danhem
5th Level Troll
Posts: 731
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Post by danhem on Feb 15, 2012 11:31:45 GMT -5
Now that TrollsZine 4 has been completed and published I am looking to future issues of our wonderful magazine as the new Editor. I do have some ideas about the format of TrollsZine that I would like to share and get some feedback on.
1. First, format. I would like to see a cleaner, shorter, more frequently published Zine with a consistent type of content. My current view is that the Zine is best when kept between 60-70 pages. These pages will include:
1 Monster/NPC description article 1 GM adventure 1 Solo adventure 4-5 Articles (House Rules, Expansions, Variants, Alternate Worlds, etc.) 1 Short story 1-2 Misc. Features (Short articles or humor pieces 1-2 pages long)
Having a set goal as far as content will help with frequency of publishing. This way we know when we are done. It will also help each Zine feel more connected to the last and give it a cleaner feel.
2. Art. As seen in TZ4 I do not have a problem using public domain or Stock Art purchased for use in TrollsZine. Getting original art seems to be a regular issue, but this type of stock art helps to fill in the blank spaces. That being said, I would like to showcase the talent of our contributors and first billing will always go to those who have submitted art.
3. Print on Demand option. In the past TrollsZine has only been available as a pdf by agreement of the contributors who did not want anyone to make any money off of the Zine; that included POD publishers. Obviously many would like a hard copies and have had them printed and bound at other vendors. RPGnow offers a POD service now, so I think we should revisit the topic of offering a printed version.
I'll post more ideas here in the coming days and weeks, but I'd like to open the floor to comments.
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Post by zanshin on Feb 15, 2012 11:50:13 GMT -5
Sounds like an excellent balance of content to me, and I have no problem with a regular zine of about 60-70 pages. I had a problem saying no to so many excellent contributors , danhem is clearly made of sterner stuff I personally have no problem with POD being available, I was simply not prepared to go into the logistics of it. I am happy to agree any release needed for my own contributions (should they be published) so that either an at cost POD or a small profit for art acquisition/into the Flying Buffalo coffers. Other contributors may feel differently. I would also be happy to make a paypal contribution to a stock art fund. I really hope this goes from strength to strength and I am really impressed with number 4.
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dekh
5th Level Troll
dekh by Grumlahk
Posts: 622
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Post by dekh on Feb 15, 2012 12:12:48 GMT -5
I have no problem with a not for profit POD venture. It will also make it harder for others to offer TrollsZine in print "for a fee".
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Post by mgtremaine on Feb 15, 2012 12:19:59 GMT -5
These sound like excellent guidelines to me. Making a system that will allow it work flow to streamline and come out on a regular basis is obviously a great goal.
POD is a requirement. We need to decide on some way to make this happen without anyone feeling "put out" as it were. I think at Lulu it was set of to be at cost so there is no profit to deal with. Zanshin idea of letting any profit go to Flying Buffalo is ok, perhaps with the idea that it would be used to produce more T&T material. But lets face it we are talking about very small amounts of money. One nice thing about getting Rick to involved with the POD money flow is that he might be inclined to put other items up like that. (For instance all the OOP modules could easily be POD).
My thoughts as of this moment.
-Mike
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Post by gaptooth on Feb 15, 2012 12:53:35 GMT -5
I completely support Dan's suggested course.
I'd also love to see an ePub/Kindle version. Right now I keep them on the Kindle I got for Christmas, but resizing the text requires you to zoom in and pan around.
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Post by grrraall on Feb 15, 2012 13:14:10 GMT -5
Yes, I think Dan got it right. Format, art and POD: I completely agree with Dan's suggested course of action.
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Post by sonofthor on Feb 15, 2012 18:21:46 GMT -5
Hey, guys. I'm still willing to lend my pen too, so don't go to the stock art yet. I'm in a bit of a slump right now as far as having tons of ideas but if you've got some ideas of what you would like to see, I'm all ears. Fortunately I found a job where I have down-time and can draw while on down time.
I'd be interested in POD as well. How about a compilation of the first four issues?
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quoghmyre
7th Level Troll
The Summer Troll
Posts: 1,048
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Post by quoghmyre on Feb 15, 2012 21:24:16 GMT -5
I think more often is better than the over weight Zine we currently have. We just had so much great content, but Quarterly or even Bi-Monthy would be fantastic...
I think 40pgs would be a better target.
I don't agree with the POD but given the situation you have to. As long as the Artists are aware they are giving also allowing the print rights and there will be money involved. We had a lot of strong feelings about the quality and the size of the Art, POD requires higher DPI art, IMO.
NOTE: I did not give TrollsZine or any other people print rights for my Art, other than personal use. Sorry sonofthor, right now this is a sore point.
