[UA] Bizarre text distribution model

[Justin Hamilton]

I'm down to spend $20

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven and Karen Roman [mailto:woodworthroman at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 3:06 PM
To: The Unknown Armies RPG Mailing List
Subject: Re: [UA] Bizarre text distribution model

 

Greg--

 

I'm game.  

 

Here's how I look at it.  You mentioned a cap of $4000.00.  You likely
have at least 200 fans out there each willing to part with $20.00.
(Considering that most corebooks now cost *double* that amount, I think
it's a viable goal.)

 

I'd be willing to stake $20.00 on such an experiment.  Hell, I *have*
done so in the past, placing a preorder for a game that ultimately never
appeared.  

 

But frankly, I think that you could manage it, with your track record
and quality work.  

 

My 2 bits.

 

~Roman

Greg Stolze <holycrow at mindspring.com> wrote:

	This came to me the other night as I was contemplating the sorry
state of
	RPG distribution all up and down the tiers. Mixed in was stuff
about
	iTunes and Morpheus and how discouraging it is to sell your
indie DIY stuff
	as a .pdf and spot it on Kazaa a week after you release it.
	
	How do you get around this? Writers are getting fucked
(fiscal-wise) when
	their work gets pirated and given away free. Ditto musicians,
ditto film
	makers. Most people are willing to pay something for their
entertainment
	but only (reasonably enough) if they can't easily get it for
nothing.
	
	It occurred to me that the solution is a ransom model.
	
	For instance: I've been toying with REIGN, the fantasy version
of the One
	Roll Engine used for the the game GODLIKE. No publisher resides
in the
	overlap of "interest" and "ability to actually do anything about
their
	interest". I could sell it as a .pdf, with the attendant hassles
of doing
	e-commerce and getting art and layout and all that jazz. But
that's a very
	uncertain return on investment, especialy when the .pdf might
just pop up
	for free within days of release.
	
	Instead, what if I do this? I set up a web site with a PayPal
link and an
	address where people can send their checks and cash. You can pay
as much,
	or as little, as you want, but until I hit my goal -- say, a
price reached
	by doing a word count and multiplying it by six cents -- nobody
sees the
	book. However, when I hit that goal, I release the whole text,
to
	everyone, for nothing.
	
	This means that any publisher who wants can print and sell the
book.
	Anyone who wants it can download and print it. Kazaa? Fuck,
Kazaa is now
	working FOR ME, because everyone who steals it and likes it is
more likely
	to invest in my next work.
	
	The advantages are pretty clear: No pirac y occurs until I'm
paid in full,
	after which I presumably don't give a fuck what people do, I've
made my
	nut. Lots of people see the game, with little hassle. Nobody
pays more
	than they feel it's worth.
	
	The disadvantages are equally clear: I need a good reputation to
make this
	work, since that's what I'm trading on. If I set my goal at
$4000 and
	people only pre-pay $2000, what do I do then? If I release it
anyway, the
	system collapses because everyone with a grasp of economics
figures, "I
	shouldn't pay -- in a year, Stolze will cave and release it
regardless".
	If I don't release it, I've effectively stolen two grand from my
closest
	fans, which is not a route I want to go. Plus, I can never earn
more than
	what I get up front. (Not that long-term royalties have ever
paid out for
	me in gaming. But I suppose there's still time.)
	
	What do you all think?
	
	-G.
	
	"These hardhat deconstruction-workers harass stories as if they
were gals
	passing on the sidewalk. They yell out stuff that's not only
obnoxious,
	but completely bizarre and impenetrable. It's like they yell:
'Hey, check
	out the pelvic bio-mechanics on that babe! What a set of
hypertrophied
	lactiferous tissues!'"
	-Bruce Sterling
	
	
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	www.waylay.com
	www.thehungersite.com
	
	
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