Santa Dragon Claws Presents, 25 Holiday magic items (DnD5E OGL)

Happy holidays everyone!


Back in October, while the Whispers of Persephone KickStarter was running, I came up with an idea for a holiday themed RPG book detailing useful and fun magic items.  Zack Viola liked the idea, and so he launched the KickStarter campaign for the book last night.


While I'm finishing up Whispers for fulfillment, Zack is going to be running the campaign for the Holiday magic item book.  It will be good for him to learn the creator applications on KickStarter for his future endeavors. 


What we did with this crowd funding campaign:


This project is something of an oddity, in that we launched the campaign to fund our marginal costs but we wanted to keep the campaign simple and the pledge level low.  We hit upon the idea of having only one backer tier and keeping the rewards as digital only for simplicity sake. 


$4 backer tier:  The only backer tier for this campaign was specifically created to provide value for the backers while minimizing fulfillment expenses and facilitating a rapid delivery of rewards.  To maximize value for the backer, we are distributing PDF and Print on Demand codes for hard cover and soft cover versions of the book.  {Yes, this means we aren't making any money on the print versions through this campaign.  The purpose is to provide the best value possible for the backer. This is our way of saying 'Happy Holidays' to the KickStarter community}




How it's going so far:


We didn't promote this campaign much before launch but we've seen several people sharing links for us on social media platforms.  As of this writing, the campaign is less than twelve hours old and hasn't yet funded.  With six days left in this short campaign I'm optimistic that we'll reach our goal.




Fulfillment:


Normally, I wait to fulfill campaigns until after the money comes in from Kickstarter.  This is due, in large part, because I usually need to use that money to pay for printing costs and shipping.  With this campaign, where are rewards are digital, fulfillment will begin Christmas Eve night after the backer survey goes out.  PDF files will be sent out starting that evening, and the print on demand codes will go out once they are available from drivethrurpg.com. 




For other creators:


Running a campaign like this, where you are collaborating with someone you work well with, is a lot of fun.  This project benefits from having little stress on either Zack or I and is a fun holiday project.  If you decide to run a campaign like this yourself, I recommend far more advance promotion that Zack and I did, as we limited ours to a few social media blurbs and reached out to some bloggers and podcasters we know.  Give yourself a couple of weeks ahead of launch to build interest.


Here's to one last KickStarter campaign for 2018!
Now, I'm going to get back to work finishing up the things I've left to do for Whispers of Persephone.  Backers are getting that book this month and I've still a few things to take care of.


Check out Santa Dragon Claws Presents at the link below.  Happy holidays to you all!

The Steel Road and some notes on Whispers of Persephone

Enchanted Skull Cup from "Whispers of Persephone"
Art by: Christian Martinez

The Steel Road (mistakes made and things I learned):

Fulfillment is underway of The Steel Road and I've learned a few things from some mistakes I managed to make.  So, for the benefit of all (save the laughter for later please), lets talk about how NOT to make these mistakes.

PDF fulfillment :  When executing your PDF fulfillment, it is wise to create a separate file for upload, apart from your print file.  Your print file is often at a higher resolution than that which you'll need for an electronic copy.  Keep this in mind as it can make profound differences in file size and convenience to your audience.  By way of example:  I uploaded my "electronic" file and forgot this very basic premise, exporting it in all its nearly 470 MB glory (yeah, I know).  Tonight, I'll be uploading the compressed files for The Steel Road's PDF versions. 

Other issues crept up (file corruption, and export mistake that resulted in one page document being uploaded ... yeah it was a rough couple of hours.)

Take away from this:  Create a checklist to prevent yourself from making little mistakes like this. It can help you to avoid huge inconveniences for your audience.

Scheduling:  I pride myself on scheduling for fulfillment.  That said, I had some set backs during The Steel Road final formatting.  One of the biggest set backs was that my computer suddenly, and catastrophically, died. RIP.  Fortunately I had saved copy of the InDesign files off that machine (yeah, cloud services) and was able to resume work once I get a new system.  This did, however, disrupt my time table when coupled with life rising up to eat my time up.  The final stroke was that I uploaded my print files and ended up needing to make a few last minute changes.  This is problematic when you are working on the weekend, and can't get the file rejected so as to upload the correct version.

Take away from this:  Upload your print files and electronic copy files during 'normal' business hours if at all possible.  The extra couple of days can be very important.

Now, these are things I really should have known better than to let impact my timeline.  But they happened, and it has.  The Steel Road PDF fulfillment is done (with the newly compressed file going out to make it more user friendly).  Print including the print on demand codes, are running late as I insist on having a proof copy in hand before ordering copies or triggering the codes.  This is so I can identify any printing problems before sending it on to the backers.  I recommend this, as I believe in giving people the best quality book possible.  Take that with you, and hold it close in your memory.

