Now What??? Questions for PDF Publishers

[KeithBVaughn]

I've finally finished writing my game: "Planets of Peril." Now I want to get it into shape to sell as a pdf and I find myself with more questions than answers. I'm asking some more experienced PDF publishers for some advice.

First some of the things I'm up against. The finished version is 172 pages long. This will probably expand to near 200 pages with blank forms and artwork. Is this too long for a PDF? The game consists of 5 books or subsections: Introduction, Players, Warlord (GM), Zardoon, Moon of Mysteries; Superscience and Artifacts plus TOC, Index, Quick Tables and a starting adventure.

What is the practical limit for PDF size in megabites?

For artwork, what type of ratio do you use? One piece per facing page, per four pages, very rarely or just the cover? What seems to work?

What type of format and DPI should I use for the pictures?

Again on artwork, is black and white pencil,  pen & ink or monochromatic desirable or go for full color paintings (I can do art so I can do either, it's simply time for me)?

What would a reasonable price for a 200 page RPG in PDF (full size pages) be? I haven't found a formula to figure this out. Since this has been a labor of love, I know I will never get the time back in revenue but there is also the thing of selling it too cheap where no purchaser will ever take it seriously.

Where do I put this up for sale?

How do I market it so people know about it?

Thanks in Advance,
Keith

[Jake Richmond]

I've finally finished writing my game: "Planets of Peril."

Congrats!

The finished version is 172 pages long. This will probably expand to near 200 pages with blank forms and artwork. Is this too long for a PDF?

I don't think it is, but there's definitely some people who would say it is. 200 pages is a lot to go through on your computer, or in a book, and a lot of pages to print. But if your game is any good then it shouldn't matter much.

For artwork, what type of ratio do you use? One piece per facing page, per four pages, very rarely or just the cover? What seems to work?

and...

Again on artwork, is black and white pencil,  pen & ink or monochromatic desirable or go for full color paintings (I can do art so I can do either, it's simply time for me)?

It's your game, so I would suggest doing whatever you think best serves it. That being said, it seems to me like art is less of a must have for a PDF then a print book. But really, it's up to you. If you think your book can benefit from a lot of art in whatever style then go for it. If the game NEEDS art to explain what some stuff looks like or how things work, then make sure you include that. If the art s just nothing but pretty pictures, you may not really need much or any besides a groovy cover.

What type of format and DPI should I use for the pictures?

300. If you want it to look good on the screen and printed out, I've found that 300 DPI is the way to go.

What would a reasonable price for a 200 page RPG in PDF (full size pages) be?

There's a lot of disagreement over this. I think the right answer is to ask yourself how much you want to sell you game for. If your game is any good then people will pay what you ask (assuming your asking price isn't insane).  I've seen PDFs of similar size sell for between $5 and $20 US. My own games (96 and 104 pages) sell for $10 each. No one has ever told me I'm charging too much.

Where do I put this up for sale?

The easiest way to sell your PDF is through DrivethruRPG/RPGNOW. You can also go with Your Games Now, e23, Lulu, IPR, Key20 and several other PDF sellers. In each case (except Lulu) there's an application process, and you may be turned away. But likely (if your game is any good) you'll get into most or all of these and be able to list your game on their site for sale. But in my mind going through a second party is only part of what you should be doing. I would strongly recommend having your own online store attached to a website that you can drive your customers to. Setting up an online store can be done easily using free shopping cart software, and you can handle all your transactions through paypal. Alternatively, you can use Lulu as your personal storefront. Check them out at Lulu.com.

As a side note, you could use Lulu to offer print versions of your PDf as well.

How do I market it so people know about it?

Well, I know about it now. Try posting some actual play reports here, or on Storgyames, RPG.net or any other forum you like. Don't be afrid to send out review copies to anyone you think might be willing to give you game the time of day. A good review is really, really worthwhile, and even a bad review will get you some worthwhile attention. If you have a blog or website, start directing people to it. Post about your game on your blog/site regularly. Include any cool art or excerpts from your game. You should also create a free tryout version of your game and make it available on your site.

