Should Ronin Arts Submit to Monte Cook's "Year's Best?"

[philreed]

http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mc_los_139

I'm not sure if any of the Ronin Arts material qualifies as the "Year's Best" of the D20 products out there. Rather than beat my head against the question, I thought it best to ask for advice.

Question 1: Should Ronin Arts submit anything?

Question 2: What, if something is worthy of submission, should we send in?

Thanks in advance for your help, guys!

 

[Belen]

Yes, I think you should submit. It is a great idea and I can honestly say that I have purchased just about everything that Monte has recommended over the years.

 

[Ghostwind]

Agreed. You should go for it, Phil.

 

[JoeGKushner]

To be honest, I see this as a bigger opportunity for PDF publishers than I do print ones.

The trick I think, will be in finding the material, in this case, it looks like game mechanics, that are top notch. While A Matter of Family is a great M&M adventure for example, I don't think it's an example of what Monte's looking for, based on his comments on the board.

The Possessors may make a good case of best use of OGC material simply because they fill a niche that another monster used to.

 

[DaveMage]

I think it's a no-brainer.

Monte is giving d20 publishers a chance to have their name associated (albeit loosely) with his. That's a great value for a d20 publisher, and especially smaller ones, IMO.

To put it another way, I had no plans to buy A Magical Medievel Society: Western Europe until I saw Monte's review.

And with all of the accolades you have received here, Phil, I think you have a great chance at inclusion.

 

[alsih2o]

No offense, but this seems an odd question coming from you.

What is at stake is having another publisher say you have your feces coagulated. (to be grandma friendly)

I see you do this frequently right here, and recently. Whether it is talk of Denizens of Avadnu or the FFG sale (which prompted a $25 sale from me) I see you being willing to plug string wirk from others. This is something to be encouraged amongst anyone-artists (I include writers here), publishers, edittors, fans, even printers.Monte is just somewhat formalizing what you do here.

Some people say that multpile awards dilute the emaning of each award but I disagree. Multiple awards show that there are multiple ways to look at the products being produced. I would like to see the varuious RPG editors band together to put out a list of companies that defy the "Por Editing" stereotype. No physical representation is NEEDED(a trophy or whatever), just the recognition.

Monte's list will most probably gather more attention than me posting a "Best of" thread or your reccomendations of other companies work. Monte has built a huge soapbox made of talentwood and his voice will consequently have an effect on the sales and reputation of any work recognized.

Peer review is important to all artists, just because your art has become an industry doesn't mean you should no longer seek critique.

 

[francisca]

Naw. No need. We all know you're the best! You don't need Monte's pat on the head to be recognized as one of the better d20 publishers.

And by better, I mean not only quality and the obvious quantity, but you make stuff that a lot of people can actually make use of.

 

[Rasyr]

At first I thought that this was a good idea, and then I read the submission rules and guidelines.

Be very sure to consider all of the following:
1) You do not get paid for submissions (most "Year's Best" anthologies DO pay the copyright holders)
2) You are giving permission to use PI from your products.
3) This WILL make money for Malhavoc, but it is open to debate as to whether or not it will make more money for you.
4) Malhavoc reserves the right to make changes to your work
5) He gets free use of covers and your company name for advertising
6) He retains the right to sue you for something, yet the fine print basically says you cannot sue him (at least that is how I interpret it).

In short, this, IMO, does not seem to be a good idea overall from a business standpoint, at least NOT for the contributors.

 

[devilish]

At first I thought that this was a good idea, and then I read the submission rules and guidelines.

Be very sure to consider all of the following:
1) You do not get paid for submissions (most "Year's Best" anthologies DO pay the copyright holders)
2) You are giving permission to use PI from your products.
3) This WILL make money for Malhavoc, but it is open to debate as to whether or not it will make more money for you.
4) Malhavoc reserves the right to make changes to your work
5) He gets free use of covers and your company name for advertising
6) He retains the right to sue you for something, yet the fine print basically says you cannot sue him (at least that is how I interpret it).

In short, this, IMO, does not seem to be a good idea overall from a business standpoint, at least NOT for the contributors.

...unless you're a virtual nobody/unpublished in this business *AND* think you've
got a top 20 product. Then you might get some exposure.

Phil is well-known and his stuff is top shelf. Given Rasyr's excellent points, I would
be careful about what you submit -- something that's good that you consider
"throw-away."

When I read your subject, I wasn't sure if you meant
Should Ronin Arts submit (works) to MC's YB
or
Should Ronin Arts submit (themselves or subjugate themselves before) to MC's YB

 

[enrious]

*shrug*

Up to you. If I were a publisher, I'd be concerned about two aspects of the submission agreement.

That by submitting the work I grant Malhavoc Press permission to republish select material (including both Open Game Content and Product Identity material) from the submitted work, copyedited as necessary for style and clarity and accompanied by an introduction, in the print and PDF editions of Monte Cook Presents: The Year’s Best d20

So you are essentially giving him free reign to use any and all Product Identity material you have, edited to his liking. Note that I see no restriction that the Product Identity be text, you are giving him permission to re-use your artwork.

At least that's my reading of it.

That I grant Malhavoc Press use of the selected material in the promotion of The Year’s Best d20

Again, I see no restriction on artwork. He can use *any* OGC or PI from your sourcebook so that he can advertise his for-profit book.

I don't know that there's a right or wrong answer. I'd just be aware of those factors before submitting your material.