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!

D&D Facebook Subscription groups and other stuff

It's been a busy three weeks since my last post here.  Sorry for the delay, but life has been unforgiving with my time of late.  There are a few things I want to touch on today, so lets get to it!

Recently, on Facebook ~

It sounds like the continuation of a television drama, doesn't it?

A few days ago, on the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition closed Facebook group, I noticed that one of the admins had posted about a closed subscription group known as the "5e Adventure Academy".   As that group allows for advertisement of crowdfunding campaigns by members, I didn't think anything of it beyond the question "Facebook has subscription groups?"   Like many of us, I quickly turned to Google to see what information was out there about this group model.  One of the articles I found (released in the summer of 2018) can be found HERE (Written by Josh Constine).

For the record, I fully support people making money from content they create. I myself have a Drip page, I know several people who have Patreon pages and I am an avid creator and consumer on KickStarter.  I don't see anything wrong with people creating new content (within licensing boundaries) and making that content available to the community in a fairly priced way.

As this is a relatively new model for Facebook, it can seem a bit alien. There have been a wide range of responses to the announcement and posts by the Admin who made the announcement.  People have condemned the idea, supported the notion, been surprised by the list of contributors, and have expressed a wide range of opinions regarding this new development.

While I am not subscribing to that group, it isn't because I don't care for the model or that I'm condemning the use of Facebook in such a way.  The reality is that I'm a single father and a creator who puts almost all the revenue generated from my own work back into new projects. To be blunt, I can't justify the additional expense at this time.  Even as I write this entry, I wrestle with this decision because the list of contributors does include people whose work I am somewhat familiar with. I am of the opinion that you can always learn from others.  I'm afraid that I may miss out on a valuable learning opportunity, at least for the next few months, by staying out.

My understanding is that new, original content is going to be generated by the contributors within that group.  Such creative energy is something the RPG community always needs.  How you and I, the audience, choose to consume such content is up to us.  I am not endorsing nor condemning this new subscription group, but I do think that all of us should be aware of it.  If you like the idea, you can always elect to join and can leave if it doesn't live up to your expectations.  If you don't like the idea, don't subscribe.  It really is just that simple.

Full disclosure: During the discussion within the Facebook thread, I expressed my opinion that people charging for original content was a good thing, which prompted a bit of blow back directed at me and my releases.  When I went back to respond to the comments that had been directed at me, I saw that my comments as well as those who were actively discussing the matter in that same conversational "comment" thread had been deleted.  I did not ask for that to occur and I'm not certain what spawned that decision.  It does seem that one of my most vocal detractors has since left the group, which is unfortunate as I believe it is important to hear all sides of a discussion.  Whether he left voluntarily or was kicked from the group, I do not know. What I do know is that I did not ask for the content to be removed, for his criticisms of my opinion and my own creations to be censored, nor for my own comments to be deleted.  I'll chalk that up to admin or moderator intervention and leave it at that.


Whispers of Persephone ~

Work on WoP has picked up and is nearing completion as I now have all of the information from the backers who pledged at the Acolyte of Death and Fallen Hero levels.  While I had originally hoped to have all of that content formatted in before the Thanksgiving holiday, that didn't happen as life intervened (details involve my children, so I'm not going into that here). 

I had believed that fulfillment would occur early, before December 1st, but now it seems it will be on time and be delivered in December.  This puts my holiday magic item book in jeopardy, but I'm working furiously to resolve the timeline.  More on that as it develops.

Christian Martinez is creating the final two art works for the book, and I believe they will be wonderful as he never fails to impress me.

To all of you who supported the campaign, pledged your support and helped make this book possible:  I thank you!

Several pieces of art for Whispers are now available on merchandise on my Society6 and RedBubble pages.  (More on that below)


Creators, Explore your options ~

Sites like Printful, Redbubble, Society6 and so many others open an opportunity for creators to expand the use and market for their art.  If you are a small publisher who commissions art for your work, be aware that before you use art you've commissioned you need to make certain you own or have license to use the art for merchandising purposes. I have written such language into the contracts I use with the artists whom I hire.  We negotiate the price for art with those rights in mind.

You're probably asking, 'But, will I make money?'.  I can't tell you that.  Personally, I've made about $18 after expenses on merchandise sales this first week.  Of that amount, about $4 is attributed to friends of mine who both liked the item(s) in question and wanted to support my efforts.  The remaining $14 were from users I do not personally know.  As I had already paid for the art in question, I'm calling that a profit.  This may not seem like much to many people, but for me I see it as a few grocery items for my kids.  Which is something I'm very appreciative of.