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Post by ProfGremlin on Feb 15, 2012 22:36:46 GMT -5
... but I'd like to open the floor to comments. I believe having a clear template to work within will make your job much easier. Occasionally bending that template to fit an exceptional submission will be much easier than trying to figure out a format based on all the submissions. It'll also make it easier for submitters to get an idea of what you're looking for. That all said, I'm in agreement with pretty much everything save the Print on Demand idea. I'm a bibliophile, I understand the need to hold the book in your hands and flip the pages. The experience is much more sensual than can be conveyed via electronic format. My concern isn't so much with the end product but the mechanism that gets us there. As I see it you'll have two stumbling blocks: 1) As Quog already mentioned, obtaining print rights from submitters and 2) charging for a product. Point one doesn't really need to be discussed much because it's a pretty clear yes/no issue. The submitters either agree to allow their work to be printed or they don't. If they don't there are two options A) remove their work from the 'Zine or B) remove the PoD option for that issue. It's point two that has me a bit more concerned. Admittedly, this isn't an arena that I've explored so my concern may be groundless, but if we're charging for the 'Zine, even if it's only to cover the PoD cost, doesn't someone have to claim that as income? Considering the quick morass my mind extrapolates from that thought - creating a publishing company, non-profit status, bank accounts, ceding the 'Zine to FBI to operate under their umbrella - it's all rather daunting. As I said, all these thoughts are firmly grounded in my ignorance of the PoD industry and publishing from there. If anyone has some experience here I'd love to hear from you. In any event, Dan, I'm happy with the thought you're putting into all this. When you're ready to have submissions proof-read I'll be happy to continue in that office.
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zendog
4th Level Troll
Posts: 250
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Post by zendog on Feb 16, 2012 8:26:55 GMT -5
All sounds good. I have no opinion on the POD issue, but like Gaptooth would like to see an ePub/mobi version.
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danhem
5th Level Troll
Posts: 731
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Post by danhem on Feb 17, 2012 0:15:49 GMT -5
Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming.
Some thoughts from me:
I think 60 pages is a good upper limit for the 'Zine. However, I would not have a problem releasing an issue with 40-50 pages. It would only get longer for exceptional submissions of solos or GM adventures that just needed more pages.
Right now I'd like to shoot for a quarterly 'Zine. A bimonthly rate of production is beyond my time constraints.
The POD option is the biggest sticking point; that's why I offered it as a suggestion. Thank you for letting me know your position on your submissions Quoghmyre; I completely understand and respect your attitude on the matter.
The logistics of POD are pretty simple now that RPGnow offers the service. It's simply a matter of uploading a different version of the files to the Flying Buffalo site. No one associated with the 'Zine would deal with any money, so the problems you raised ProfGremlin would not arise. The model I had in mind would be at cost printing. This does mean, however, that RPGnow would make some money as would the printing company that they contract with. This is where some contributors may have an issue.
I would only go forward with the POD option if all contributors agreed. That being said I would hate to think we were excluding potential contributors because they were opposed to POD.
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Ea
2nd Level Troll
Posts: 62
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Post by Ea on Feb 17, 2012 16:17:29 GMT -5
I agree with the new guidelines you suggested, danhem, as they sound like a really nice way to shape up TrollsZine and continue offering quality new materials to T&T fans. ;D Regarding the POD, and speaking as an artist that was opposed to it when the first Zine came out and who contributed to that issue, I would say that, if possible, some simple things should be considered before going ahead with a project like this: 1. Creating a couple (i.e., writers, artists) of permission forms for both parties to "sign" (i.e., agree to over e-mail), granting a non-exclusive license to TrollsZine while stating that the owner/creator/contributor retains all copyrights, and specifying the issue that the contributed content will appear in. 2. Not using the materials without previous authorization by the copyright owner, and stating so on the permission form. 3. Creating different issues of the magazine document for both the POD and PDF purposes. Low-resolution images and copy options disabled for the PDF version. High-resolution images for the POD master document. These three things could go a long way towards avoiding conflicts between the parties later on and giving some assurances to contributors about how their work would be used. I, for one, wouldn't have a problem allowing my already contributed artwork to be used in POD products if these suggestions were put into practice.
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danhem
5th Level Troll
Posts: 731
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Post by danhem on May 19, 2012 6:08:04 GMT -5
As the release of TrollsZine #5 approaches I thought it would be good to know how many times previous issues of TrollsZine have been downloaded from RPGnow / DriveThruRPG. Rick Loomis was kind enough to provide the numbers. The numbers are high and show that the contributors work is being seen by a large audience.
These are the total downloads from 3/1/10 to 5/9/12:
TrollsZine #1 (released 3/1/10) = 2045 TrollsZine #2 (released 5/14/10) = 1469 TrollsZine #3 (released 8/11/10) = 1429 TrollsZine #4 (released 2/10/12) = 598
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zendog
4th Level Troll
Posts: 250
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Post by zendog on May 19, 2012 6:47:28 GMT -5
Interesting data. I'm not surprised that the numbers for issue 4 were lower. Nothing to do with quality, rather momentum I would imagine.
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danhem
5th Level Troll
Posts: 731
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Post by danhem on May 19, 2012 7:39:36 GMT -5
I should clarify that the numbers represent the total downloads since the release of each issue.
So TZ#1 was downloaded 2045 times between 3/1/10 and 5/9/12 (about 26 months) while TZ #4 was downloaded 598 times between 2/10/12 and 5/9/12 (about three months).
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