I need your advice
Hey guys and gals, how are you? I have some stuff that I've been pondering on for a few weeks now, and I've reached a point where I need some advice. As you all know, the new US tariffs situation has gotten pretty ugly, to the point were I simply don't sell any books to the US any more. Makes sense, though; who would pay for a book, plus shipping (already super expensive), plus $80 on top of everything? Nobody, that's who. I've even had distributors back off from deals we had... So aside from the fact that I'm stuck with a few hundred books and nowhere to sell them (yes, the rest of the world can still purchase them, but Europeans are all in saving mode, apparently, and if I sell two books a month to Europe that's a good month), there's the issue of future Kickstarters and offset releases.
Among these, the most important one is, without a doubt, Across a Thousand Hollow Vaults. I've already spent a stupid amount of money on this book (it has really good art), so there's no question I'll have a Kickstarter for it. And my idea was to have it really soon, and to offer offset copies, printed by the same people who did Across a Thousand Dead Worlds, so we would have two nicely printed books with the same specs. But as you can imagine, now I don't know what to do, to the point were I am questioning if having a Kickstarter for this is even worth it. I doubt very much printing offset copies would make sense, because like I said, who's going to buy them? The maybe 100 people outside of the US interested in one? This is a big printer that works with Modiphius, they would laugh at my face if I ask them to print a hundred books, aside from the fact that the cost per book would be astronomical. I could make 100 copies with my usual printer (the ones that make all my deluxe editions), but it would definitely be different than ATDW. It's not the end of the world, I know, but it irritates me.
So I think that the best option for me is to postpone this KS altogether. I still intend on finishing the writing in the next two months, but it will no longer be my top priority to get it to KS. Which really sucks, cause the book is gorgeous and I really want nice copies, but as you can see, it doesn't look like a smart business idea. This leaves me with a hole in my finances for the time being, though, because I keep spending on art for games that aren't released, so today I had an idea: what if I kickstart Choir of Flesh? It would still be for only offset copies, but it would be a good excuse to add some cool stretch goals that we collect in a separate zine (since the core book is done). I would also love to make 100 deluxe copies, but I'm not sure, for the same reasons I explained above: who would buy those? I guess it costs me nothing adding a tier to the Kickstarter for a deluxe edition, to at least see if there would be enough interest. This way, I can gauge the interest in similar future releases.
So what do you think, should I organize a Kickstarter for Choir of Flesh? Or should I just press on and organize a Kickstarter for Across a Thousand Hollow Vaults as soon as possible? Or maybe I should just chill and release both as PoD/PDF as soon as they're ready? And yes, I know I could do both, and if I organize a KS for CoF now I would definitely set up one for ATHV down the line.
Comments (36)
Even if you just want to run a Kickstarter to get the cash for the art and to generate hype, that is still a perfectly valid Kickstarter and it's something a lot of creators do. You can always run another Kickstarter for offset copies when the market is more stable. Times are tough, and it's okay to adapt to those tough times.
Yes, I'll run a KS for Choir of Flesh precisely cause of that, to see if I can at least cover expenses. I'm still thinking that I might try to include 100 deluxe copies in this campaign, I don't know...
If you run the kickstarter with the funding goal you need, and it fails, is it the end of the world? You could run an offset print campaign again in X months/years when the overall economic situation improves? And just release POD/digital if the campaign fails? Spit balling, don't know if that's actually a good idea. Everyone's in saving mode because *insert rant about Trump blowing up global trade here* and I can't see it resolving quickly. I'm hard to pressed to see it not getting worse before it gets better. That aside... I'm personally still buying stuff just more selectively. I'm more of a scifi guy than fantasy, not that I don't play both, but ATHV is more interesting to me. I live at the bottom of the universe and shipping is always terrible. Backing physical Kickstarters usually comes down to whether there is an Aus/NZ distribution hub. I'm not sure what you're shipping setup is like as I haven't been playing your games long so haven't followed one of your kickstarters. I'd love to get an offset of ATHV + ATDW. If you had that combo with an appropriate regional distributor it would be an easy hell yes for me. But if you're shipping out of Europe, it's hard to justify when shipping cost == book price. There are 3 KS running at the moment I wanted to back physical copies of. The SWN reprint, Tales From Elsewhere and Wares Blade. The only one I've backed a physical copy for is Wares Blade because the shipping is "reasonable" (1/3 to 1/2 the book price) for my location. Because our only option is high shipping costs I have a higher tolerance, but people from Europe and the US are probably just not going to buy from each other anywhere near as much. Tales From Elsewhere doesn't seem interested in anyone that isn't American as far as physical goes, they've made no effort to find distributors and have just said it'll be more than $100USD for anyone international. SWN doesn't have a shipping option for me sadly, but there normal store has terrible shipping and they only ship direct from the US, so I doubt it would have been feasible. I'll get a SWN POD at some point. I'll probably never get Tales From Elsewhere in print. POD+local shipping is a bit pricey for ATDW as well (those black pages?), probably nearly as much as an offset+shipping from Europe. It's at that price point where I've got to really want it. Which means if there are other things with better perceived value (for me) it sits low on the buy list.