If you haven't explored these sites yet, take note that there is a considerable overlap in the type of goods they offer, the terms of sale, your own access to merchandise at discounted prices, and whether or not they have templates available for your use. 

As most such sites have no fees for you to pay to maintain your page (they make their money on their cut of the individual sales), it is a nice way to offer merchandise to your audience if you cannot yet afford to have items produced in bulk.  Be aware that such merchandise has a smaller profit margin that if you had items produced in bulk and the retail price is often slightly higher than what you may otherwise charge.  This is due to each item being produced to order.

Examples of my own merchandise creations are indicated below. You can click on the image to go to the site to see other stuff I put together. This will give you some idea of the kinds of things that are available to these two sites specifically.  There are several other sites where merchandise can be created and it can be fun to play around with the images as you develop what the final product will look like.  As examples I have my "Ritual of Sacrifice Cutting Board" (yes, I think that is pretty funny) and one of the phone cases I designed using art from 47 Furious Tails (art by: Alexia Veldhuisen).

Drip, Patreon, Indiegogo and KickStarter are all valuable resources for us as creators.  It can seem intimidating when you first use them and can be disappointing if you don't reach your expectations.  I encourage you to keep creating, to been open and engaged with your audience, and to never give up on your efforts.  Being able to create is a wonderful thing.  Be proud of what you create, happy with how your audience receives your work, own your mistakes and your accomplishments and you will find that whether you make a dollar or a thousand dollars, you did well.

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Thank you for joining me once again on my continuing adventure in game design, writing and self-publishing.  I hope that you find the information here of use in your own efforts and fun to read.

I hope you'll join me next time, as the adventure continues.

Helping each other, a bit of advice about KickStarter Live, and shameless self-promotion!

In the time that I have been writing this blog, I have very often made mention of my belief in building community with other creators.  I have personally enjoyed doing so, have benefited from sharing information, and have develop a few new friendships along the way.  It has been beneficial and personally it has been most gratifying.

One thing I like to do, is to reach out to first time Kickstarter creators to offer encouragement, of if they are slow funding I like to recommend free things they can do to promote their campaign.  It takes just a few minutes of your day to reach out to people (bloggers, podcasters, Youtubers, etc.) who use an interview platform and put them in touch with the first time creator.  This has the remarkable benefit of providing content and provides a ready made audience for the first time creator to be introduced to.  This works best when you maintain these relationships.

Support those who have supported your efforts, and support those whose work you respect.  If you'll look over to the right you'll see the "featured crowdfunding campaign" section.  Folks don't pay for that spot, I put it there because I think their creation is cool.  This is one of the ways I make an effort to help other creators.  Those of you who have a broader social reach (so really, just about everyone who reads this blog) can have a tremendous impact on the success of a crowdfunding campaign. Remember, if you think its cool then the people who read your material will probably enjoy it too.

It really comes down to building each other up.  Share information about each other's campaigns.  Point folks to print shops and manufacturers you've had good experience with (Thanks again, Adam!).   Use the social media sharing options on your crowdfunding campaign to spread the word on things you like.  You'll find that people are usually very willing to help you in return.

'Pro' tip:

Starting with The Steel Road, I began making a habit of using KickStarter Live (their live streaming utility) to stream during the campaigns.  I've found that this is a wonderful way to connect with your audience!  While I cannot say that live streaming has had a direct impact on the amount of funding raised (there just isn't enough to data present for me to attempt a responsible correlation calculation) I will point out that The Steel Road was a great success for me and Whispers of Persephone saw even more funding from its campaign.

Yes, I'm recommending that you use this feature when you launch a KickStarter campaign.  I'm also going to recommend that you not limit it to just non-stop prattle about your project.  I try to spend about five minutes an hour talking about the project and the rest of the time taking questions, talking with guests (get to that in a moment) and making it a fun activity for all.  Making it a fun thing really does take a lot of the stress away launching the live stream, so have a good time with it.  If you look forward to it, then others will as well.

I also recommend having guests on.  I've had live streamers, podcasters, Youtubers, artists, an author and friends on my own streams.  It keeps the conversation going effortlessly, makes for a wide range of appeal, brings in fans of the guests in question, and really does make for a fun evening.  People have said that I don't live stream "the right way" in that I don't spend a LOT of time talking about my own stuff.  I do, however, take questions about the project and address them as prompltly as possible.  As a great side effect, my relationships with those guests have improved, they've picked up more viewers as audiences cross populate, and I've found more support from some of their fans as well.  Get to know people, even if they have an audience of five people that is potentially five more people you can reach.

