So, hello again!
I don't attent Cons - not that I don't want to, I just haven't. That will be changing this year though, I'm off to the games expo in brum. Reading through everyones forum entries, I see that Cons are a great way to sell your game. The trouble is, I have to get my hardcopies through Lulu, costing me about £15 a time with a very long delivery! Anyone have any ideas how I could get something printed up for a much cheaper price? I don't want to hold lots of stock - that was the reason to go through Lulu in the first place... I could do CDs. Would that work in people opinion?
Cheers,
Greg
PS: if you're wondering who
Submitted by Evil Doctor on Thu, 22/03/2007 - 12:13.
PS: if you're wondering who I am, I just posted in the art publishing thread with a bit of an introduction...
www.fireruby.co.uk
http://www.lulu.com/firerubystudios[/url]
CDs and short print runs
Submitted by Gregor Hutton on Thu, 22/03/2007 - 12:55.
PDFs on CDs have worked for me actually. I've sold a few at cons and they actually do better for me at cons than they do online (who knew!?).
I'd also say look at the Printer thread on the Publishing forum and read about our experiences with short-run printers (mainly in the US).
They will offer you prices way lower than Lulu, and the run only has to be in the realm of 20 copies if that's all you want to try at a time.
Actual Play and pitching, as well as answering questions and listening to what gamers want at cons is a strong way to sell games.
See you at Games Expo!
Cons
Submitted by Matt on Thu, 22/03/2007 - 13:01.
Hi Greg.
Cons are great, but require a solid strategy. You need to go into them with concrete and measurable aims and an understanding of the kind of Con it is and how that can benefit you. For example, UK Games Expo is more sales orientated, so that means mostly running long games isn't actually in your favour.
I strongly recommend you look at the concept of 15 minute demo games (as pioneered at the Forge Booth at GenCon and appropriated by us).
Lulu, if your pricepoint is set right, shouldn't be a problem. I print my current stock via Lulu, and still cover costs at Cons. Is your book particularly large?
If you are looking for other printing options, check the printing thread in these forums, there's a nice overview of other possibles there.
-Matt
Realms Publishing
Sounds like a hardback price
Submitted by Tim Gray on Sun, 25/03/2007 - 22:15.
Sounds like a hardback price to me.
Tim Gray
Silver Branch Games
www.silverbranch.co.uk
Hi Greg, nice to see you
Submitted by Malcolm Craig on Mon, 26/03/2007 - 15:09.
Hi Greg, nice to see you here on the forums.
The advice given by Matt and Gregor is solid: knowing what to expect from a con a planning for it is a strong way to go. At some cons you can 'reasonably expect' to have good sales, provided you promote your game in a good way.
We've certainly found that short demos are a very strong tool for letting people know what your game is all about. There are a few threads here on creating short demos. 15 - 20 minute demo aren't the be all and end all. At a sales-intensive con like Dragonmeet, they are the ideal thing. However, at a less frenetic event like Conflagration, longer, slightly more involved demos might be the order of the day.
The price point for you getting copies of your book seems very high. It would certainly be worthwhile looking at other printers and printing options if you want to sell you game at cons.
Cheers
Malcolm
Contested Ground Studios
Yeah, that's the hardback
Submitted by Evil Doctor on Tue, 27/03/2007 - 09:26.
Yeah, that's the hardback price. I guess the softback would work out cheaper (with posting from Europe). I'll muse over all of the comments chaps, cheers!
Greg