Hi all,

We're opening up the submissions for the Annual Gen Con EN World RPG Awards Monday, February 26th.  Now while I confess that the judges have yet to make any firm changes on categories or policies, we can assume that the categories will pretty much stay as is with only minor adjustments.

This year we've done away with the central shipping option.  Unfortunately last year the US Postal Service lost an entire box of submitted product sent out by our Submissions Coordinator to one of the judges, and we don't want to be responsible for ensuring the product gets out to all of the judges.

So anyhow, feel free to ask questinos here, and I can try to answer them!

One thing I always that was odd was the requirement to send a copy of a book to a judge who might already have that book. By way of suggestion, you should consider having each judge post a list of products they already own. The publisher would still have to submit the appropriate submission forms but could save some on shipping.

Denise wrote:
This year we've done away with the central shipping option.  Unfortunately last year the US Postal Service lost an entire box of submitted product sent out by our Submissions Coordinator to one of the judges, and we don't want to be responsible for ensuring the product gets out to all of the judges.

Denise, I'm thinking of submitting something on my website for the "Free Product" category.

It's partly in PHP, so I can't submit it on a CD, because it only runs on a server. Any ideas how I could I submit it? Could I just send the URL?

Graham

Sorry, just to clarify: by "something" I mean a web utility, not a downloadable product. I'd probably  submit it for Best Fan Site as well.

So, my question is: can you submit a website without having to load the whole thing on to a CD? Especially as PHP websites won't work once they're off the server?

Graham

Hi Denise,

Can you submits PDFs if that is all you are selling at the moment but are actual books necessary?  I probably don't qualify since I just started in 07 but I think other people may benefit from the answer>

Thanks,

Sean

So, this isn't so much a question as a request to change the way we do things, then, eh?  I'm hoping the purpose of this thread isn't derailed by such issues, but also don't want to come across as being inaccessible. I welcome any further comments, complaints and suggestions, especially via my email at denise@ennieawards.com.

So. 
Since we want to eliminate publishers communicating with judges about their submissions, it would be an administrative nightmare to try and determine which products each judge has. 
Also, judges give up hundreds of hours of their free time to evaluate each product, taking off weeks off work to do so, so the prospects of some free product is a small consolation for them.  And if the judges already own a copy of said product, quite often it ends up in the pile of product used to auction off to help cover costs or donated to our countless volunteers.

What it comes down to really, is publisher submissions support the ENnies.  If you (and I don't mean you, specifically, Justin) don't want to support the ENnies with the small cost of shipping six copies of product, that's a shame. 

Justin wrote:
One thing I always that was odd was the requirement to send a copy of a book to a judge who might already have that book. By way of suggestion, you should consider having each judge post a list of products they already own. The publisher would still have to submit the appropriate submission forms but could save some on shipping.

Yep, six individual shipments, please and thank you.  For your convenience, we offer the choice of shipping the 6th copy either direcetly to myself (in Canada) or to my designate, Chris, in Columbus so you don't have to deal with international shipping.

As for other materials, simply download the form off the ENnies site's Publishers page, fill it out and fax it to me OR send me an email with all the relevant details.  Just be certain to ship whatever Joe or Jane consumer would receive in the store, so if your book comes with a map, chips, special dice, etc, make sure they go out, too!

iago wrote:

So in short, we should be budgeting for 5 or 6 individual shipments instead of (the potential cost savings of) a single shipment, yes?

What sorts of materials need to be provided along with the product?  I'm asking because it's likely I'll ask IPR to ship out the product rather than doing it myself, but that'd be a just-the-books shipment, no "necessary included materials" gig.

So long as you fill out the paperwork, a link to your site for the Free Product/Web Enhancement category should suffice.  Just email me the particulars, and I'll forward it to the judges.

Also, if it is a utility, you might consider entering it under software as well.

Graham wrote:
Denise, I'm thinking of submitting something on my website for the "Free Product" category.