I tried to find distribution in Australia, but no luck so far. But what I think I'm going to do is launch a KS for Choir of Flesh, see how that goes, and use it to gauge general interest. There are also rumors of the tariffs situation potentially changing later this year, so it's a good idea to delay a KS for ATHV, I think. and yes, the PoD for ATDW is so, so expensive, it's nuts.
Well usually I have opinions (haha) but I feel like your questions are definitely out of my element of knowledge. I can say that the tariffs and shipping overseas has stopped me ordering anything from Europe now. I don’t back KS anymore from Europe or any countries outside the US for the same reason, shipping! I will sometimes get the PDF but it’s just not the same thing for me. I want the book! Ultimately, I say do what is best for your business.
Yes, it makes total sense, I can't blame customers for doing the smart thing, and right now, ordering from Europe isn't smart. Fortunately, PoD and PDF are still an option since they print locally, so that's what I'm going to do.
Is there a way to have printing and shipping done in the USA using a fulfillment company or something similar? I know almost nothing about these things but is it possible? Or perhaps release the PoD/PDFs and do a crowdfunding project for the high quality books at a later time?
I have been looking into US printing, yes, but not only is it more expensive, I'm not sure I want to deal with all what it would entail. After my experiences with ATDW, I honestly would rather sell less books than having to worry about being scammed once again. I think I'm going to try the same I did with KN: PoD/PDF + a limited print run of deluxe copies.
As somebody who buys PDfs I'm happy with any option you take, as it's all the same for me.
Whatever makes you money now to offset some of your hardships is the way to go.
Yes, right now it's a matter of trying to get some cashflow back because I have way too much tied up in several games, haha.
I’m really interested in ATHV, but the damn tariffs are a nightmare. There’s supposed to be an appeal to a higher court by/in October, so we may see some movement then 🤞. In the meantime I vote for a KS of CoF which sounds really interesting and holding off on ATHV in hopes that things change. A sweet deluxe copy is just too tantalizing and (based on zero date) I feel like it would get a good amount of attention if you are able to offer beautiful offset copies like ATDW (from me at least 😅).
I do think this is the best option, so it's what I'm going to do: organize a CoF Kickstarter for this month, and hold off on the ATHV Kickstarter, hoping that the tariffs situation will resolve itself before the year's over.
To be honest, I'd prefer direct sale of the new books plus any already existing stock as special promotion. If you could make it collector's editions, even better. This way you don't have to pay KS fees and maybe even shipping would be better - at least for us in Europe. Just some initial thoughts.
Yes, I understand why a lot of people just want me to release the games, but the idea is for me to get some cash flow, and direct releases like that rarely generate that much cash upfront. I have a lot of money tied up on Riftbreakers 2e, Sacrifice 2e, ATHV, Frostbound Exiles, and Choir of Flesh, all games that aren't released. In total it's about 20K. So releasing CoF directly later this month would generate maybe 2K if I'm super lucky, which doesn't even begin to cover how much I invested in it. This is why most publishers go straight to crowdfunding, so they can fund their games. A Kickstarter has the potential to give me more initial cash, despite the taxes and KS fees, and more importantly, generate buzz around the game. We all know KS is more a promotional tool these days than a crowdfunding platform, which is why companies such as Free League keep using it.
I would love both ATHV and CoF deluxe editions, so whichever are available I'll grab them.
Thank you!
The current situation with all this stupid tariff crap is such a fluctuating thing. I hate how such a bloviating idiot can throw the world into chaos. Its all about how its going to affect you and other small printers/artists. I do like the digital/print at home can bypass all that but then you dont get a luxurious deluxe edition. It'll be about whatever is going to be the most cost effective for you. A whole bunch of PoD/pdfs or a smaller number of physical copies. Either way, anything you make, we will get.