The net impact is that the print and print on demand copies of The Steel Road will deliver a few days outside of the estimated fulfillment period.  Originally I fully expected to fulfill this month (August 2018), but those POD codes and print copies will now be going out in early September.  I hate being late.  I have advised the backers through updates (please remember to post updates regularly, it is a great way to stay connected to your backers and to keep your project on track).

The Steel Road (great things that happened!): 

The Steel Road was a joy to develop, and despite the initial difficulties with fulfillment, has been a tremendous amount of fun to put in the hands of backers.  I've received a number of messages from backers who are very happy with the book.  I'm keeping those, as it is a wonderful thing to know that people are enjoying your work.  I also had several nice posts in comments about the book.

I can't tell you how fantastic it is to hear that people are enjoying something I created.  I hope you have the opportunity to experience this feeling.  It's joyous.

You can find these comments and more, many about the chaos around the PDF release, HERE

_____________________________

Let's change gears a bit: 

Whispers of Persephone has been pushed back twice now to allow for completion of the fulfillment of The Steel Road.  That is as it should be.

I'm using this time to work on the new file for the next round of play testing, which will be occurring during the coming month, through the kickstarter campaign, and concluding prior to fulfillment.  This is the second round of play test, which is something I really recommend.  I want my material to be the best it can be.  I don't have the years of experience of the legends like Monte Cook or Steve Jackson, so I have to be careful and use the great thing that is play testing to make sure I'm not way off in my designs.  It also happens to be great fun to talk with the people who are testing your material.  Very often they have insights to offer, suggestions about things they would want in the book, that can really polish up the work.  Listen to your play testers!

Coming off fulfillment of The Steel Road, Whispers of Persephone is launching very soon.  Having been pushed back a few weeks, it is impacting my timeline for other projects I intend to release later this year as well.  That said, I thought about the KickStarter, the funding needed, and the best way to incorporate everything I want to accomplish and to give backers the best quality rewards I could.  I concluded, that going will all digital rewards (PDFs and Print on demand codes) was the best way to provide good value to backers while raising the money needed for art.

This was a tough decision for me, as I really enjoy signing physical copies and sending them on to backers.  A big part of me, still wants to offer signed copies.  I'm fighting that urge.  Fulfillment will go more swiftly, accounting will be easier, and fulfillment overall will happen more quickly with digital rewards.   I still intend to offer physical / signed copies of future books, I just want to get Whispers into the hands of backers as smoothly as possible.  As a side consequence, it also allows me to set my goal lower, as I don't have to account for physical rewards. {I may still convince myself to make signed copies available.  I'm going to ask prior backers for their input before launch.}

Crowdfunding has been a remarkable boon for me, allowing me to produce books I'm very proud of.  I look forward to future projects and campaigns.  I hope that you will create wonderful things for yourself and your audience, and know the joy of bringing that creation to other.

I will be posting more about my crowdfunding/KickStarter experiences in the near future as more projects come up for funding. Will Whispers of Persephone be well received by the ttrpg community on KickStarter?  We'll soon see.

*****

Thanks again for joining me on my adventures in game design, writing and self-publishing.  I hope this entry helps you to avoid these mistakes and to achieve your own publishing goals. 

Art from this entry is from Whispers of Persephone and was created on commission by Christian Martinez.  Copyright Sinopa Publishing LLC, all rights reserved.

Help yourself: Focus on the artist ~ Zachary Viola

The first piece Zachary Viola every did for me
From: Tale of the Wizard's Eye

It's been a long week of formatting text, convention appearance, day job, playing with the kids, and catching up with my fan fiction.

As you may have noticed, I try to make this blog useful for anyone who is thinking about designing their own game, writing their own books, publishing and / or crowdfunding.  One of the key things I've written about over the course of this blog's history, is the relationship with artists you may hire to produce content for your publications/games.  It's no secret that I have a lot of respect for people who are able to create visual art.  I don't possess the skill to do so and that means I have a real need for talented professionals to produce that content for me.

Today I want to focus on one particular artist,though I plan to do a posts on the other artists I've worked with in the future.  So today I want to speak about Zachary Viola (the link takes you the artist biography page I set up for him).

Zack's first contribution was to my first adventure release.  Zack came through in a clinch when I made a drastic to the encounter in a key part of the book.  He was able to put together the piece above ahead of deadline, all while going through the final preparations for his graduation from the Kubert School.  The next time we worked together was to partner up on The Steel Road!

Working with Zack on The Steel Road was a real treat.  He was great about asking questions and providing feedback on stylistic choices, had a really strong insight for the visual style of the book, and was always consistent and professional.  Would I work with with Zack again????  You bet!

Now, how is this useful to you?

