[Hell for Leather RPG] Things You Gotta Do Before Printing

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

In 11 weeks, HfL is going to be launched but I haven't even spoken to a printers yet. What the fuck do I do now? Where do I start?

Using advice from a mix of sources, I intend to post a diary of the process. Starting today.

I hope that new publishers will benefit from the experience.

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear diary,

Last night I got in touch with Brennan Taylor from Indie Press Revolution (IPR) and asked if he'd like to view the Hell for Leather Teaser PDF.

As a European publisher, I need to figure out how to get into the U.S. So far, my strategy includes IPR—who vet all of their products. Before I get too steeped in printing and distribution, I've got to see how the land lies with them.

I also sent a non-disclosure agreement to OneBookShelf, the parent organisation behind Drive Thru RPG and RPG Now (for PDF distribution). If that goes according to plan, I'll be able to release promotional and release products with them by the middle of May.

Sebastian.

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

Today I got feedback from three important parties:

OneBookShelf
My application was accepted. I am now ready to publish PDFs through the RPG Now and Drive Thru RPG. I plan to use this to distribute the teaser PDF before release. OneBookShelf charge 45% off every sale which is forcing me to consider a $13.50 PDF. There's a lot of thinking left to do on pricing...

Anthony Rowe
These are the printers behind Lulu Europe (I've been told) and boy are they good. I got a quote for 50 books, 84 pages each at 5.5in x 8in on 80gsm white text stock with a 300gsm card stock, gloss laminate, full colour cover: €195 including the setup fee. My sales rep is awesome. He's knowledgeable, quick to respond, and up front with the facts.

Fidlar-Doubleday
For US distribution I've chosen to go with Fidlar-Doubleday. The quote for the same quantity of books on 60gsm paper comes in at $248 (€182). Again, the support from these guys is really fantastic. They offer promotional materials (sans setup fee) if you order them with the title. In this way I hope to get 50 double-sided letter sized Targets printed on card stock as a bundled promo offer (with the PDF).

****

Today I also learned that matte finishing on the front cover is probably a bad choice for dark colours (advised by Paul Bourne and Gregor Hutton).

And I ordered two samples of paper so that I can figure out which option will be suitable for Hell for Leather (Hi-Bright white vs. Readers Natural cream). I'll keep you posted.

Sebastian.

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

Today I finished the cover artwork for Hell for Leather and I found out that Fiddlar-Doubleday use U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2 as the ICC colour profile in their RIP. If you're using them to print, make sure you convert your CMYK images to that colour profile to get a good idea of how it will look on paper. For example, here are two versions of the cover:

Euroscale Coated v2
U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

Yesterday I got some paper samples from Anthony Rowe (aka CPI). I printed out a test page onto two kinds of paper. You can click on the link below for a look (sorry about the quality). The one on the left is their off-white option. I'd say it's around 50-60gsm. I was very tempted to choose off-white because I've always found high contrast pages difficult on the eye. However, you'll agree that the images degrade badly on the cream paper.

I did a little research. The reason the white paper does so well with printed images is to do with paper brightness. The paper is coated so that it reflects light better. This makes the blacks stronger and sharper. Also, the whiteness of the paper (different from brightness, which is all about reflected light), improves the natural contrast in tandem. Bammm. Punchy graphics.

So, having done my homework, I'm opting for 80gsm Hi-Bright coated text stock.

Sebastian.

Paper Comparison

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

Two days ago I posted the Hell for Leather Teaser to Drive Thru RPG. It has been downloaded 66 times.

If you're going to upload a file to DTRPG and you're worried about the automatic Flash preview feature (which displays the contents of your book on the product page), give the system 24 hours to recognise your PDF.

Sebastian.

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

Today I heard back from IPR. Hell for Leather has been approved, pending the signing of an SRA (Sales Representation Agreement).

I'm delighted!

Sebastian.

P.S. The Teaser has been downloaded 92 times (in eight days, I think). I don't know what that means, but maybe you can use this as a guideline when you release your own games, to retrospectively measure success/failure.

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

This morning I found out that IPR sell ISBN codes for $10.

Converting an ISBN into a barcode is easy and will help distributors sort their stock. Happy distributors = good policy.

I'm buying an ISBN from IPR.

Sebatian.

[Sebastian K. Hickey]

Dear Diary,

Today I found out that Anthony Rowe (CPI) in the UK use GRACol 2006 coated for their CMYK colour profile. I will almost certainly have to paint up another version of the cover to match their gamut.

Sebastian.