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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 2610296" data-attributes="member: 3285">I agree with Dr. Harry here: WOTC has the lion's share of the bookstore distribution channel. I know, I hunt for third-party books all the time with limited success.  Borders has almost exclusively WOTC and White Wolf, with the occasional Green Ronin stuff thrown in.My experience with Monkey God's demise has taught me this: quality, originality, etc. only gets you so far.  The rest is distribution.Exactly how a distribution channel is established is a complete mystery to me, though I have some theories.  It seems largely to do with access, personal contacts, and the ability to consistently prove your product will sell.  Bookstores aren't interested in hearing how great your campaign setting is.  They're not going to risk shelf-space on a product that doesn't sell.The theory that there's all this D20 stuff floating around for consumers to pick up stems from the biased perspective of savvy Internet purchasers.  Not everyone knows to look for gaming material online, where a D20 book has the same shot at being purchased as any WOTC book.   This is why Sword & Sorcery Studios distributes so much material on behalf of other companies (e.g., Necromancer Games). In essence, they're leveraging White Wolf's distribution muscle to bookstores.  One does not just jump into WOTC's shoes.  There are commitments, including the risk of having all your material pulled off the shelf if it doesn't sell and RETURNED TO YOU, that smaller companies just couldn't feasibly make.</blockquote>

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