Taking a page from The Land of Nod and the Mystery Men! pledge drive that John Stater has going on over at Kickstarter, I am considering doing the same for my upcoming Swords Against the Outer Dark Labyrinth Lord Supplement that I am currently working on. I plan to release this supplement as a free PDF (no artwork will be included), and all dead-tree books will be print on demand with several options available for various formats and sizes.
A few months ago I was chatting with James Raggi on Facebook and asked him for some practical advice on small press game publishing, and the thing he emphasized to me was, "don't skimp on the art." This statement has haunted me ever since. I am handling all the writing, and I am planing to publish the book through Lulu, so the only budget I really need is for artwork. With almost no funds to spend on artwork I am afraid I have no choice but to skimp. Unless I can generate some funds through a pledge drive and hire a talented artist to supply top quality artwork for the project.
So what would you get with your pledge? Well, I am open for suggestions on this, but here are a few things I have considered:
- Those who participate in the pledge drive will be acknowledged in the final book.
- A hand written thank you note will be sent out to all those who pledge.
- Top secret playtest documents will be made available to those who pledge as they become available.
- Free full artwork PDF of final book (which will sell for around $8 I think).
- A handmade Mangus original Cthulhu Mythos prop will be produced, numbered and sent out to participants (something in this vein).
- Have an idea? Please let me know under comments.
I believe two levels of pledges will be the way to go, with the first being $10 and the next being $25+. At this point I am not sure what the pledge goal will be. I will be contacting a couple of artists to see if they would be interested and see what their price range is going to be. Dave Carson has supplied excellent Mythos art to this blog in the past, and it is my sincere hope that he will be available to do so with this project.
So, take a moment to vote and let me know what you think. As always, leave me some feedback on this, and please feel free to be honest with me. The more data I can obtain now the better this project will turn out in the future.
8 comments:
Um, not just yes, but hell yes - please do so!!
Assuming I am gainfully employed by the time the pledge came around (I still haven't found a job) I'd be willing to pledge.
What a great way to work around the cost of art. Putting up the money up-front can be tricky, especially when you don't have the funds to begin with. Count me in.
Affirmative.
Yes, indeedy.
I voted for pledging $10 over $25, simply because I'm currently unemployed. Timing is everything
:0)
@Simon Dale - I too am unemployed at the moment, so I feel your pain...
@all - thanks for the loads of support! You can't imagine how much it means.
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