Pushing forward with the idea of improving Mini Six, I've started drafting up a plan for getting from here (the idea) to there (the finished book.)
This is a work-in-progress so I expect many ideas to change along the way.
I started by going to the publisher's resource page on DTRPG and using the function to email everyone who had ever downloaded Mini Six from their sites. (As an aside - I prefer calling it RPGNow instead of DriveThruRPG. Am I the only one?)
You may have received this short email, which explained that I'm considering a Kickstarter campaign forMini Six 2: Electric Boogaloo Mini Six Revised, and a link to a survey about fan interest. That survey included a long preamble, but only three multiple choice questions and one (optional) field.
1. Would you like to see a refreshed version of Mini Six?
2. Would you consider supporting a Kickstarter campaign for Mini Six Revised?
3. Format? Digest or Full Size?
4. The last question asked for the email address of those interested in being contacted when and if an Kickstarter happens.
RPGNow's system let me know that the email had been sent to about 2500 folks. I don't have anything to compare it to, but Mini Six was already old news when I first offered it on RPGNow, so I'm proud of that number. (I know that it has been downloaded over ten thousand times from my old server before that, but sadly, I have no way to contact those readers.)
I also reached out in very limited ways through Facebook (which I really don't use much) and Reddit. My social networking skills are very weak. This is an area I need to improve. Successful Kickstarter campaigns are usually run by shameless self-promoters.
Lots of you have figured out by now that I tend toward shyness and being reclusive. I'm not active in any online gaming forums aside from Reddit (where I'm not well known - look for mrzoink.) Lots of you are probably shy and quiet too. We understand each other.
Alright, 2500 folks got the invite for comment and as of this moment 171 of you have responded. That's pretty good news for the project - there is some audience. I realize that this would be a self selecting audience. Those who responded to my inquiry would be among those most interested in Mini Six.
I also now know that I may have inadvertently broken the terms of service for RPGNow's publisher email feature. It seems to prohibit linking to another site. That survey isn't on RPGNow's server so I apologize. Ignorance is no excuse, but I didn't know. I could swear that I've seen links to other publisher's websites when I've received those sorts of messages, but regardless, I won't repeat that action.
Results:
Of 171 respondents:
164 of you expressed interest in Mini Six Revised.
4 of you had reservations (regarding format or material.)
1 of you told me that you have no interest in Mini Six Revised.
The remainder did not answer the interest question.
71 readers said they would probably support a KS campaign.
68 readers said they might, but they would need to be sold on the idea.
27 readers said they might be interested in supporting the idea later (not through KS.)
3 of you expressed other concerns.
1 of you stuck with their story of having no interest in MIni Six Revised.
The remainder did not answer the Kickstarter question.
100 of you preferred the digest 6" by 9" format.
69 of you preferred traditional 8 1/2" by 11" format.
The remainder did not answer the format question.
About a dozen folks emailed me with further comment and advice. Thanks to everyone who sent me a message. I'm not going to copy every message here, but I may expand on a few points which came up in the survey and through email. If I failed to respond to anyone through email, I'm sorry. I think I got everyone.
Print on Demand versus Traditional Print:
Oh man, I love the feel and the smell of a book done right. I wish I could do a traditional print run, but there are several factors which make that an impossible dream for me. It's been about two years since I've looked into the numbers, but I doubt that Mini Six Revised will reach the economy of scale necessary to make this an affordable option. In the end, I expect Mini Six Revised to eventually sell more than a few hundred print copies but fewer than 1000 - but that's going to be over an extended period.
The smallest practical traditional print runs are in the low hundreds, but the prices are astronomical at this end of the pool. Then there's warehousing and shipping. I don't have a place to store them, so that's an additional expense, and shipping - I've been down that road before.
When we first made Mini Six, we offered it for sale through the mail. We sold through the first print run pretty quick (a month or two), then sold a print run of a few hundred more over the next six months or so. (I don't remember exactly, but I'm close enough.) Phil was able to store them at his place, and he took care of shipping on Saturday mornings. The only way to keep costs reasonable was to use the USPS for shipping. About a third of our customers were outside of the US, but most were right here in the continental US.
Some weeks we lost entire shipments. Of course our policy was to replace the books lost or damaged in shipment, but it was so many that when we finally sold the last of them we were happy to let it go out of print.
That experience has soured me on warehousing and shipping books.
In real life I work in receiving, which involves more shipping than the job description might imply. I'm familiar with the common failures of Fed Ex, UPS, USPS, LTL, and even courier. I just don't want to be involved in shipping physical books.
So money, warehousing, and shipping leave a traditional print run as something I can't and don't want to attain.
Digest vs "Full Size:"
I laid out the pros of each in the survey but in a nutshell it comes down to the following:
Digest Pro: Format renders better on most tablets.
Full Size Pro: Easier on those who want to print at home.
As many of you picked up on already, my preference is the digest size, and a clear majority of you agree. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's an overwhelming majority though.
I even received several messages pleading on behalf of the "full size" format. I recognize that for some folks the passion must run deep.
I'm nearly committed to the digest size for digital and print, but I'm considering a full size option as a stretch goal in a Kickstarter campaign or just pulling the trigger and offering both sizes up front.
The pro of this plan would be that it's the best of both worlds. The cons are that it complicates offering this on RPGNow in the future and that it means that there's twice the layout work. It may not be practical, but I'm pursuing the idea.