As I've written before, treating your artists with respect, being professional, and paying fairly are essential.  My recommendation, find artists whose work you enjoy and build a working relationship that benefits both of you.  After all, you don't want to be in a position where you are forced to seek out new artistic talent because people who have worked for you in the past aren't wanting to work with you again!   Cultivate the talent of those whom you work with.  Elevate their opportunities and you'll see your own grow as well.

Whether you are a new writer / designer looking for art, an established publisher looking for new talent, or a comic and RPG fan who wants to see who the new talents are that are bursting out onto the scene; keep your eyes on Zack Viola.  He's not done, by a long shot!

Promotional image from: The Steel Road

Thank you for joining me on my adventure into game design, writing and self-publishing. I hope you'll find useful information in these entries that may, in some small way, help you find joy and success in your own endeavors.

As always, your comments are most welcome.

Multi-tasking: writing, crowdfunding, & meetings (Oh MY!)

Promotional Image for: The Steel Road (now on Kickstarter)
Art by: Zachary Viola

Like many of you, I have a day job that pays the bills.  Then when I'm off work I play with my daughter, take care of our home, and basically do the responsible adult gig.  I happen to like my job and the people I work with, so all in all things are pretty good.

Writing, however, is a joy to me.  I like doing it and when I'm not actually writing I'm actually thinking about writing or things related to my writing and publishing.  I'm not obsessed (honest).  So it is likely no surprise to those of you who read this blog, that I've been working on several different projects simultaneously.  Currently I'm running a KickStarter campaign, formatting text and cleaning up art for The Steel Road (the subject of said KickStarter), working on draft for Tarot Adventures, Book Three: Death comes to Glenfallow and the draft of Whispers of Persephone, coordinating with artists on an anthology project, working on game design elements for my RPG project, and planning crowdfunding for the above projects and the re-launch of 47 Furious Tails.  There is a lot of work going on around me right now and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Now, how do I find time?

My day starts are 0600 (most days) when my baleful alarm chirps and wheezes at me to inform me that its time to get out of bed.  I hate that alarm.

I then get up, preheat my oven, jump through the shower, mix up and set to bake (some thing) for breakfast.  After pushing the muffins, or cinnamon rolls or whatever into the oven, I go engage in the task of waking and dressing children.  By the time that is done its time to pull the whatever out of the oven and feed myself and the children.  It's an easy and quick routine.

Then its off to drop off youngest at daycare, and then onto work.

Work is where I do the things that pay those pesky bills. At work I don't write, except during my breaks and if I'm off property.  There are legal reasons why.  I work until the afternoon hours, then retrieve my child and we go home so I can make dinner.  We then play until bath time, whereupon we engage in the ancient form of combat known as "bathing a small child".  This is followed by drying, dressing, and then putting the small human to bed.

Big deep breath, then on to writing.

I write, and I write, and a small portion of it is good enough to share with other humans. I write posts for this blog, promotional material for my crowdfunding activities, and somewhere in and among that I have video conferences with artists.  My day usually ends somewhere between Midnight and 0200.  Last night it ended at 0230, and I woke up at 0600.

My point is, I have my pace.  I've found what I can do to make time to write and not have my time with my family compromised.  It works for me, but this schedule is demanding and not for everyone.  In truth, this afternoon I'm pretty tired and haven't had coffee yet (its now 1430), so sometimes its hard on me too.

Throughout the day, I have to multi-task.  Getting a few things done in small span of time is a critically important thing to master.  By completing even small tasks while working on larger jobs, you chip away at your work load and speed completion of the project.  Give it a try, you'll find it's true.

Crowdfunding:  Wow, as I've mentioned with each of my previous crowdfunding campaigns, they take up a LOT of your time.  Responding to your backers' questions and comments, working to compete the project, these are all things that must be handled to support your crowdfunding.  These are also habits to get into so you can connect with your audience.  It's important that you spend time on your backers, or else they may become former backers.  Think about that.

Meetings:  Nothing says you can't complete tasks while in a meeting.  Do it!  If you've been needing to speak to Rosa about a graphic design she did, then knock that out during the meeting or schedule a time for it following the meeting.  Optimize you time to enhance your production, you'll find you get much more done than you ever thought you could.  If you have people working for or with you, delegate tasks within the capacity of your team to complete things in a timely manner.



The KickStarter for The Steel Road is well underway and already funded and has some exciting stretch goals awaiting.  I hope you'll check it out, support the project, and share the campaign page with others.

*****

Thank you for joining me today on my adventure into writing, game design and self-publishing.  I hope this blog continues to prove useful to you as you engage in your own projects.

I hope to see you next time.

W.S. "Sam" Quinton

Sharing some cool moments: The Steel Road KickStarter Campaign first day

Screen capture from this morning

I really enjoy the KickStarter campaign process, but I think what I most like (other than getting my projects funded so they get printed) is chatting with the people who support the campaigns.

