What next on the agenda for books.

[Ace]

I am just curious, what new books and/or PDF's  are being considered for Sorcerer.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Ace,

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you.

I am now in the phase when re-order is the big priority. In other words, if a retailer sells a copy or two of Sorcerer, will he re-order a copy from the distributor? Many good games have gone to stores, sold, but not been re-ordered, and thus became "dead" (in industry terms).

This means that if I print anything right now, I go into the red in a very big way, and would have to rely on two big Ifs: (1) that re-orders are happening with the first three books, and (2) that the retailers will order the fourth one too. Even if #1 happens, that doesn't mean #2 will.

That's why so many small publishers go out of print. Their first sales strips away their common sense and they forget that the retailers are going to take a while to decide whether the game is to "live" in the stores. They print a big wad of reprint and new material, going into the red to pay the printer and all the artists and so on. The result: a ton of supplements in their basement that no one's ever seen.

Now, I have a good solution: the mini-supplements. In addition to the five we've got, two more are approaching completion. I have some good ideas that I'd like to bring to the mini-supplements as well, specifically how to use demon concepts as a basis for scenario and setting design. The first one is called "Paragon" and might get released later this year; however, it's short and might have to wait on a couple of its partners.

Do I ever plan to make another print supplement? The answer is very much the same as it was last year, when people asked me if the original supplements would see print at all. The answer is, when and if it makes good business sense.

So: if Sorcerer and its two supplements become re-ordered at enough stores, then I will probably put out at least one supplement in early 2003. And I guarantee that you've never imagined anything like it in role-playing before.

Best,
Ron

P.S. I also plan to release Trollbabe as a PDF product by August.

[Jared A. Sorensen]

Suggestion: offer Trollbabe and Elfs as a bundled set. You gots some serious troll roleplaying (trollplaying!) and not-serious-at-all elves (er, elfs).

[Clay]

I'm seeing an interesting trend at my local store.  We're definitely developing a market for Sorcerer in Flint, in that the store can't keep Sorcerer on the shelves for more than about a week, which isn't a bad turn time for something ordered on a onesey-twosey basis.  Unfortunately, the manager doesn't use a pull system for reordering, i.e. he always replaces stock that he's sold.  Instead he just orders based on what makes the most noise at the cash register, which is obviously not small indie games.

One technique that I'm using to encourage him to keep the stuff in stock is making a point of special ordering Sorcerer and supplements.  That produces a very specific jar in his somewhat addled brain (the games manager is a friend) that says "oh year, people are asking for this, and plunking down cash."

So what's the consensus here?  Is this effective from the perspective of the game publisher?  Obviously, Ron makes more money when the sale comes directly to him via sorcerer-rpg.com (shameless plug).  But developing and maintaining a retail market presence, and expanding the audience beyond those who read internet gaming sites, requires that the game be visible in the retail marketplace to catch the impulse buyer who's looking for a new game.  I see it as a balance between the immediate profit of a web sale and the long term profit of a sustainable product line.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Clay,

As I said above, the priority of the moment is retail reorder. What you are describing in that store is the #1 death knell of the good small-press game. If you would, please send me contact information for the store owner or manager, whoever handles reorders.

To put it another way, direct sales are always good. But retail sales with reorder reinforcement are top priority right now.

Best,
Ron

[Ace]

Ron I will do what Ican to get another copy of Sorcerer on the shelves at my FLGS.

Thanks for the reply

On the bright side and much to my amazement the FLGS owner  did order a copy of Enter the Zombie (for Edens All Flesh Must be Eaten) and for this market thats down right amazing, so there is hope.