Shameless self-promotion:

Yes indeed, it is time once again for me to plug my own stuff.  Whispers of Persephone's KickStarter campaign is complete and I'm working hard to complete the last stages before sending it to be edited.  Once Whispers fulfillment is complete, I'll be launching a holiday book.  I would like to see that campaign launch on the 14th if at all possible, so I'll be working pretty hard in the coming days to make that happen.  It will have its own KickStarter campaign with a rapid fulfillment turn around. Wish me luck!

Drip

My Drip page has entered its second month.  This month (November) will see a monster character as the subject of the month.  It is being illustrated in full color by Alexia Veldhuisen.  I've seen the black and white (pre-color) version of the art and it is stunning.  I'm looking forward to putting that PDF out and sending out the Magic in the Mail cards.

Drip (and Patreon) are wonderful resources for creators.  It is surprising how just a little bit of support can go such a long way!  I am hoping, really hoping, to achieve a milestone of fifty subscribers by the end of April 2019.  That is a BIG goal, but would (most likely) make the Drip page self-sufficient (I commission original art for the monthly release and it does cost some money) and would eventually like to expand the breadth of the material released to the subscribers.

So here is my vision of what my Drip page releases will, eventually, look like:

1) Behind the scenes releases will continue to include play test materials for subscribers.  This is already happening and I'm cautiously optimistic that this will continue to be a popular point with the subscribers.

2) Monthly release will be gradually expanded to increase content provided to the subscribers without raising price points.

3) Subscribers will have the first choice option for limited availability tiers for coming KickStarter campaigns.  One of the first examples of this will be with Tarot Adventures, Book Three: Death comes to Glenfallow.  For that campaign, I have arranged to have a fully illustrated map developed.  On that map will be ten (10) locations that KickStarter backers can pledge for to have the area named after themselves.  Drip subscribers will have the opportunity to pledge for this limited reward prior to the KickStarter going live. I'll reduce the total available tier slots available before launch.

Long term goal for Drip page:

Okay, so this is a bit of misnomer... Drip is shutting down next year and the Drip creators are being migrated to a new site.  I'm not certain what the new platform will be named so for now I'll just refer to it as Drip.  Also, I originally drew up three different long term goals but they are all dependent upon the goal below.

1) Reach 1000 subscribers!  There are a lot of reasons I want to reach this goal.  It would allow me to expand the amount of content released each month (as above), help fund the art and development for the Tarot Adventures and would (potentially) allow me to commission art for my own RPG (currently in development).

You can click on the image to check out my Drip page ... I'll be updating the video in the coming days.

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Thank you once again for joining me on my adventure into self-publishing, writing and game design.  I invite you post your comments and/or questions below.

Please do remember, this blog records my experiences and thoughts. I recommend that you conduct your own research and make your own determination as what has worked for me might not work for you.  The thoughts and opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone (except where other people are quoted).

I hope you'll join me next time, as we continue my new adventure in game design, self-publishing and writing.

Thank you all!

Creating content: What is working for me...

I set my pen aside for many long years.  It was the nineties and I had basically given up on the idea of becoming a game designer.  In short, I gave up and took on a different line of work.


In 2017 I returned to writing with a vengeance.  I dug out old ideas, brainstormed new fun things, and wrote as quickly as I could.  I wrote quickly because I wanted to get the ideas down on paper (and I mean that literally, I like to write on paper) and I promised myself I would work on cleaning up the content once the work was roughed out.


When I have a flash of inspiration I write it down, I outline, I plug in stray thoughts associated with the concept and I write as much as I can about it as soon as possible. When I run out of immediate ideas, I set that aside and focus on a project I'm actively developing.  I am finding that this tends to clear the stray thoughts out of my mind and allows me to focus on a project.  It also gives me that little jolt, that quiver of excitement about a new idea to explore without the guilt of not acting on it.  I know I'll come back to it in the due course of development.


If I'm tired of working on a particular project, I don't move it on my development timeline.  I keep it there.  I alleviate any weariness by playing a game, baking treats for my daughter, reading something by Charles Stross, watching anime or writing fan fiction.   This last option is, I believe, most useful.  Writing fan fiction refreshes me.  I know I'm writing for me and a few people who happen to enjoy my stories.  I also base my fan fiction on old game session and campaign happenings so I reminisce about old friends and fun times while I write.  It is a liberating experience and one that I find makes writing more enjoyable overall.


I have been refining my processes with each book.  My current process is loosely laid out below.  Please note, that as I continue to evolve my processes this may change with each book.  The process described below reflects the process used in the development of Whispers of Persephone (now on KickStarter).  Please do keep in mind that I have only been doing this for a year, so if you have suggestions on how I can refine the process please do comment below.


