Hey folks, first foray into non-Game Chef posting!

Fall of Granada, my submission for Game Chef 2010, has been vastly improved and is at the printers as we speak!  I anticipate a release date later this month. 

I'm taking preorders (complete with PDF if you prepay)!

In 1492, Castilians and other Europeans destroyed the last of the Berber Muslim kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Granada. The ‘great’ Reconquista of Spain was complete. As the kingdom fell, many Muslims escaped. Some fled by sea, some by land. Now it’s your turn to play through their story. Pick from one of four archetypes and work your way through the deserts of Northern Africa, trying to reach the seat of friendly Muslim power in Cairo. You will forge ahead to find hope, but remember your past and seek revenge. Can you change history, or will the memory of doomed Granada be too much?

Hiya,

Two points to make here.

1. Sign me the fuck up. Please provide a link or something so people can get to you without posting here. Don't forget to check out Footsteps of the Prophet when you get the chance.

2. Posting in this forum should be discussion-based, rather than announcement-based. I'd like to know what you can tell us about your experiences as an independent designer and publisher.

I hope those two points together illustrate how Forge moderating can be a serious brain-buster sometimes.

Best, Ron

Wow, took forever for me to see this reply!  Sorry!  Also, bump I guess?

1) Hehe, sounds good.  http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/fall-of-granada/15835235  That's a link to the paperback, I think there's a pdf in there somewhere too.

2)  Sounds good.  Here's some food for thought:

Dear lord, publishing was a NIGHTMARE.  I went with a local, small publishing house in an effort to do what I like to do (support local business).  She went through a local printer...who completely dropped the ball, and screwed up the order ROYALLY.  I think she's taking him to court last I heard.

So....we ended up going through lulu, which actually works out alright since she IS a publisher, so they work as a printer rather than a printer/publisher.  However, I think the back is still messed up. 

Overall...it dimmed my enthusiasm a lot for publishing games in that it's the middle of July and I still haven't seen a hardcopy of my book, which is partly because I haven't met up with my publisher for a bit, I think.

Lessons learned: 
-Publishing can take a LONG time even if you don't need to change. 
-NEVER promise dates based on what your publisher thinks should be the case.  I'm going to let the store that did my preorders (Endgame in Oakland) have more of the profit than I had intended, simply because the 9 people that bought it have been stuck with a pdf for 4? months while this is getting sorted.  A bad way to begin any endeavor, but hey, this wasn't about making money, so that's ok.
-Keep a list of who gets your game early on!  I'm thinking about a second edition already that packs in some more history.  I thought I had enough, but I've heard enough comments that I think I may need more.  I intend to send those updates to the people who got them for free, or just have it as a free download on my website

I'm certainly going to be bringing out more games, I've put a lot of work into a few of them (15 Minutes and Rome) and been working on a short storyish about zombies, which may or may not end up being a game component. 

Also, working on Game Chef again, so that'll be fun!

I have a question! Why did you decide to go through a separate publisher at all? This isn't a gotcha question, I'm genuinely curious, especially as the printing solution you've arrived at is something that you could set up yourself.

Initially I went with another publisher because I didn't want to deal with a small-press printer and didn't want to deal with lulu, heh.

However, by having a registered publishing house work with lulu, I'm actually making more per book than I would have because lulu gives a discount to established publishing houses!

I had considered just going lulu at the beginning, and decided not to.  I think, I'm not sure, but I think that I'm happy with the outcome.