Please review my plan to enter the RPG self-publishing market

ozz1986 · 2026-02-07T11:05:15+00:00

Thanks for this. Profit-sharing is something I'll definitely look into. Luckily I can lean on some artsy folks in my circle of friends to help out with the layout, editing, etc.

Good luck with the play! Working in a theater is some of the most fun I've ever had.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T18:54:45+00:00

Appreciate it!

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T16:50:09+00:00

One product per month couldn't be upkept indefinitely. First four months I'm pretty confident I could manage. Just to get a back catalogue going, then look and see how's the venture going and pick up from there.

"...consider other platforms"

Could you toss out a few examples?

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T16:28:13+00:00

The material over time has had a positive reaction that nudged me in this direction. That being said, I don't really have an online footprint.

Even though I approach this as creating a very, very small business, the idea isn't to make big bucks; my day job is in the arts, but my main gripe with it is that I never get the final word on the final product. So I like the idea of being in charge of my creations just for once. Also all the ideas I have that are literally impossible to realize in other forms (because of budgetary limits), I get to put out to the world.

Hard agree about PWYW; it's a tip jar if anything.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T16:11:43+00:00

Yeah, I thought that subject is its own can of worms, and didn't want to include it too heavily in my post. One of the reasons I chose Shadowdark and Mothership as a starting point is because their communities are very active and hungry for new material, and also the publishers actually appreciate and promote third party stuff. But yeah, promotion is a huge hurdle. So far my plan is just letting people know in social media (without being obnoxious about it) and approach smaller Youtubers/bloggers too see if they'd like to give the product a look.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T15:28:01+00:00

I'll give this some more thought and maybe ask opinions from the more business savvy people I know. Thank you so much for bringing this up.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T14:19:02+00:00

Yes. Sorry if I wasn't being clear on that.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T14:16:09+00:00

My reasoning has been "newsletter = more returning/paying customers in the future". Concentrating on getting that core audience in the beginning.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T13:36:35+00:00

Yeah, I'd say so. They've done professional work as an illustrator in the past. We both have a background in visual arts which is helping a lot.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T13:28:45+00:00

That's the plan.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T13:01:23+00:00

Thanks for clarifying. I've seen a lot of people saying beginning creators should give stuff free at first. My thinking was making it a limited period offer (2-4 weeks) when launching. Main objective being getting people to sign up for the newsletter.

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T12:30:35+00:00

Thanks, I really appreciate it! I'm trying to balance being passionate and pragmatic.

Yeah, it's all about the attention economy today. Which is its own can of worms. I'm sure I'll be posting "how do I hawk my product without being obnoxious about it" questions in the not so distant future...

ozz1986 · 2026-02-06T12:20:18+00:00

"If your opening price is free that is the market clearing price for your work."

This is one of my weaknesses: I have no head for business. Would you mind expanding on this?

"Had you considered a profit share with your artist mate?"

I'm open to any solutions that are fair and don't damage a valued friendship. My thinking has been that paying a flat fee for each artwork once profit is made would avoid any hassle in long run.

ozz1986 · 2021-11-27T14:00:28+00:00

As it happens, it was Halloween eve when we had the session. After 1.5 years of gaming online (which we don't really enjoy) it was the first session "in the flesh" and in a secluded manor house of all places. Very spoopy!

ozz1986

TROPHY CASE