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Worlds of Design: To Design or Publish?
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<blockquote data-quote="smiteworks" data-source="post: 8595191" data-attributes="member: 87795"><p>Adobe subscriptions are definitely not cheap. All of the big companies use InDesign for layout and Photoshop for graphic editing, so that is something you would need to learn and subscribe to in order to produce professional looking content that you can send to a printer or post as a PDF for sale on platforms like DriveThruRPG. </p><p></p><p>Another potential entryway into becoming a published designer would be with virtual tabletops and digital publishing. Each of the major platforms has some mechanism for publishing. Some may require a monthly fee as well and others only have a single one-time fee that lets you build and create content. Either way, they are all cheaper than even a month or two of the Adobe products you would need. You can replace PhotoShop with a free tool like GIMP to save some money in the beginning. As an example, you can get a monthly sub for <a href="https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php" target="_blank">Fantasy Grounds Unity</a> for $4/mo or a one-time cost of $39 and either of those will let you build content, test it, and export it for sale. The one-time license also goes on sale periodically throughout the year.</p><p></p><p>I can't speak for details on the other VTTs, so I will focus on Fantasy Grounds Unity publishing options. The <a href="https://forge.fantasygrounds.com" target="_blank">FG Forge</a> is a newer self-publishing platform that we released last year. There is no cost to publish there and you get 60% royalties. If you are an artist that does maps, tokens, or portraits, you can also build the packs directly in the Forge UI without needing the FGU software. You can do some research there to see what price points do best and how many subscribers ("customers") you might expect to get. If your project is a team-up of multiple people, you can also set up a royalty split on your items. </p><p></p><p>There are a lot of Pros for starting off with digital publishing like this:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Low cost of entry</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Ease of initial publishing</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Ease of publishing updates and errata. Fine-tune your product before you send it to printers. Once you print, you obviously can't update it anymore for the print product. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Build a name for yourself with multiple, smaller projects</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Reach customers on different platforms</li> </ol><p>When you pick your projects, I also recommend focusing on additions or tie-ins for an existing, popular system first. D&D fifth edition has the largest customer pool, by far. Paizo products are second and then there are other game systems that fit into that tier as well before you drop into the smaller Indie Publisher pool. There are some really great Indie and smaller game systems out there. They just don't have the same level of customer support as the bigger systems. It will be harder to sell if you deviate too far from the core system you are interfacing with. You will reach more customers if you focus on initial content that is complementary to the system you are working with. </p><p></p><p>On this note, publishing through DMsGuild as a PDF would be a good option since there are a lot of customers there and you can use much of the D&D IP directly through the special license there. You can even add a Fantasy Grounds module to your offering there to expand the reach even further. The one caution I will throw out is that if you publish through the DMsGuild license and use the additional IP, you will <strong>not </strong>be able to distribute or sell that content in any other form or on any other platform. Ask yourself if you really plan to use the additional IP. If not, then I would recommend publishing PDFs only through the normal DriveThruRPG license. This will let you also publish a Fantasy Grounds Unity version of it on the FG Forge, make a conversion for Roll20, Foundry, etc., and even print books on your own if they become popular enough. </p><p></p><p>Another thing I see successful Indie publishers do is that they produce a series of related products that share a theme or similar branding. You can make the greatest product in the world, but if it is a one-off, it might go unnoticed in the marketplace. In contrast, every time you publish another product with the same brand and theme, you have the opportunity to introduce a new potential customer to your entire product line. If customers see that you continue to support your original vision, they are more likely to check it out. Starting with a small, free product or two may help you build an initial following. </p><p></p><p>Good luck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="smiteworks, post: 8595191, member: 87795"] Adobe subscriptions are definitely not cheap. All of the big companies use InDesign for layout and Photoshop for graphic editing, so that is something you would need to learn and subscribe to in order to produce professional looking content that you can send to a printer or post as a PDF for sale on platforms like DriveThruRPG. Another potential entryway into becoming a published designer would be with virtual tabletops and digital publishing. Each of the major platforms has some mechanism for publishing. Some may require a monthly fee as well and others only have a single one-time fee that lets you build and create content. Either way, they are all cheaper than even a month or two of the Adobe products you would need. You can replace PhotoShop with a free tool like GIMP to save some money in the beginning. As an example, you can get a monthly sub for [URL='https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php']Fantasy Grounds Unity[/URL] for $4/mo or a one-time cost of $39 and either of those will let you build content, test it, and export it for sale. The one-time license also goes on sale periodically throughout the year. I can't speak for details on the other VTTs, so I will focus on Fantasy Grounds Unity publishing options. The [URL='https://forge.fantasygrounds.com']FG Forge[/URL] is a newer self-publishing platform that we released last year. There is no cost to publish there and you get 60% royalties. If you are an artist that does maps, tokens, or portraits, you can also build the packs directly in the Forge UI without needing the FGU software. You can do some research there to see what price points do best and how many subscribers ("customers") you might expect to get. If your project is a team-up of multiple people, you can also set up a royalty split on your items. There are a lot of Pros for starting off with digital publishing like this: [LIST=1] [*]Low cost of entry [*]Ease of initial publishing [*]Ease of publishing updates and errata. Fine-tune your product before you send it to printers. Once you print, you obviously can't update it anymore for the print product. [*]Build a name for yourself with multiple, smaller projects [*]Reach customers on different platforms [/LIST] When you pick your projects, I also recommend focusing on additions or tie-ins for an existing, popular system first. D&D fifth edition has the largest customer pool, by far. Paizo products are second and then there are other game systems that fit into that tier as well before you drop into the smaller Indie Publisher pool. There are some really great Indie and smaller game systems out there. They just don't have the same level of customer support as the bigger systems. It will be harder to sell if you deviate too far from the core system you are interfacing with. You will reach more customers if you focus on initial content that is complementary to the system you are working with. On this note, publishing through DMsGuild as a PDF would be a good option since there are a lot of customers there and you can use much of the D&D IP directly through the special license there. You can even add a Fantasy Grounds module to your offering there to expand the reach even further. The one caution I will throw out is that if you publish through the DMsGuild license and use the additional IP, you will [B]not [/B]be able to distribute or sell that content in any other form or on any other platform. Ask yourself if you really plan to use the additional IP. If not, then I would recommend publishing PDFs only through the normal DriveThruRPG license. This will let you also publish a Fantasy Grounds Unity version of it on the FG Forge, make a conversion for Roll20, Foundry, etc., and even print books on your own if they become popular enough. Another thing I see successful Indie publishers do is that they produce a series of related products that share a theme or similar branding. You can make the greatest product in the world, but if it is a one-off, it might go unnoticed in the marketplace. In contrast, every time you publish another product with the same brand and theme, you have the opportunity to introduce a new potential customer to your entire product line. If customers see that you continue to support your original vision, they are more likely to check it out. Starting with a small, free product or two may help you build an initial following. Good luck. [/QUOTE]
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