. You will have a much better idea of what you need to do and all the mistakes you will have made will be for a module that you will have less emotional attachment to than your setting. If you can make the module compatible with your setting, so much the better, but for now just stick to the core rules.

2) When budgeting how much you want to sink into the project, assume you'll sell 20 copies. Yes. 20. Not 200. 20.

3) PDF995 is a free PDF maker. It also isn't that great. But it's free.

4) Breathe in. Breathe out. They call books like the ones you plan to write "fantasy heartbreakers". Hey, that's what mine was. Just have fun with it and treat the money you spend on the project as money lost.

5) Art is expensive. That said people like to see around 15% of a book be art and maps. Do not use crappy art. Avoid average art. No art is better than crappy art.

1. Some of the new races from WOTC would fit in the setting but they aren't crucial or perfect. Should I include them and what sort of licenseing do I have to go through?

You'll have to talk to WotC.

Personally? I wouldn't do it. They'll likely want money and -- believe me -- you'll be spending more than you think and earning less than you hope.

2. Ideas that seemed good when I found them have been reworked beyond all recognition to fit into this world. How do you handle thanking inspiration that is not inclusion & what are your guidelins?

If I think it is cool I put it in. The advantage of a small publisher is that you can do this. I think the only thing I didn't use that I thought was cool was psionic dolphins and that's because my main parnter explained to me -- at length -- how completely stupid he thought that was.

3. Fonts and typeface do you guys buy this stuff just for publication so you have a bill or do you trust 'free fonts' etc.....

Free ones are fine. Again, if you do a 16 page module, you'll figure out what you really need without risking anything important or costly.

4. Can you guys recommend a good guide to the copyright and property rules for Canada & the US as it regards gaming? Do I have to get a lawyer?

You don't need a lawyer. Here's a quick way to end your worries:

1) Burn your books. They're a hinderance at this point.
2) Find a really good up-to-date System Reference Document. Creative Mountain Games has a nice one.
3) Use the SRD and the SRD alone. Remember, you're not allowed to tell people how to generate characters or level up.
4) READ the Open Gaming License!

Now you can actually get a little fancier than that. There's a lot of stuff out there that is open gaming content. For example *cough* my book *cough*.

Alot of this is so much 'not fun' that its a real downer. How do you guys deal with it?

Most of us deal with it by screwing up until we get it right. I imagine that once you do this a few times, it gets easier.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask!

 

[GMSkarka]

Alot of this is so much 'not fun' that its a real downer. How do you guys deal with it?

By realizing that we're running a business, not having "fun."

Seriously. Gamers in general have the misconception that publishing games is somehow the equivalent of "playing games for a living." It isn't. It's running a small business, with all of the headaches and "downers" that ensue.

The guys from 12 To Midnight once posted about this topic on the RPGNow publishers forum, and it was so spot-on that RPGNow added it to the information they present to potential publishers:

"Potential publishers need to examine their goals. Do they want to be published, or publishers? Being a publisher means running a business. It means creating a website, coordinating art, editing, and layout, marketing the product, keeping finances in order, and so on. What it leaves little time for is actually writing."

It sounds to me like you'd rather be a designer than a publisher. My suggestion would be to find a publisher who is willing to take a look at your product, and have them publish it.