Last night I launched the KickStarter campaign for The Steel Road (screen capture above) and I saw a sudden surge of support from backers from previous campaigns.  I have to tell you everyone, that was the best feeling!

There were a lot of fun moments in the live stream, jokes, laughs, and some technical difficulties but I think we all had a pretty good time.

Its still early in the campaign and we haven't yet funded, but there was something else that happened that I wanted to mention.  When the campaign launched I saw a lot of other creators sharing the links for me.  Folks whose kickstarter campaigns I had linked to this blog, or had been retweeted on the Sinopa Publishing page.  Comic book shops in New Jersey and Ohio who I had messages with over the last year, sharing sales and events links and generally just getting acquainted.  People whom I have a feeling of community with.

I have to tell you, it was really very touching to see people like Ryan Burke, James Vail, and the great folks at Gunslinger Comics (Hi Adam!) come out in such force.  It was incredibly cool and I literally bounced in my chair a bit (in full view of the live feed) when I saw these links going out. 

My thoughts

For all of us who create content and seek to fund our works on KickStarter and Indiegogo and other places, lets remember to keep helping each other out.  Share the links for campaigns you like, put in a plug for campaigns that need some help, and do the little things that can make a huge difference in these campaigns.  This is particularly important for the folks who are launching their first campaigns and maybe don't have many people who know about them yet.

I want to thank all the backers, all the people who shared my campaign links, and all of you who are have been reading my blogs.  Your support is everything that is important in my creative efforts.

*****

Thank you for joining me on my adventure in game design, writing, and self-publishing.  I hope that this blog helps you to avoid mistakes I've made, and gives you some good information on getting your own projects developed.

The Steel Road is live on KickStarter as of this writing, with the early backer reward active until May 27th, 2018 at 7:00PM.  I hope you'll take advantage of the best deal I could put together! 

The link to the KickStarter is in the "featured crowdfunding" pane at the top of the page.

Thank you all!

Video: A few words from Zachary Viola about The Steel Road ~ KickStarter launches tonight, May 24th at 7:00PM EST

In his own words:  Zachary Viola on what it was like to work on The Steel Road

Remember, the KickStarter goes live tonight at 7:00PM EST.  Zack and I will be live streaming on Kickstarter, taking questions and talking about this and other projects.

Come join in the fun and support a great book project.

*****

For all of you who follow this blog with regard to my adventure in writing, game design and self-publishing: I have to tell you that when Zack sent this video to me it choked me up a bit.  I'm grateful to have been working with Zack on this project, and happy to see that being professional and treating the artists who work with me well is making a difference.  He and I both had a great time developing this book.

I hope you will all come check out the KickStarter.  Please do help spread the word by sharing this blog entry, as well as the kickstarter on social media and by telling friends. 

Thank you all for your support!

Japanese combat fan and The Steel Road ~ and shameless self-promotion

Art by: Zachary Viola
From the working draft ~ grammar and spelling edits are forthcoming

When I created the list of weapons to include in The Steel Road, the tessen was a weapon I knew I wanted.  Tessen show up in the history of feudal Japan in unexpected ways. Whether being used to prevent Oda Nobunaga from killing you with a door (seriously, this is believed to have actually happened!), or deflecting the sword of a young general trying to kill his adversary in his tent, the stories associated with this elegant weapon are always interesting.

In RPG moments, the tessen has fantastic opportunities to shine in social encounters that turn violent.  Are you attending a ball thrown by a local count and can't bring your sword?  Bring the your tessen, just in case things go badly.  Were you disarmed by guards and locked in a cell?  Having a tessen with you provides a discreet weapon that is often overlooked. 

Don't miss the opportunity to boast of your victory. "He pulled a dagger from under his coat, so I beat him unconscious with my fan,"  is a fantastic story to tell.

Look for the tessen, appearing in The Steel Road,
coming to KickStarter May 24th, 2018 at 7:00PM (EST)

*****

If you've been following this blog you know I talk mostly about my experiences in game design, writing and self-publishing.  The above segment is an obvious plug I slapped together to remind people of the coming KickStarter campaign. 

When you are working to promote yourself, please provide something for people to enjoy.  I like the history of the tessen as a weapon.  I wanted to share some of that with people because I think other people would enjoy it too.  Make a point to provide people with that kind of value.  Give something interesting and genuine in your promotional efforts.  I'm sure you'll find it both rewarding and rewarded.

I do hope you'll come out in support of the KickStarter on Thursday.

I also hope I'll see you here next time as we continue the adventure into game design, writing, and self-publishing.  I hope I can encourage you to launch your own creations, explore your own writing, and to create fun games for people to enjoy.

I'll see you next time!