Review the..reviewer

[Nellisir]

Chris - while a great idea, I think it will seriously delay the usefulness of reviews for larger e-publishers. We are aiming for reviews as soon after release as possible, waiting to also send out a physical copy will add to the delay, unless it would also put the product in question to the top of your review pile.

So, the extra three or four days the mail will take constitutes a "serious delay"? I think he's just asking for a print-out, not a fully bound book version; it's a little extra work for a pdf publisher (print, wrap, post), but not that much. And the time delay...I dunno. It's not going to take him longer to -read- it, so the extra time is just however long the US/Canadian postal services take.

I work as a project manager/carpenter for my father, who runs a small custom home building company. We've both got cell phones and email, and we're getting calls constantly, and I'm always running around because SOMEONE needs something RIGHT NOW...and every once in awhile I remember that not so long ago, we had neither cell phones nor pagers. No instant gratification. If you needed something, you either got it yourself or waited until the next day. We just aren't accustomed to that anymore. (It's especially tough with the younger subcontractors -- anyone my age or younger. They're accustomed to this instant access, and the idea of switching to another task for a few hours while they wait for some crucial little piece sometimes seems physically abhorrent to them.)

Just a thought
Nell.

 

[Crothian]

As I said this would not be a requirement at all, I understand there are publishers all over the place and sending from acroos the world just isn't worth the money. THe way I do reviews is first come, first serve. So, lets say you send the pdf on march first. I save the odf and mark down when I recieve it. Now, its extremely rare when I can review something as soon as I get it so if a print copy arrives a week later more then likely I haven't reviewed it yet, but it still gets marked down as if I got it on the first and not the seventh. So, it really wouldn't delay my review any more then they are delayed now.

 

[HellHound]

So, the extra three or four days the mail will take constitutes a "serious delay"? I think he's just asking for a print-out, not a fully bound book version; it's a little extra work for a pdf publisher (print, wrap, post), but not that much. And the time delay...I dunno. It's not going to take him longer to -read- it, so the extra time is just however long the US/Canadian postal services take.

It is actually far cheaper for me to send a PoD version than it would be to print a copy out of a 128-page PDF and ship it.

 

[Crothian]

If any of you would like to send physical copies my address is:

Chris Gath
7997 Solitude Drive
Westerville, OH 43081
USA

If you ever have questions or comments my e-mail is cgath@insight.rr.com and my phone number is 614-987-1206 so give a call or stop by if you want.

 

[PlotDevice]

Thanks for the insightful and well thought out review of Unlikely Heroes. You hit the nail on the head in pretty much all areas. (here it is)
Well done, and thanks again!
Evan

 

[jmucchiello]

I have to agree with HellHound. Printing and mailing a set of papers is a huge expense. (Although I might do it with a "short" PDF just to try it out.) If you were going to push the printed version forward on your backlog, that would perhaps make it more worth our while.

Also, shouldn't the PDF Reviewer prefer the PDF version to the printed version?

 

[Crothian]

One thing people do with PDFs is print them out, so seeing and reading it as a print out is acceptible since it reflects real world use. Also, the content does not change when it gets printed out. So, if reading it as a print out is a bit easier and more convient (which it can be) it should not effect the quality of the product being reviewed.

I would like to stress that by no means will I ever be requiring printed copies. One of the reason I ask is sometimes its nice to be able to carry around the book I'm reviewing so I can read it when I'm at work and during luch and breaks. I can take it when I visit my grandmother as I'll sometimes read by her side if she's napping just so I can spend so time by her side.

There is a chance that the review does get moved up. If I have just one thing to read with me at lunch for instance, I'll be reviewing the product faster since I have a chance to read it when I can't read what is next on my list.

 

[Nellisir]

It is actually far cheaper for me to send a PoD version than it would be to print a copy out of a 128-page PDF and ship it.

I have to agree with HellHound. Printing and mailing a set of papers is a huge expense.

"Cheaper" wouldn't surprise me, but "far cheaper" does. 128-page pdf is 64 sheets, and I'm sure you'd send the "print" version (because every good publisher has a b&w print version), so ink use is relatively low. It costs $1.84 to send a package (in a standard manila envelope)via media mail, under two pounds, from New Hampshire to Los Angeles.

In crothian's defense, he's one person making a request, not demanding a revision of the industry standard. You don't have to send out 20 copies.

Gotta go drive my mother-in-law to the airport.
Cheers!
Nell.

 

[HalWhitewyrm]

Crothian:

I sent you two emails the other day, one asking to add Highmoon Media Productions to the list of publishers, and a second one with a complimentary copy link of my first product from RPGNow.com. Review when you have a chance.

As far as adding the publisher to the list of companies, will you be able to do that, or should I contact someone else? Don't wanna add to your load if there's no need.

Thanks.

 

[Crothian]

Thanks you for reminding me. I totally flaked on this over the weekend but I just added it and it can be seen here:

http://www.enworld.org/reviews/index.php?sub=yes&where=publist&which=Highmoon+Media+Productions

It was no problem adding it but occasionally some things just don't get done and then they get forgotten about. I'm sorry about that, it never should have taken this long.