Development:
Once I have my concept written down, I gather any and all notes on it and from those I construct an outline.  Now I realize that writing from an outline seems old fashioned and like it adds work but I have found it most helpful when I want to define what actions are placed in what order and as a means by which to chart the flow of the narrative.   By way of example, when I wrote Comet over Echo Rock I had a section in my outline that mentioned natural hazards but I hadn't defined them yet.  Looking at the placement in the story from the outline was easy.  This also allowed me to plan out the encounter with an eye toward total party attrition and how it affected the narrative.


Following the outline provided me with a roadmap through each section.  Introduction, background story, new NPC's, and encounters all flowed into place with remarkably little effort.  I soon had a first draft I could send to my first round play testers.  Next step, leave the play testers alone and wait for feedback.


Waiting is hard.  Getting feedback from your play testers is well worth waiting for.  Collect their feedback and let it weigh in on whether you need to make any adjustments to your project. This play test version can be a little rough, formatting can be imperfect, but it must be complete conceptually.  You don't want to test half of an idea.


Once I have the information from my play testers I evaluate the entirety of the information.  Don't try to please everyone, take a look at the things they point out in common and work to remedy those common issues first.  Once you've done your rewrite, clean up any loose grammar and work on the formatting to bring it into line with what you plan for final release.  This still doesn't have to be perfect, but I find it useful to start getting the product together throughout the process as it makes for less work in final editing.  I'm specifically talking about RPG work here, for comics it is critical to have your concept format laid out ahead of time. 


Second Round of Testing:
Once I have addressed issues identified in the first round of play testing, I take the document and put it out to the rest of my play testers. These folks get to dive upon the document now that it has been prepped into a document that almost resembles final product. These folks have the benefit of a document that is largely fleshed out with full text descriptions, narrative segments, (full game play mechanical data is done before going to the first tier play testers so these guys have a more polished version of those mechanical elements), and any art that you may already have for the book. 


Feedback from this second tier of play testing is (generally) more specific in its criticisms. Be thorough in your analysis as play testers are people and can suffer from observational bias.  You'll want to polish your rough spots, refine those problems that are identified, and realize that you'll never satisfy everyone.  There will be things that some people don't like which other people think are fantastic.  Weigh those opinions against your own concept of the product in order to determine whether you change it or not.


One thing I did for Whispers of Persephone it that I ordered proof copies of the play test edition.  Weird, right?  It was incredibly useful.  Not only did I have the book in hand to help with future edits, it also gave me an appreciation for what the book would look like in its final format and helped me to identify problems with color saturation, font issues, and how border art was affecting the overall feel of the book.  I recommend this for any book you release, as it really is that valuable a tool in your development process.  A side benefit of this, I had a physical copy to show during the KickStarter campaign.  I'm convinced that this helped my funding efforts.


Editing:
I edited my first book release.  That was a horrible idea.  Have someone else, or even a few people, review your final draft for edit purposes.  Run your spell checking application before handing it to them as you don't want them distracted by bad spelling when they are reviewing the text.  Grammatical corrections are important as they make the difference between a book that is easy to read and one that is difficult to comprehend. 


I find it wise to have your document reviewed twice in your editing process.  Editing it following the first pass, then a second pass after you have made those first corrections.  This has worked well for me in the past.  You may still find things that need corrected afterward. Be patient and fix those problems as you find them.


Final Proofs:
Once final edits have been completed, order proof copies of the book so you can conduct a final review of your product before release.  This is an amazingly cool moment for me, as I am still struck with wonder when I hold a book I've written.  I hope you have that same experience. It is a great feeling!
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This has been the briefest of overviews on the processes I've been using to get my books out. Whether you have been releasing titles yourself or are just starting, I recommend you research as much as possible before settling on your method as you may find processes that work better for you. I continue to revise my processes as I learn more from each release. In all things do your own research, your own due diligence, to arrive at your own method. 
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Thank you for joining me on my adventure in game design, writing and self-publishing.
I write this as way of recording my own experiences and sharing my insights and failures.  It is my hope that people who are interested in developing their own games from learn from my failures (and avoid the same mistakes) and that they can take the productive experiences shared here and use them for their own success.  Best of luck to you!


I hope you will join me next time as this adventure continues.


At the time this entry was written I have my latest book "Whispers of Persphone" live on KickStarter seeking to fund its art (and fulfillment) costs.  I hope you'll check it out, support it if you can, and please do share it with others.