That's just off the top of my head. Search this forum to find all kinds of cool ideas for marketing your game.

Good luck

Jake

[xenopulse]

Congratulations on finishing it.

As a first bit of advice, just because you're done with your side of the writing doesn't mean the process of finishing it is done   I'm assuming you've already done this, but it's in your best interest to have at least two other people with high attention to detail read through your final manuscript. If possible they should be people who haven't read any of the previous versions and need to learn the whole game just from your final draft.  This is a good point at which to do "blind" playtests, i.e., people playing the game without any input from you other than the manuscript.

So assuming the game is actually all finished and we're just talking about laying it out, publishing it, and marketing it, here are my thoughts.

I personally like PDFs to be no bigger than 10MB; some of the retailers Jake mentions have such a restriction in place, I believe.  I've bought much larger PDFs (say, Mutants&Masterminds 2e), but I also have a 15MBit fiberoptic connection at home.

In our game, we have about ten pieces of scene art plus 15 tattoo designs for 150 pages of game.  It's not nearly as much art as in many other products, but it's very specifically tailored to the game and as such works great. So think not only about quantity here, but also about quality and about focusing specifically on what the art is supposed to do for your game. At its best, interior illustration is not just about filling pages with fluffy pictures; it adds to the play experience by giving atmosphere and detail to the setting. That also applies to whether to do b&w or full color. For our book, luckily, b&w inkwash proved to be better than other styles/color.

As Jake says, 300 DPI is good. Not too large megabyte-wise, and many PODs don't even print better than that.

The pricing depends on what kind of customer base you are looking at. Personally, I wouldn't charge more than $10 for a PDF at this time, because I want to have as many people playing the game as possible (that's really more important than the profit). But I couldn't charge less, either, because I had to make back the investment in art and layout. And I believe it's a fair price; I actually consider it (and the print price of $20) a bit low. But again, it matters more to me that more people get to try out the game.

Marketing. Well, you can put up a promo on rpg.net, but few people ever read those. The best ways to promote your game are to get reviews, to have people play the game and write about it, and to be active in the community.

Reviews require that you send free copies to reviewers. Look around and see who reviews games that are in the same genre, publication style, etc. as yours. Contact them nicely and offer a free PDF.

Getting people to play and write about the game can be done in several ways. You can find your own play groups, run demos at conventions, have a forum for people who bought the game, and so on.

Finally, community presence. Part of that is what you're doing here. Part of it is what I'm doing. I would write this all up for you even if I didn't have my own game published (I've been an active member here for a very long time), so 95% of the reason for this post is helpfulness. But 5% is being a presence; maybe you'll check out my game now, maybe someone else following the thread will. That's a win-win situation for everybody

Good luck with your game!

[KeithBVaughn]

Xenopulse and Jake,

Thanks for the replys. They answer some of the questions I have and I'm sure I'll come across more questions as I delve further into publishing. I'll be sure to bring those new questions up to the board as I come across them. Plus any of my experiences that I think may help others.

Anyone else out there with some thoughts?

Keith

[GMSkarka]

This will probably expand to near 200 pages with blank forms and artwork. Is this too long for a PDF?

Not really.  There are two types of product -- one is the electronic format book, which can be as long as the print book, as it appears that customers don't mind.   The other is what I refer to as the "ala carte magazine article" -- a short PDF (shorter than you'd be able to print commercially), priced as an "impulse purchase."   These sell well -- but generally speaking, if  you're talking about a complete game, it's best to release the game in whole format, and then do short support products.

What is the practical limit for PDF size in megabites?

I've topped out in the 50-something MB range (for products where I've combined mp4 video and PDFs together), and had no complaints from customers.

For artwork, what type of ratio do you use?

I try, whenever possible, to do one piece of art for every 4 pages -- but make sure that every page is graphically interesting, even if there are no pictures as such.

