Hi, FormCritic -

Yes, we would like to get the price down. Almost all of that goes to lulu though.

This is a fanzine. Not all articles are pleasing to all readers, but we've been gratified overall to see that pretty much everyone who's gotten the issue has found several articles of use to them, slightly different ones for each reader. That says to me that we're covering a broad spectrum of old school fantasy tastes.

I think issue 2 will be longer, more diverse, and possibly even 'better', though my affection for issue 1 (as the first) is very high. Anyway, thanks for your interest!

Goblinoid Games are running a Distribution Drive to raise funds to go retail with Labyrinth Lord. They need 20 more sales of the Limited Edition hardcover ($50) to hit the target. More details here: http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.htm

Note, I'm not connected in any way, I just like the old style material they are producing and think it would be a blast to see it in stores alongside the crash, bang, wallop modern stuff.

JZavoda wrote:  

Is this a preorder on the book or do they actually have the limited edition hardcover in stock?

Hi Jason, it's a print on demand from LULU. Confirmation mail said it takes 10-15 days to produce the book and ship it.

Grug Greyskin wrote:
So the site says they need to sell 30 books at $50 to have the funds for a larger print run for distribution.  They couldn't come up with 1500 bucks?

Coming up with an EXTRA 1500 bucks out of pocket can be difficult.

JZavoda wrote:
Coming up with an EXTRA 1500 bucks out of pocket can be difficult.

Come on, maybe GG is a one man show (I don't know), but it is still a business, they should be able to come up with 1.5 grand - particularly for what purports to be such a critical expense.  Those 30 limited hardcovers can't be free to produce.

Grug Greyskin wrote:
So the site says they need to sell 30 books at $50 to have the funds for a larger print run for distribution.  They couldn't come up with 1500 bucks?

$1,500 is no simple thing to "come up with" in this industry, believe you me! "Companies" these days are mostly guys working out of their garage or extra bedroom (yeah, that's me, too). Most of the time it is a very part-time proposition, as most publishers have a day job that pays the bills for the game "company." In my case, I've tried to make a living out of it for these last 10 months, to no avail; I'm now forced to find a day job just to pay the rent and food.

With most "companies" these days, getting in a print run of POD products in 10 or 20 unit runs is cost effective; printing 150 to get into distribution is another thing entirely. Though I gotta admit; if he's only getting 150 units at $1,500, he is going to the WRONG printer! That's a per-unit cost of $10! Even for a 144-page hardcover that seems extreme. Then again, I limit myself to the much more affordable 48-page saddle-stitch format. I gotta wonder what the MSRP is going to be on those books...

But yeah, the upshot of it is... in the gaming industry, $1,500 is a LOT of money, unless you are Wizards of the Coast or Games Workshop. Even Steve Jackson Games or Palladium or White Wolf couldn't just throw around $1,500 any more, though they could pay that without a fund drive. Everyone else? They'd have to dig into the rent jar or tap out their credit cards... or ask fans for help.

jamesmishler wrote:
$1,500 is no simple thing to "come up with" in this industry, believe you me! "Companies" these days are mostly guys working out of their garage or extra bedroom (yeah, that's me, too). Most of the time it is a very part-time proposition, as most publishers have a day job that pays the bills for the game "company." In my case, I've tried to make a living out of it for these last 10 months, to no avail; I'm now forced to find a day job just to pay the rent and food.

With most "companies" these days, getting in a print run of POD products in 10 or 20 unit runs is cost effective; printing 150 to get into distribution is another thing entirely. Though I gotta admit; if he's only getting 150 units at $1,500, he is going to the WRONG printer! That's a per-unit cost of $10! Even for a 144-page hardcover that seems extreme. Then again, I limit myself to the much more affordable 48-page saddle-stitch format. I gotta wonder what the MSRP is going to be on those books...

But yeah, the upshot of it is... in the gaming industry, $1,500 is a LOT of money, unless you are Wizards of the Coast or Games Workshop. Even Steve Jackson Games or Palladium or White Wolf couldn't just throw around $1,500 any more, though they could pay that without a fund drive. Everyone else? They'd have to dig into the rent jar or tap out their credit cards... or ask fans for help.

That's a pretty bleak picture you paint there. I'd throw $1500 at self printing something if I thought I'd written something worth printing. Probably wouldn't go down the PDF route myself mind you. I collect and make the things, and have some extremely rare stuff, but you've gotta be really anal about stuff unless you want it going wild.

So if I put together a mostly B&W affair, or maybe 2 colours, and I wanted someone to do a decent colour cover and get it professionally printed, what could I expect for $1500? I've never really looked at this side of the industry.

What would say a standard PPP/Goodman Games dungeon cost to get the first 500 copies?

Dan Proctor wrote:@Grug: I'm definitely a one man show. I'm selling books to fund more books, so I don't get what your criticism is specifically addressing. As others suggested, this is a part time (even hobby) publishing effort, so no I don't have that chunk of change available. I wish I did!

Didn't intend to offend either you (or James) with my comments.  Sincerely, good luck with your endeavors.

I'd be up for one at $50. Maybe more if the print run is small enough and there's no PDF.