Well, I did the cover.And I suppose posting it here sort of commits me to delivering some time soon-ish.
Why? Well I discovered on checking the small print that Amazon will only pay me my royalties once they get over £100. As I make about £1 on the "To Ur is Human" rule book I obviously need to sell 100 before they send me any dosh.
This one will retail at between £10 - £15, I expect, as they'll be lots more in it, plus, I might do it in colour. That means a slightly higher profit per unit, so together with the "To Ur" rules I might make enough to actually get paid, assuming those who bought the last set become fan-boys and have to own all my output.
Why colour? I have cards in the game for the Generals, and they currently have flags on them, which look better in colour. Plus there's the "Disorder" markers, which I might put on a "scan for your own purposes" page, and I also drew a lot of flags for my units, so a cut-out flag page might be a good idea.. There's too much of this stuff (especially the officers) to make use of the back cover for it, I think.
I'm intending to include a brief history, plus scenarios for the major battles, together with appropriate force lists and some uniform painting details, plus a proper bibliography.
I'm a bit torn on the Naval theatre. I have the model ships, and I use an ever-so-slightly modified set of rules a friend wrote, which I played at COW. At the moment I can't see the point of completely re-writing them, so perhaps I should drop him a line and see if he objects to me including them (with appropriate thanks and attribution, of course). However, that also means more maps and also ship information and the need to source copyright free illustrations of all the vessels involved.
Food for thought.
Feedback welcome.
Hello old chap,
ReplyDeleteI would suggest adding in the naval side would be a good wheeze - for me that would turn it from a 'will probably buy it' to a 'will absolutely buy it!'
All the best,
DC
Noted. Disappointed I wasn't a must buy already
DeleteYour project sounds quite fascinating. This would be a period of which I know little or nothing. Is there a ready source for miniatures for this period or are conversions the rule? All the best for your venture.
ReplyDeleteOutpost do a full range for the land campaign, and Tumbling Dice do the ships. Get painting now.
DeleteSounds good already. I'd be quite happy with colour, whatever the addition to the price. I got hold of Bob Cordery's picture-story books, and, yep, they were pricey; but the quality matched the price, for mine. Very pleased to have got them.
ReplyDeleteI hope you can include the naval aspects, though I don't think it would make a difference to the (almost certain) likelihood of my purchase if they were omitted.
All good to know
DeleteI think that you are wise to move upmarket and get a higher return for each copy sold.
ReplyDeleteIt would be worth asking John Curry about price points. The History of Wargames Project's books prices tend to end with .95p. I suspect that anything over £14.95 will be harder to sell.
Good luck with it all!
My main desire is for people to buy and play the rules. I will probably go to a .95 or.99 pricing
DeleteScanning from a soft back might be tricky without damaging the book. Have you thought about putting the flags on your blog and including a link?
ReplyDeleteI have thought about it, but I want to sell books.
DeleteGood luck with the venture- I will probably buy a copy at some point. There will be a price point that maximises your return - Perhaps something like £12.99
ReplyDeleteNaval is good
I was thinking & £14.99.You need less change when selling in person.
Delete