It's partly in PHP, so I can't submit it on a CD, because it only runs on a server. Any ideas how I could I submit it? Could I just send the URL?

Graham

sean2099 wrote:
Hi Denise,

Can you submits PDFs if that is all you are selling at the moment but are actual books necessary?  I probably don't qualify since I just started in 07 but I think other people may benefit from the answer>

Thanks,

Sean

Denise wrote:
What it comes down to really, is publisher submissions support the ENnies.  If you (and I don't mean you, specifically, Justin) don't want to support the ENnies with the small cost of shipping six copies of product, that's a shame.

iago wrote:
But moving on-- Denise, thanks for answering my question about the separate shipments.  I have a follow up question: when are we gonna get the shipping addresses for the six judges? I've been checking http://www.ennieawards.com/publishers.html every few days, and despite it proclaiming that submissions are open, there's no info there as far as where to send product.

Denise wrote: What it comes down to really, is publisher submissions support the ENnies.  If you (and I don't mean you, specifically, Justin) don't want to support the ENnies with the small cost of shipping six copies of product, that's a shame.

If it's any consolation, I only uploaded the entry form this afternoon, it's not like you were searching the site for the past week and were too blind to find it!

iago wrote:
Aha, discovery!

The ENTRY FORM PDF contains the shipping addresses.  I had no idea that this was the case from reading other parts of the site... but now that I've made that discovery, ha-ha!  Time to get cracking!

Jonathan, I'm having a hard time understanding your issue about there not being a category for your product.  Does it contain RPG material?  Does it contain art, rules, writing?  If so, then there are categories for you.  Check out the publishers page of the ENnies for a complete listing.

As for calling the shame thing, you seem to have misread my post.  When I said it would be a shame about someone not participating in the ENnies, I meant that it would be a disappointment that a publisher would not participate.  I didn't say it was a shameful act, I said it would be a shame.  Big difference there. 

Jonathan wrote:
Many indie publishers are in similar situations.  I realize you have a lot of craziness going on and coordinating all of this is a big mess, but calling down shame on some publishers for "not wanting to support the ENies" is not really accurate and, honestly, rather hurtful.

If you have a question about the entry process, I certainly welcome it.  But now is not the time for discussion on how to run the ENnies.  I've asked for contributions and opinions before and took them into consideration.  The next time I ask for input (which will most likely be just after Gen Con), I will gladly entertain public discussion.  Of course, you are always welcome to email me with your concerns, complaints, and compliments.  I may even respond to them.  They will be read and discussed, and filed in our Suggestion Box (OK, it's actually just a folder in ENnies directory, but I track them all).

Trust me guys, having run my own business, I know what it's like to eat mustard sandwiches.  I know it's tough.  But I can also say that an ENnie nomination can mean a lot.  I don't like to promote the marketing aspect of the Awards, because that's not what they're about. They're not an advertising tool. But many publishers (especially e-publishers) credit their success - or at least a spike in sales - to their ENnie nomination.  Thousands of people had never heard of Burning Wheel, Capes or Dread until their nomination and the buzz created thereby. 

I've explained my reasons for why things are and why they shall remain thus.  Those reasons are not changing anytime soon.  If Indie publishers are to be judged by the same standards as all other publishers, big and small, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect them to have to make the same sacrifices as everyone else.  I've tried to be inclusive and sensitive, and seriously, if you can come up with a way in which we can make it easier for y'all to enter while still respecting the limitations/reasons I already expressed (basically, free product is the lubricant that keeps the ENnies machinery in motion, and also the need to distance the publishers from the judges), I welcome email and PMs. 

Do a cost/benefit analysis.  And if you can't afford to make the investment, maybe your fans can.  I definitely heartily encourage all to look into options on shipping- perhaps combining your efforts with someone else who might be local to you, or asking if IPR can do a bulk mailing (though I'd stay away from media mail- we need the stuff by June 1st!).  If your product is available as a PDF, then submit it on CD, that'll save you lots of money! 

