Happy Adept news

[Ron Edwards]

Happy news #1
At long last, all my books are currently available as PDFs, and the print versions are now wholly handled by my printer, POD, postage paid by the customer. International customers please note that it will be less expensive for you to buy the PDF and take the print-ready file to a local printer to make your shiny new book.

So from now on, all the money that comes my way for my books, is my money alone and I can rub it all over my body when no one's looking.

Happy news #2
Shahida has been laid out, and is in the final stages of getting the graphics properly done - which is a bit of a pain, actually. Plus it would be criminal not to have an index, and I think that will be a heroic task. But! It's still good news because now the jobs are all about refining the essentially-finished object.

Happy news #3
The S/Lay w/Me gallery is taking off! Two artists' work is currently visible and there's a mutant's handful of others who are working on stuff, or deciding which file to work with. I'm a bit ahead of the game in seeing the social/connections side before the work actually appears, so am perhaps more enthusiastic than might seem justified, but what I'm seeing is very encouraging. Some artists fall all over themselves when they see stuff like "only her Monster self remains, her jaw ripped off, commanding bat demons."

I'm looking forward to the visual tipping-point when someone visits and sees a wall of art, and says, "Hey, my game's story could go up here," or "Hey, that is totally my kind of stuff to draw," or both. If and when that happens, I think I'll put a donate button on that page.

Happy news #4
Sorcerer books are winging their way all over the globe, and people are already cooing over them. I hope their little Twitter fingers fly about it.

Stuff under way
I'm revising the website, which never did get into very great shape anyway. It's not quite right yet, and I have a fair amount of text to contribute, but it's getting there. Its front page will be more dynamic and the whole thing will be more geared to doing and learning things.

Best, Ron

[KarlM]

Just to illustrate #3, my shiny new Sorcerer books arrived in Australia this week, so that's awesome.

Congratulations Ron on driving Adept Press through what seemed like a logistically difficult time, adapting to new modes of community building, getting really interesting games over the hurdle. You should be proud!

I'm really looking forward to the Spione-Shahida-Amerikka bundle/Google Hangout Kickstarter a couple years down the track ;)

[Ron Edwards]

Yes. Developing that particular line of publications and play is a big part of my goals for the next couple of years. You might already know that I'd ideally like to include a book on the Indochine resistance/revolution and another on the experience of Cubans in the wars of Africa in that series. I probably won't live long enough, though. I expect Amerikkka will take me another three-four years, and that's without unexpected hassles.

Best, Ron

[Tom]

Is the new Sorcerer book available already? I missed the Kickstarter, so I'll have to buy it the old fashioned way.

[Ron Edwards]

Now that the backers are all provided for, the public sales are here at last. Here's the big page of buying all things Adept: Buying things.

[kesher]

Just got 'em a couple of days ago in the mail! The books are sexy, and it's awesome to have all four of them in two volumes.

[Thunder_God]

Soon I'll have my copy too! :)

[Moreno R.]

Hi Ron!

I did notice that the printed versions of the two Sorcerer books are a $25 exactly like the pdfs. Seeing that the book sale include the pdf, it's an error or you are covering the printing costs for people that would be willing to pay the shipping costs?

(P.S.: the "Prewiew post" function of the forum seems to be broken...)

[Ron Edwards]

Hi,

It began as an error; I entered $25 when setting up the PDF sales only because I'd been thinking of nothing but that sum regarding these books for so long.

However, before I could consider correcting it, people started buying it. I thought, hey, why drop the price if people want it? Especially since each book is print-ready, which is frankly so much value added to a PDF product as to beggar the imagination - it's just that this insight hasn't really filtered into people's understanding yet.

So that's the price, and it's not changing. It's a good price. People seem to think so, too, especially after I explain to overseas customers that no, they can't "get the book for the same price." They'd be paying $50.00 U.S. more, in the new reality of shipping. What you say, "exactly like the PDFs," isn't true for anyone, not even here in the U.S.

I am not covering shipping for physical books at all, not one penny. I don't understand what you mean about printing cost. Nor do I understand what you mean about the physical book order including the PDF. Or rather, I understand that part, but I think it relies on a system of assessing value which is completely irrelevant.

Yes, if you and an American were standing at the same counter in the same store, and you paid $25 and only got a PDF, and the American paid $25 and got the book and PDF, that would be unfair. But that is not at all what is happening.

Please don't be stubborn and insist - I see what you're saying and I'm asking that you think again. I'm doing things a new way which makes more sense now, for everyone. With my way, the European pays a hell of a lot less for the book than if you got the American's deal.

Best, Ron

[Moreno R.]

Hi Ron!

Ehi, I have no intention of being "stubborn"!  (about what? I already have brought the physical copies with the Kickstarter offer, I have really no stake in the issue).

I asked because I thought it could be a mistake, and that it could cost you money! What money? The one I talked about when I talked about "printing costs"

Let's say that John Smith buys the pdf. You get $25 on the sale.
But if the same John Smith buy the physical book, you get S25, less the money you would have to pay to Publishers's Graphic to print the book.

I was not worried about the pdf costing "too much", I was worried that you had made an error writing the prices and that it could have cost you money (paying printing costs you didn't have to) but if you already counted that in the book price, OK, it's all right.

[Ron Edwards]

Oh! I guess I was unfairly anticipating objections that I was eagerly/angrily waiting to answer. Not a very nice behavior on my part, for which I apologize.

When I look over my whole line of books now, what I see is a little trio of possibilities: (i) the Sorcerer books are over-priced as PDFs, (ii) the other books are all under-priced as PDFs, or (iii) the physical Sorcerer books are under-priced.

I figure I'll be just as happy not knowing which is the true case as long as no one seems to mind.

Best, Ron

[Thunder_God]

Well, just writing to let you know I've received the books. I like them thus far, I guess you could see it when I say my biggest peeve thus far is the usage of the word "Appendixes".

And no, it's a real peeve.
You'll forgive my usage of the following smiley, right now, I am sure: :P

I hope I'll have a bit more time to read the books come September. My first vacation in about three years is coming.

[Ron Edwards]

Oh, you are so right. That's the biologist, ordinarily suppressed in my game writing, emerging with an anatomical gleam in his eye. When you and some other person are standing next to you, we biologists talk about your appendixes just as we talk about your thumbs. What that has to do with the special sections of text found at the end of works of prose, I have no idea.
Best, Ron