My next post will be showing you what I have in terms of planning for the actual campaign.
Estimated time until campaign launch: TBD
This is a work-in-progress so I expect many ideas to change along the way.
I started by going to the publisher's resource page on DTRPG and using the function to email everyone who had ever downloaded Mini Six from their sites. (As an aside - I prefer calling it RPGNow instead of DriveThruRPG. Am I the only one?)
You may have received this short email, which explained that I'm considering a Kickstarter campaign for
1. Would you like to see a refreshed version of Mini Six?
2. Would you consider supporting a Kickstarter campaign for Mini Six Revised?
3. Format? Digest or Full Size?
4. The last question asked for the email address of those interested in being contacted when and if an Kickstarter happens.
RPGNow's system let me know that the email had been sent to about 2500 folks. I don't have anything to compare it to, but Mini Six was already old news when I first offered it on RPGNow, so I'm proud of that number. (I know that it has been downloaded over ten thousand times from my old server before that, but sadly, I have no way to contact those readers.)
I also reached out in very limited ways through Facebook (which I really don't use much) and Reddit. My social networking skills are very weak. This is an area I need to improve. Successful Kickstarter campaigns are usually run by shameless self-promoters.
Lots of you have figured out by now that I tend toward shyness and being reclusive. I'm not active in any online gaming forums aside from Reddit (where I'm not well known - look for mrzoink.) Lots of you are probably shy and quiet too. We understand each other.
Alright, 2500 folks got the invite for comment and as of this moment 171 of you have responded. That's pretty good news for the project - there is some audience. I realize that this would be a self selecting audience. Those who responded to my inquiry would be among those most interested in Mini Six.
I also now know that I may have inadvertently broken the terms of service for RPGNow's publisher email feature. It seems to prohibit linking to another site. That survey isn't on RPGNow's server so I apologize. Ignorance is no excuse, but I didn't know. I could swear that I've seen links to other publisher's websites when I've received those sorts of messages, but regardless, I won't repeat that action.
Results:
Of 171 respondents:
164 of you expressed interest in Mini Six Revised.
4 of you had reservations (regarding format or material.)
1 of you told me that you have no interest in Mini Six Revised.
The remainder did not answer the interest question.
71 readers said they would probably support a KS campaign.
68 readers said they might, but they would need to be sold on the idea.
27 readers said they might be interested in supporting the idea later (not through KS.)
3 of you expressed other concerns.
1 of you stuck with their story of having no interest in MIni Six Revised.
The remainder did not answer the Kickstarter question.
100 of you preferred the digest 6" by 9" format.
69 of you preferred traditional 8 1/2" by 11" format.
The remainder did not answer the format question.
About a dozen folks emailed me with further comment and advice. Thanks to everyone who sent me a message. I'm not going to copy every message here, but I may expand on a few points which came up in the survey and through email. If I failed to respond to anyone through email, I'm sorry. I think I got everyone.
Print on Demand versus Traditional Print:
Oh man, I love the feel and the smell of a book done right. I wish I could do a traditional print run, but there are several factors which make that an impossible dream for me. It's been about two years since I've looked into the numbers, but I doubt that Mini Six Revised will reach the economy of scale necessary to make this an affordable option. In the end, I expect Mini Six Revised to eventually sell more than a few hundred print copies but fewer than 1000 - but that's going to be over an extended period.
The smallest practical traditional print runs are in the low hundreds, but the prices are astronomical at this end of the pool. Then there's warehousing and shipping. I don't have a place to store them, so that's an additional expense, and shipping - I've been down that road before.
When we first made Mini Six, we offered it for sale through the mail. We sold through the first print run pretty quick (a month or two), then sold a print run of a few hundred more over the next six months or so. (I don't remember exactly, but I'm close enough.) Phil was able to store them at his place, and he took care of shipping on Saturday mornings. The only way to keep costs reasonable was to use the USPS for shipping. About a third of our customers were outside of the US, but most were right here in the continental US.
Some weeks we lost entire shipments. Of course our policy was to replace the books lost or damaged in shipment, but it was so many that when we finally sold the last of them we were happy to let it go out of print.
That experience has soured me on warehousing and shipping books.
In real life I work in receiving, which involves more shipping than the job description might imply. I'm familiar with the common failures of Fed Ex, UPS, USPS, LTL, and even courier. I just don't want to be involved in shipping physical books.
So money, warehousing, and shipping leave a traditional print run as something I can't and don't want to attain.
Digest vs "Full Size:"
I laid out the pros of each in the survey but in a nutshell it comes down to the following:
Digest Pro: Format renders better on most tablets.
Full Size Pro: Easier on those who want to print at home.
As many of you picked up on already, my preference is the digest size, and a clear majority of you agree. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's an overwhelming majority though.
I even received several messages pleading on behalf of the "full size" format. I recognize that for some folks the passion must run deep.
I'm nearly committed to the digest size for digital and print, but I'm considering a full size option as a stretch goal in a Kickstarter campaign or just pulling the trigger and offering both sizes up front.
The pro of this plan would be that it's the best of both worlds. The cons are that it complicates offering this on RPGNow in the future and that it means that there's twice the layout work. It may not be practical, but I'm pursuing the idea.
My next post will be showing you what I have in terms of planning for the actual campaign.
Estimated time until campaign launch: TBD
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