[UA] Bizarre text distribution model

Wed Feb 18 13:13:19 PST 2004

Greg, I think it's time to incorporate yourself. Just go IPO :)  Yes, I
hold 100 shares in Greg Stolze.

Jade Hammons
Portability Administration Group
AT&T Wireless, Inc.
* jade.hammons at attws.com 
"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be
normal." - Albert Camus 

-----Original Message-----
From: ua-bounces at lists.unknown-armies.com
[mailto:ua-bounces at lists.unknown-armies.com]On Behalf Of Justin Hamilton
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 3:11 PM
To: The Unknown Armies RPG Mailing List
Subject: RE: [UA] Bizarre text distribution model

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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