Diaspora softcover
So I’m not super happy with the Diaspora softcover and now understand why I was resisting it for a long time. Part of it is Lulu’s quality control on softcovers is not great — I just did a bunch of back and forth tweaking my source data only to discover that the variation at the printer’s side is greater than the variations I was submitting. This is very frustrating. So the cutting is inconsistent and because the cover is also cut, the cover positioning is also inconsistent. It’s not ghastly but it’s not up to the standards of the hardcover.
On the upside, the blacks are generally better because the cream paper colour is very forgiving. The reduced contrast is easier on the eyes and so it’s actually more pleasant to read. That’s nice to know, because softcover is the preferred format for our future work, so now I have an idea of its strengths and weaknesses at Lulu.
This opens up a lot of opportunities for us for various reasons — the margin we make on a softcover is about the same in absolute terms as the hardcover, but as a percentage of the cover price it’s quite a bit higher, which lets us make more attractive deals to vendors. That also lets us place in IPR and still hope to make a dollar or two (though not much more than two in many cases) which is probably a win, though I still haven’t heard a really convincing argument for it. The numbers look like less overall profit for an elevated risk and I’m just not hearing anyone shout the upside. Please, shout the upside. I guess it’s supposed to be obvious. It’s not.
The big actual advantage to getting this thing out the door, though, is that I can get on with the next priority item, which is the PDF. That at least is not controversial in terms of profit as it has no production costs after it’s released, so it’s intrinsically risk-free. I’d still like to make good on my promise that it will be useful, though, and so there is some layout work to get done to make it what I need it to be. Once that’s done there is another possibility which opens up that I can’t really talk about.
So that’s where we’re at. I’m probably still a little depressed from being sick and so I’m not as enthusiastic as I could be about the softcover, but honestly it feels like whoring. It just makes me want to get on with the next product where I can again pursue an artistic vision instead of fill an order. That probably means, as it will be softcover, it won’t be through Lulu.
–BMurray
Related Posts
- July 20, 2010 - The New Media
- March 31, 2010 - VSCA Q1 2010
- March 29, 2010 - The PDF so far
- December 1, 2009 - Ghosts in the machine
- October 26, 2009 - Successful Amateurization
- June 7, 2010 - Even better POD
- May 6, 2010 - Document as Application
- March 25, 2010 - Diaspora PDF
- February 15, 2010 - VSCA new updates
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7 Comments
17:33
Thanks man. :D
17:48
You’re welcome!
Also, I just bought, downloaded, and read the first half of Deluge, and it’s even more awesome than I expected. I’d thought, going in, “How can he say more? I mean, the two or three posts on the setting seems about all that’s needed.” but no. Not even close. And as I just started an Apocalypse World (Vincent Baker’s (Dogs in the Vineyard) new — currently-unpublished — post-apocalypse game (lumpley.com/apocalypse)), I now totally wanna run it in a Deluge setting. All sorts of ideas. AW has this phenom that’s specifically not detailed called the Psychic Maelstrom, that the characters can “open their brains” to to get all sorts of information — good or bad — and I can’t help myself but think that the arrival of the angels spawned such a phenomenon.
I’m thinking I might shift the game from a pre-rain post-apoc to a post-rain, where 15 or 20 years after the “cataclysm”, it starts raining and never stops right around the ears of the player characters. Maybe after this storyline/set of characters, we’d jump 20 years into the future and play new characters in the same area, but this time, everything is covered in water, with islands instead of peaks.
Either way: My brain is mush from the rush.
Noah
p.s. I’m gonna toss this idea onto my blog, now that I think about it. It needs some work, but soooooooooooooon.
17:54
That’s a thrill to read, Noah, thank you! Honestly I haven’t been pushing Deluge because it was mostly an experiment, but I am proud of it and think it has all kinds of legs. So hearing someone thrilled about it is a great surprise on what’s otherwise been a bleak day. :D Thank you!
20:06
And now the softcover is available to buy, apparently. : D
20:06
oops: the URL didn’t come through:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/diaspora-softcover/8350081
21:51
The upside to IPR sales is coverage, really. More outlets mean you catch the people who strongly prefer (for whatever reason) one outlet over another. For myself, buying a handful of RPG books at once saves me shipping, and I often can’t find enough new RPGs on Lulu to make that work while I often can find enough new RPGs on IPR to make a good “batched” purchase.
Thinking of it that way, I’d say the question is less a matter of, “is the profit worth the hassle?” and more a matter of, “how much more mindshare does that slimmed margin buy me, and what is that worth?”
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Comments
- J B Bell on Getting back in the game :
Brad, you are such a cock. You've RUINED EVERYTHING. Sinc... - Ben on What would be in Highport? :
I love this idea. Makes me want an iPad even more.... - boulet on Getting back in the game :
Actually I gave it a second go and it flowed easily. I'd com... - walkerp on Grass, going to seed, and competition :
Oh and you too showed such promise. [dispatches ninja bears... - halfjack on Getting back in the game :
Thank you for the compliment! I apologize for the language -... - boulet on Getting back in the game :
Loved this piece man. Loved the jokes, loved the CPR method ... - halfjack on Grass, going to seed, and competition :
Even if you weren't, i am tired of his dirty hippie ways.... - clash bowley on Grass, going to seed, and competition :
If I had a lawn, I'd pump it full of chemicals just to piss ... - walkerp on Grass, going to seed, and competition :
The argument goes that short cut grass actually allows weeds... - halfjack on Grass, going to seed, and competition :
I'm not sure what that would accomplish, though it seems lik...
Brad is one author of Diaspora and is keenly interested in interesting things. The writing here, consequently, might vary widely as his focus flits from shiny to shiny.
A latecomer to VSCA, JB works as a systems administrator to support his severe bicycle-riding addiction. Designing games is an outgrowth of his inability to let well enough alone.
15:15
It’s gonna be okay, Brad. *hugs* Soon, you can choose a better softcover-provider, and they will make you happy, and you won’t hurt so much on the inside. Also, you won’t be sick, which will /actually/ not hurt you so much on the inside.
Noah