Yes, since I think the situation is unsustainable, that's another reason to wait with ATHV. Imagine the tariffs go away in a few months, and I ended up making a mistake cause of rushing things... The most cost-effective thing is definitely PDF/PoD, since there are no distribution and production costs for me (other than the book itself).
Also, please do set the tiers at realistic levels. The Riftbreaker KS was ridiculously cheap for the work we know went into it. I'm sure almost everyone who backed it would have paid more - not stupidly more, just an extra $5 or $10, which would have helped at your end. How can we help? I've been thinking of buying Across a Thousand Dead Worlds. Would you prefer me to purchase it directly from your website? Maybe I could buy a few things from your website, which would probably help with the postage. I'm assuming you'd ship to the UK? If those of us who can buy something from your website (I realise not everyone can) then it might help alleviate the current financial situation.
I appreciate your feedback! I'm always afraid of scaring people away with too high pledge levels, especially if it's just a PDF, haha. Also, I like to offer cheaper KS prices, to incentivize people. And yeah, buying books directly from my site is the best option, especially physical books. I only sell offset copies via my site, so you get an immensely superior book than if you buy the PoD from DTRPG or Amazon. I do ship to the UK, yes.
I'll be honest, I do like a nice book, and am willing to pay to get that. But I'm probably the minority.
While I would like a fancier version, I'd prefer you did whatever makes the most financial sense. I enjoy your work and want you to keep going, if that means a POD now and an offset later the that's great. And if it means paying higher for a super fancy copy, I'm going to do that too. I hate that KS takes such a high percentage of the funds from you so I'm a bit biased there too.
I really appreciate your words and support! I dislike using Ks but less so because of the KS fees (it's 5%) and more because of the taxes I must pay (20-40% of the earnings).
Isn't this dilemma the entire point of KS? Judging whether there is enough interest in a project to make it commercially viable? I would put the funding goal to what you actually need to make it viable (plus any buffer for risk and cancellations etc), then let folk decide. If it hits the target, you will be safe enough to go ahead. If not, well, then you have your answer.
Honestly, if I put the goal to what I actually need to cover expenses, I will not fund. Companies always lowball their goals, so they can claim the project has been funded, which brings more backers. Considering this would be a PoD/PDF release, it's totally dependent on the number of backers I get, cause every pledge will be a very low one. And I'd rather get 2000 bucks than zero, haha. Also, it's a great excuse to write more content for CoF, which is a fun setting!
The CoF setting makes it a better fit for KD right now (fantasy-ish) and I think there would be enough interest to motivate doing a KS. As far as ATHV goes I just don't know (helpful, isn't it 😅). The situation being what it is I think you could try to put together an delux digital edition or something similar or maybe even go with a PoD option in the campaign. Then either also have an option for printed book for Europe or just wait for later to do the proper print?
Yes, those are my exact thoughts. Wait a bit to see how things develop, and worst case scenario I organize a KS for a PoD/PDF version of the book. And meanwhile I arrange the CoF Kickstarter to get some funds in, cause I'm broke, haha.
I suggest you release the PDFs as soon as possible as it'll be catching both groups of people who want CoF and ATHV and at least bring in some cash. You could then organise a Kickstarter for CoF for the hard copies and then later the kickstarter for ATHV.
The thing is, a Kickstarter brings a lot of attention and I can potentially earn more from it, even if I'm just offering PDF/PoD, because it skips the DTRPG cut altogether. So Every copy I sell via KS earns me more (potentially). Also, the book is done so it would be a 15 days campaign, with those who participate in it getting the book immediately. And like I said, it's a good excuse to see if I can sell at least 100 deluxe copies of it.
Man I actually don't know. You could try a KS for Choir. I think I would go for that.
It's looking like the best option...
I'm torn because I love across a thousand dead worlds so I'm bias but I think it would make more sense for you to do the choir one instead
I'm in the same boat, I really want a nice offset version of ATHV, but unless I go into a logistics nightmare and have some of them printed in the US and some in Europe, I don't see a way of doing so.
I vote for you making the books that make you proud. And I for one definitely understand and appreciate the frustration when books that match don't match!
Well, I'm proud of all my books, even if they're just PoD, haha. It's more a vanity thing, wanting to have them in nice offset quality.