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D&D Older Editions
Slaying the Dragon: The Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons Review
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<blockquote data-quote="BenRiggs" data-source="post: 8693106" data-attributes="member: 7018898"><p>Hey all! Ben Riggs, author of Slaying the Dragon here!</p><p></p><p>First off, Bruce Heard is an RPG legend. I'm flattered to even be in dialog with him.</p><p>Second, yep, my source for those sales numbers is anonymous. Which does bring up a fair question. How do I know those numbers are legit?</p><p>Well, because I not just interviewed dozens of TSR and WoTC alumni, but then sent my book to them for fact-checking before publication. People who were fine with the numbers included at least three TSR vice-presidents and the entire team that negotiated the sale of TSR except for Lorraine Williams, who wouldn't talk to me. I would highlight among that group Lisa Stevens, current publisher of Paizo, who was tasked with doing the financial autopsy of TSR after the fact. Everyone was on-board with those sales numbers.</p><p>In addition, because I became known as the guy writing a book on TSR, other people started sending me primary source material. No one sent me anything as comprehensive as my first source, but I was able to cross-check some numbers. For example, I have two primary sources that document the FR campaign set in 1994. So given the fact that eyewitnesses and multiple primary source documents are in agreement, I feel confident in releasing these numbers to the wild. </p><p>Lastly, one of the serious flaws with TSR was the fact that creatives were not regularly informed of how their work was selling. (Author royalty statements would have sales numbers, but on the game side, royalties were not paid during the Williams era.) Sometimes designers would be told sales numbers, but that's it. </p><p>Now if Bruce has some printed-out sales numbers from back in the day, I'd love to see them, but memories are tricky things. I really wish he'd enabled comments on that BECMI post! </p><p>Be well everyone, and if you find this stuff interesting, consider buying my book!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BenRiggs, post: 8693106, member: 7018898"] Hey all! Ben Riggs, author of Slaying the Dragon here! First off, Bruce Heard is an RPG legend. I'm flattered to even be in dialog with him. Second, yep, my source for those sales numbers is anonymous. Which does bring up a fair question. How do I know those numbers are legit? Well, because I not just interviewed dozens of TSR and WoTC alumni, but then sent my book to them for fact-checking before publication. People who were fine with the numbers included at least three TSR vice-presidents and the entire team that negotiated the sale of TSR except for Lorraine Williams, who wouldn't talk to me. I would highlight among that group Lisa Stevens, current publisher of Paizo, who was tasked with doing the financial autopsy of TSR after the fact. Everyone was on-board with those sales numbers. In addition, because I became known as the guy writing a book on TSR, other people started sending me primary source material. No one sent me anything as comprehensive as my first source, but I was able to cross-check some numbers. For example, I have two primary sources that document the FR campaign set in 1994. So given the fact that eyewitnesses and multiple primary source documents are in agreement, I feel confident in releasing these numbers to the wild. Lastly, one of the serious flaws with TSR was the fact that creatives were not regularly informed of how their work was selling. (Author royalty statements would have sales numbers, but on the game side, royalties were not paid during the Williams era.) Sometimes designers would be told sales numbers, but that's it. Now if Bruce has some printed-out sales numbers from back in the day, I'd love to see them, but memories are tricky things. I really wish he'd enabled comments on that BECMI post! Be well everyone, and if you find this stuff interesting, consider buying my book! [/QUOTE]
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