What qualities do you associate with EN Publishing

[Morrus]

Assuming you are reading this, it's likely that you either are or are thinking of becoming a customer of EN Publishing.

How do you perceive EN Publishing in relation to the rest of the RPG e-publishing industry? In this poll, I've listed a few things which we'd like to be known for (whether or not we have got there is another matter - this is a "wish list" from the owners of the company). Please let us know which, if any, of the list you feel we have achieved.

Thanks, folks!

 

[Vaxalon]

On all but one count, "Not particularly."

Market leader: I think of Monte Cook and Malhavoc press.
Hiqh quality: Not consistently enough.
Good, friendly staff: Never met them personally.
Innovative: Yes.
Reliable and honest: Honest, yes, reliable, no.
Diverse range: Not any more than, for example, Bastion.

 

[Planesdragon]

You should have included a "I don't feel that you are any of those things" option.

As is, I'll go for "innovative."

 

[RangerWickett]

Yeah, Russ really didn't make this unbiased. We needed a poll of some sort, true, but Russ could've done something that wasn't so blatantly weighted in our favor. It's like asking, "Do you A) like the dictator, or B) think Godzilla is your next door neighbor?" Most people would pick A.

I personally think we're /fairly/ innovative, but we don't have enough of a presence online. I swear, if I could, I would make sure there were sample chapters up for every book we sell, and we'd have regular, official web enhancements. But it's hard to do that kind of stuff alone, y'know?

 

[Capellan]

Market leader: in terms of sales, this at least I have to give you.
Hiqh quality: Not consistently. Steam and Steel is great. Gnomes: Masters of Illusion is not.
Good, friendly staff: Not unfriendly, but don't know them well enough to say more.
Innovative: enough that I ticked it, though I was including some of the pre-EN Pub Ambient products in the analysis.
Reliable and honest: Honest, yes, reliable, no.
Diverse range: Not a big enough range to be diverse, yet.

 

[RangerWickett]

Just curious why people feel we're not reliable. I'll be the first to admit that our schedule is haphazard, but what would you expect from a company for it to count as 'reliable'?

 

[Capellan]

Remember, you asked

To be "reliable", a publisher should:

* respond to e-mails, PMs and posts on their message boards promptly and accurately. My personal experience with ENPub has been that responses come only after repeated prodding, and extensive delays. If at all.

* clearly establish a release schedule, stick to it as much as possible, and proactively report delays. This means not announcing products that don't show up for months and months (EN Arsenal, anyone?)

* establish and maintain at least some level of content checking. There have been some grossly misbalanced feats, spells and prestige classes in EN Pub works (Dark Quest Games are primarily responsible) - and I'm talking misbalanced to the point that even a casual read-through makes them obvious

That ought to do for a start.

 

[RangerWickett]

Remember, you asked

Indeed I did. Thank you, David, for your candor. I'll see what I can do to address these issues.