How to advise someone from a Different Industry

[Michael Hopcroft]

I got an e-mail over the weekend from a very famous computer game maker. I will not give his name here out of respect for his privacy. Anyway, he was interested in the RPG potential for his product line as he is already interested in subsidiary marketing in whatever means he can manage.

I was very honored that he came to me, but I knew right away that I was not the publisher he was looking for. I gave him a brief rundown of the RPG busienss as I knew it, while respectfulyl bowing out of making any commitments myself. I feel I could have made a lot of money if I'd done the sort of thing he was looking for, but the costs woiuld have been prohibitive for my company.

I told him what I knew, but I also admitted there were gaps in my knowledge. Above all, I advised him not to take on the sort of work that would take attention away from his core businesses, and punblishing an RPG himself would certainly do that. Plus thjere isn;t that much money to be made in tabletop RPGs in comparison to the money he was already having on computers and consoles.

But, in case I decide to write him again and expand upon my remarks, what is the stadard printing costs these days for a 5,000 copy run of a 192-page, glossy hardgcover? And what sort of publishign company would a publisher like the gentlman I am talking to be able to approach who would be open to publishing a new licensed game at that level of presentation (which is what i feel the property deserves IMHO)?

My lack of a telepathic link to the industry;s pulse is never more evident than now....

[Clay]

Michael,

Most publishing companies will do quotes for free, since they're in a very competitive business.  The trick would be to get the quote from a company that you trust to do the job well.  The company that did the Sorcerer books did a very good job, and I've always thought that Chaosium's books were beautifully printed and bound (quite possibly by the same printer that Ron used for Sorcerer).  Check those two sources if you don't have a printer you use already.

[Ron Edwards]

Hi Michael,

Point #1: It's not your job to do another company's research for them.

Point #2: There's a big list of printers at the Wizard's Attic website, with tons of contact information.

Point #3: All printers will provide an estimate of their current costs for a given job for free. Just call or email, tell them what you want, and you get a quote.

Putting #1-3 together, my advice to you is this: inform the other fellow of #3, provide the link to #2, and be done.

Best,
Ron