What type of format and DPI should I use for the pictures?

You can go as low as 150 if the product is intended for print-out on a home printer.   300 is better, obviously.

Again on artwork, is black and white pencil,  pen & ink or monochromatic desirable or go for full color paintings (I can do art so I can do either, it's simply time for me)?

I've done color products, and I've done greyscale -- there's been no discernable effect on sales either way.   Go with what you think works best for the presentation of your game.

What would a reasonable price for a 200 page RPG in PDF (full size pages) be?

PDFs have been traditionally underpriced.   The simple fact of the matter is that consumers ARE prepared to pay close to print prices for a full-length PDF.    For example -- when I released MARS (a 256-page rulebook), I decided to price the PDF at a level that I thought was way too high:  $24.95.     The reason I did this was to drive sales of the Print-On-Demand version -- to make the consumer say "well, for only X more I can get it as a regular book, and get a copy of the PDF included for free."       I also did a hardcover version, which was a bit more expensive than the softcover, for the same reason.

What I was amazed to discover:   We sold way more hardcovers than softcovers......and even more surprising:  We have sold more PDFs than softcovers.    People are willing to pay 25 bucks for a 256-page PDF.    I was shocked.    Still am.    (And it's still selling, steadily.)

Where do I put this up for sale?

OneBookShelf, Inc (who operate RPGNow and DriveThruRPG) have 80 to 90 % of the market locked down.   Go with them.     I had several other smaller sales sites approach me at GenCon, and I was shocked to learn that the total monthly income from their entire site is about the same as what my single company makes in a month selling at RPGNow and DTRPG, so I'm just sticking where I am.    Given those numbers, it makes no sense for me to even bother uploading my products elsewhere.

How do I market it so people know about it?

Well, you've already started.    Talking about your game on forums is obviously a start.      Selling through RPGNow/DTRPG, you'll also have access to publisher tools, such as banner ads that run on RPGNet, ENWorld, etc.

[Ron Edwards]

Keith,

Venues for PDF are proliferating far and wide ... Lulu sells PDFs, for instance, and so does IPR. The question is to pick a site which promotes it to your intended audience. As for whether RPGNow or similar services are better, you'll have to look at the various deals and sites to make your own choice.

Other publishers who've tried different venues for PDFs, any hard information you can provide would be wonderful to have available here. All my PDFs are sold right from my own site, so I'm not a good data source for that.

Best, Ron

[KeithBVaughn]

Thanks GMS and Ron,

The more information I have, the fewer blind alleys I have to explore. I am looking at offering the game at $20-$25 due to the time involved and what I think the value Planets of Peril has to offer to the gamer.

The game was written for older gamers who are returning after raising kids or pursuing careers and want to enjoy some things of their youth. I envision the audience as people who read and enjoyed Edgar Rice Burroughs, Lin Carter, OA Kline and Leigh Brakett with her John Eric Stark Adventures. Since I knew their greatest obstacle to gaming was time--especially that of the Game Master--I designed the game to have a 1:1 ratio of planning time to play time. I also designed the system so on-the-fly decisions were easy to do.

The intended audience is my biggest weakness too as they are a very diffuse group. I expect it to grow in years to come but getting the word out now is...challenging. I'll keep posting as questions come up and pass on what I discover.

Again, thanks and anyone else who wants to chime in, please do.

Keith

[Clay]

I haven't brought a game to market, but I do sell a couple of download products.  If you want to have your own online store in addition to a place like Drivethru RPG I found the Drupal e-commerce system to be extremely easy to use (http://www.drupal.org) with PayPal.  A lot of ISPs include Drupal as part of their hosting package.  I've been using a local company for my hosting and I've been very happy with their service: http://www.idealso.com.  They just launched a service that gives you a Drupal setup in very short order at http://www.0dayweb.com. 

By way of full disclosure, in addition to being friends with these guys I work for them part time in a different division.  But I work for them because I liked the service they provide, not the other way around.