If you're not planning on entering because you cannot afford to spare six copies, then I'm sorry to hear it.  I get it.  Life's rough (and not just for small or indie publishers). 

But my final word on the subject is, if you want to play in this particular game, the process (I almost wrote "social contract", but thought it'd be too cliché) for all players -big or small, indie or not - starts with your investment in the production cost of six books (or whatever else you're sending in) and their postage.  If that's not acceptable to you, I respect your choice not to participate, and heartily encourage you to find another game in which to play, or to generate one of your own- and to let those of us still playing to get on with it.

If you have anything else to say on this particular subject (apart from an apology, perhaps), PM me.

While it should be obvious, it perhaps is a good time to make explicit that every indie publisher is their own individual with their own opinions and own set of values that they bring to their endeavor.  Its good to remember that the opinions expressed here are those of their author (who are completely entitled to hold them) but are not necessarily representative of anyone else...or even of a majority of indie-publishers.

For me, I've got zero problem with the expense of the Ennies being a barrier to entry for some.  Its a filter, no worse than any other filter.  In some ways its better because it allows publishers to self select based on what's important to them.

There's not a single person on this forum who can afford a broad band connection but can't afford $100* in shipping charges.  Its a simple question of which is more important, entering the Ennies or whatever else you can buy with that $100.  So what if that $100 represents a tiny fraction of your profits or 1/2 of everything you've ever made.  $100 is $100...its 5 movies with a date, its 18 McDonald's Value Meals, its 10 months of Net Flix, its 3 best seller hard cover books at Barnes & Noble...or its the price of entering the Ennies.  Do the math, make the choice.

I fully understand that there is a time and a place for encouraging and accepting and considering suggestions, and there is a time and a place for laying out how it is -- take it or leave it.  With any endeavor there comes a point where the organizer has to cut off debate and move on or else the project goes no where.  That the Ennies is at that point is entirely reasonable.

I hesitate to speak for others, but I think its pretty safe to say that we are all impressed, grateful, and (for me at least) frankly surprised by the lengths you've gone to to accomodate indie publishers already.

Thanks, it is appreciated.

*effectively less than $100 once tax deductions are accounted for.

Denise, I apologize for misreading your post.

Like, Ralph, I do really appreciate the degree to which you've reached out to indie publishers and I wasn't trying to argue for additional exceptions or anything of that sort.  I realize that things are the way they are, at least for this year.

Competing in the ENies may not be the best use of my resources this year and that's fine.  Hopefully in the future.

Just in case anyone was wondering:

-If you don't want to fill in the entry form and fax it or scan it, you're welcome to simply email me the information in a text file.  Just make sure that I know the product name and in which categories it's entered, and that I have complete and accurate contact information for you.  That way, if it's nominated, I can get more info for the web site, invitations, and promotional materials.

-If you do fill in the form, you don't need to send me the first page (the one with all the category descriptions).  Just send me your company profile section and your choice of either the short or long product info form.  The long form was there so that if publishers wanted to list all their contributors, or detail revisions, or include a haiku or self-portrait (not that the two latter would make any difference other than making me smile), but for most people, the short form should suffice.

-The 25 character title name is so that if you win, we can fit your name on the trophy or medal (but I'm not even certain if I'm going to individually engrave the medals this year or not- it's an added expense and PITA)

-All products will automatically be entered into the big umbrella (Best Game, Best d20 Product, Best Electronci Product, Product of the Year) as appropriate.  That's why there's no check boxes on the entry form for those categories.

For the record, I think "The comp copies are essentially part of the judges' compensation" is a perfectly valid explanation for sending them to all judges even if they already own them. That reason hadn't occurred to me.

I just have to say how excited I am to see the list of incoming Indie product!  What's driving me crazy is I won't see most of the 6th pile stuff until I drive to my friend Chris' place in July for Origins!

Please keep it coming, it does my heart good to see such a favourable response from names I've seen on The Forge!