I'd like to weigh in on this discussion. First of all, to agree in general
with Mike and Clark, who have slightly different points of view but are
largely telling the same story.
Where I disagree with conventional wisdom is here:
> But if you are going to do it you better get moving.
> There will be a glut of product this summer. And the
> retailers that carry everything now wont want to then
> because they will have the luxury of waiting and
> seeing and relying on d20 stuff they know will sell.
To this, I say -- it's already too late, so take your time! You don't want
any part of this glut. The good will be lost with the bad, simply because
there will be more products than retailers and consumers can absorb.
Anyone look at Eric Noah's page for the list of expected February releases,
plus those "any day now" late products? More than 20 titles. In one month.
Not including WotC releases. Though it has improved since a lot of D20
publishers have conspicuously been pushing back their release dates
(including us, though it's been products not yet formally announced; for
that matter) -- but still, a lot of retailers will simply decide that they
only need to try 5 or 6 new D20 titles in a given month, and they'll choose
the ones they think will look and sell best.
If you wanted to hop on a fad for some easy money, and your book is not
already on store shelves, you've already missed your chance. You're not
going to be the first to plant your flag on D20 soil, so give up that
illusion right now. Focus on what you CAN do.
Taking more time to do your product right and on your schedule will do you
much more good than rushing to get it on the shelves ASAP.
For example, you could do your whole product -- laid out and everything
except printing it. Make a PDF of it, cover and all, and provide THAT to
retailers and distributors you want to carry your product. They will tell
you many things that are wrong with it. Listen to them, and fix the things
they point out (or at least the things that more than one person points out,
to allow for weird personal preference things). Go to print when you know
you have a polished product that people will be eager to stock.
That may be in 2002, or later. That's fine, unless you think D&D and the
D20 System are going to vanish. On the other hand, if history is a guide,
people will be in their stores looking for interesting new products, every
month of the coming years. Like the CCG glut and crash in 1995, a lot of
companies rushing to fulfill the prophecy of a product glut will not survive
to enjoy the better and more reasonable times to come. Don't be one of
those companies.
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John Nephew voice (651) 638-0077 fax (651) 638-0084
President, Atlas Games www.atlas-games.com
