Self publishing rules

PantherV

Member
Hi all,

Just a general question to eveyone about self publishing wargames rules. I am looking into using Amazons self publishing facility and wondered if anyone had any experience of using it? I have purchased several books myself by writers who have used it and they seem ok but they have all been purely black and white inside. According to amazon you do have the option of full colour but im not sure how the quality will look, in particular for artwork and photographs of models etc. Also not sure on how the publishing rights work. If anyone has any experience it would be greatly appreciated! A lot of the info on line seems to be in regards to novels and the like, im not sure its the right way to put out a set of wargames rules...

Tom
 

Fimm McCool

Member
Hi Tom

I don't know about Amazon's publishing tools, but given you have a decent knowledge of desktop publishing it's not too hard to get your rules in print. There are several companies in the UK that will do printing at a reasonable cost, I'd recommend speaking to 4Edge. The tricky bit is getting them noticed! Not sure if Amazon will help you with that. I have self-published 3 books (2 rulesets and an expansion) in the last 3 years and I mostly sell at games shows and through independent retailers, very little online (and convincing an indie retailer to take stock of your books isn't that straightforward either!). I'm now at a point where my first ruleset is running low on stock and am looking to put out a second edition so I am contemplating approaching a wargames publisher to see if they would be interested in taking it on or joining with a larger wargames company to see if they would help with promotion.
 
Don't know about Amazon, but I've used RPGNow/Wargames Vault successfully before, and it gives a decent physical copy, with options for B+W, colour covers or full colour interior.
 

PantherV

Member
Thanks Fimm thats some good info! I'll check out 4edge and see what I think. As far as I can tell the advantage of amazon is it is a print on demand service and the cost of the printing is deducted off the cost of the book when it sells. This has advantages and disadvantages, I need to look into all avenues before making any rash choices! Thanks again for taking time to reply,

Cheers,

Tom
 

Fimm McCool

Member
Seconded RPGNow/Wargames Vault. I've had a few sales through their platforms (pdf downloads) but they're quite saturated and it's hard to stand out.
 

PantherV

Member
Another quick question while i'm here. If I used photographs of miniatures from my own collection in self published rules would I need permission from the figure manufacturers to use pictures of their models? Or is it a case of just crediting the companies? I would hate to be on the wrong end of a GW law suit!!! :(
 

SamusDrake

Member
PantherV":2nsjw78y said:
Another quick question while i'm here. If I used photographs of miniatures from my own collection in self published rules would I need permission from the figure manufacturers to use pictures of their models? Or is it a case of just crediting the companies? I would hate to be on the wrong end of a GW law suit!!! :(

Definitely ask for permission. Although GW will probably decline, I would assume the other smaller companies would appreciate the exposure.
 

Fimm McCool

Member
SamusDrake":3ilkbh90 said:
Definitely ask for permission. Although GW will probably decline, I would assume the other smaller companies would appreciate the exposure.

Definitely my experience. GW get funny about their minis being used in publications, other companies like the publicity but always ask, get permission and credit the company before using.
 

PantherV

Member
Thanks guys, as I thought. Problem is most of my figures are old citadel! Looks like ive got a lot of painting to do!!!
 
I think if you write "Models by XXXX. Used here without permission for illustrative purposes only" on EVERY photo you will probably be ok. They have to be your own photographs too.
 

Fimm McCool

Member
It's not a risk I'd want to run. Probably OK with POD stuff, but if you do a print run of 200 books and a company sends you an official request to remove the use of their miniatures you're a bit screwed. Not saying they would do, but it could happen.
 

PantherV

Member
Sound advice. I dont think I would run the risk, Im in the early stages at the moment so its not like I have to re-do anything. Im just hoping to make the whole process as problem free as I can!

Cheers,

Tom
 
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