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Who on this board has self-published material before? Who has acted in an editorial or production capacity for a game publisher? Care to share your experiences?
I've edited a few things for other publishers and edited other peoples' contributions to my projects. This is what I've seen:
Who on this board has self-published material before?
Collected wisdom. I'm reasonably comfortable with the technical ins and outs of production as I used to work in that space at one point (although at that point bromide cameras and macs with 68k chips were still current tech).I have as Bat in the Attic Games.
What kind of advice you are looking for?
I think I can see where you're coming from - Would you care to discuss some specific examples of how this has worked for you?[ . . . ]
-Art is part of the world-building and artists should be brought on as early in the process as possible. before the writing in some cases.
I mean i'm the artist and writer on almost all my books so im not a good example, but when like Scrap Princess and Patrick Stuart work together often Scrap comes up with the art first and then PAtrick tries to describe what the creatures are.I think I can see where you're coming from - Would you care to discuss some specific examples of how this has worked for you?
You like to type, have your own ideas and are doing layout by yourself. Have you considered getting a partner with good advertising skills?I've published a few things for fun and continue to do so and keep learning along the way. I do everything by myself (write, mapping, layout), but also collaborate with some friends (new and old) who usually help with the writing, ideas, and editing. It can be a lot of work....I say 'can be' because I don't really consider all of it work. In fact, sometimes I find it more fun to create them instead of playing the actual game! I enjoy getting all these ideas out of my head and typed up, but I also discovered a new pleasure--- learning how to do layout. I'm still a beginner, but looking back at my first few pieces of work, I feel like I have been steadily improving as I learn. I like doing layout so much that instead of waiting on my partners to finish their 'to do' lists, I bust out monthly 15+ page (biggest was 50+) adventures on a patreon...just so I can look for art and do layout. Sick, right?
I think the only thing I hate about the publishing gig is the advertising part. I suck at it, it makes me feel dumb, and I hate it...did I mention I hate it? So I'm actually considering to not advertise anymore because I do this for fun...and that's not fun.....and I hate it.
I'm still learning and may have bad advice (lol, but not on purpose), but happy to help anyone who might have questions or is struggling with something. I consider myself more a collaborator than a competitor.
A good thought, but then I would have to advertise that I'm looking for a good advertiser....it's a vicious circle..can never get away from it...You like to type, have your own ideas and are doing layout by yourself. Have you considered getting a partner with good advertising skills?
Only once!A good thought, but then I would have to advertise that I'm looking for a good advertiser....
I'm not a publisher of any kind but I could see publishing one and trying to drive it up the drivethrurpg ranks so it gets noticed before publishing more. Seems like you could end up being your own competition for attention putting them all out at once.I have a question for you self-publishers (let me know if I should move this to a new thread): I have created four editions of the same adventure for four different game systems (DCC, 5e, LotFP, and my own system). Should I release them all at once, or should I stagger them? I'm leaning towards the former, but someone advised the latter, so I want to hear what more experienced people say.
I have a question for you self-publishers (let me know if I should move this to a new thread): I have created four editions of the same adventure for four different game systems (DCC, 5e, LotFP, and my own system). Should I release them all at once, or should I stagger them? I'm leaning towards the former, but someone advised the latter, so I want to hear what more experienced people say.
I was thinking of leading off with DCC just because I thought a 5e product could get lost in the constant flood. You don't think that's a danger?I'd probably release one a month...and would start with the most popular system (5e?) cause when you re-release it, people will remember the cover if they were interested or put it in their wishlist and forgot about it.
I would definitely expect that to be the case, if I can capture anyone's attention for more than a second.I recall a blog post where an OSR adventure designer noted that his 5e versions far outsold his LL versions so take that as you will.
That's my initial instinct but I don't have enough experience to trust my instincts for this.Should he start with 5E? I was kind of thinking an OSR system first to build buzz and have a smaller community get excited.
That's a terrific post, and a lot of it looks like it will apply once I've been on DTR for a month or so and accumulated some PPP. So I'm definitely going to go over in more detail. The fact that it sounds like some of these tools come online after a month or so is an argument for greater staggering.
I think Bryce and PrinceofNothing know that they're going to hear from me once I put this out; I've corresponded a little with them both. Prince gave me a little feedback which was quite useful even though he got only a third of the way in so far as I last heard. And even though he hasn't seen this yet, I already know that Bryce will take me to task for the length. What can I say? It's warranted.I’d also suggest sending a pdf or physical copy to B bryce0lynch for review if it is OSR as he is the best known online reviewer for that niche.
Thanks! That all sounds like solid advice, and I will heed it.If you don't plan to do a kickstarter, and dont have any PPP...then getting a review from Bryce and Prince will be your lifeblood. Getting a review from them is like having your adventure put on the front page of Drivethru again...especially if it gets a good review. I'd consider reaching out to Melan too.There is also a list of reviewers on MeWe: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17M0QSXF1taslfVFe8JGI68S6-csIVOwInUg6TMzb_to/edit?usp=sharing
There is also bundles with other publishers. I've never been approached or have asked anyone to do a bundle, and not sure how it all works, but I'm sure donating an adventure to a bundle for a good cause--you can get on more email lists...or bundling with another publisher for profit may be a good way to expand your audience.
Finally--release your adventure during the weekday and not the weekend. Picked that up from Bryce's boards.
Funny you should ask...Lark Fantasy just went live!What's your own system Edgewise?
Funny you should ask...Lark Fantasy just went live!
Beyond releasing my adventure for that ruleset, I have no long term plans as of yet. But if and when I put out other fantasy content, it will appear for Lark Fantasy among others.Cool. I look forward to checking it out. Do you intend to support it?