I have also launched a Drip page, where people can subscribe to support my creative endeavors. I have a monthly release available there and all subscribers get behind the scenes information on coming projects.  I hope you'll check that out as well.


Thank you! 

The Drip Platform from KickStarter: Some useful information

Hello everyone!

If you read my post immediately preceding this one, you know that I was planning on launching a Patreon page, and documenting the promotion, use and results of that effort.  That plan changed when I received an unexpected invitation to become a creator on KickStarter's Drip platform.

At this time, I have halted my Patreon page development and I am focusing on the development of the Drip page. By the time this entry is public, my Drip page will be active.

As Drip is invitation only for creators at this time, I thought it would be useful for people to know how the platform works (from a new user's perspective) so you can know what to expect once it becomes available to you either by way of invitation, or once it becomes openly available.  It is my hope that you find this informative and useful, so lets get down to it.  All of the forthcoming data is from my experience with the platform to date, and links go to the Drip resource pages,  FAQ, and an article I read earlier this year. 

If you aren't familiar with Drip, don't worry not many people are aware of it yet. KickStarter's introduction post to Drip is here:  https://www.kickstarter.com/blog/introducing-the-new-drip

You can find the Drip FAQ page here: https://help.d.rip/hc/en-us

Also see an interesting article about KickStarter and Drip here:  https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/15/16652582/kickstarter-drip-creator-subscription-service-announced-perry-chen-interview


Getting Started: 
Getting logged into Drip was simple.  It appears to clone the credentials from your KickStarter account, but you can change those easily.  

Once you are logged in and ready to start work on your page, you'll find that your image and video upload points clearly indicate available file formats.  Having a recommended image file dimensions would be nice, but the lack thereof didn't cause me any real difficulty.  Choosing the image and creating the video for the page were far more time intensive.

Choosing the page image ~ I elected to use the illustration created for Tale of the Wizard's Eye by Phoenix O'Faery.  I secured permission to do so (seriously folks, make sure you have rights/permission before using someone's art), and had the image loaded in seconds. 

The Video ~ My webcam is a decade old.  No, seriously, it really is. It doesn't have great resolution, and I'm going to need to replace it soon.  This means that I didn't want to, and fortunately I didn't have to, shoot the page video on that old hardware.  I had help from my friends at Digital Eden Entertainment, and had a new video with much clearer resolution in a matter of minutes.  To develop the video content I looked at resources on Drip as well as information from articles I had read on creating Patreon pages. We did the video in two shots, as I fumbled the first attempt.

Page description ~ The Drip platform has little helpful tips that populate along the side of the page as well as links to other Drip pages in your category.  I found it particularly useful to look at the pages of the two other game developer creators I could find.  Both were receiving what I would call significant support from their subscribers and followed a similar outline for the page descriptions. I told myself not to try to reinvent the wheel, and outlined my own data in a similar fashion.  Let me be clear, I didn't copy and paste anything, I just chose to structure my description after the same fashion  (so introduction, what I do, what I'm making available, etc.).   I like the natural flow of that format and I'm planning on sticking to it.

Category ~  Your drip page is limited to one category.  My page is categorized under games.  As all of my currently published work has been role playing games, that makes sense to me.  I have a friend who has been invited, and his is in comics.  You can offer a wide variety of materials, but you'll only have the one category.  Keep this in mind as people exploring Drip for people making comics are not going to find you if you are in games and vice versa.

Subscription Tiers ~ Setting up subscription tiers is remarkably easy. If there were something I would like improved, it is the ability to feature an image with the Tier.  Presently that isn't available like it is on Patreon.   One thing you do need to differentiate in your tiers is whether it is a monthly subscription or a one time (pay this amount and get X) tier.  I've set up three different tiers of monthly subscriptions.  I won't set up one time payment tiers until I have a developed item for such a tier. Presently, I'm planning no more than a quarterly release of such material as I don't want to over burden my work load (which is already pretty heavy).

What you do with your Tiers will vary as widely as the material we all create. I think most of us will focus on digital rewards only, as it is the most cost effective and easily fulfilled.  Having said that though, I like physical rewards as a way connect with my audience in a very real and tangible way.  Consider those physical rewards carefully, do your math and check it twice, and make sure to leave yourself some room for things to go wrong and for you to pull in revenue.  Drip is intended as a way for people to support your creative endeavors, so make certain you do see some of that money in your hands to help keep the lights on.  I know that is what I'm hoping to see.

Promoting your Drip page ~ I'm not great at self-promotion but I've had some success and I've done some research on the subject. I recommend you do your own research as well.  This is a good example of the scientific method of testing theories devised by others and looking at the results to reach your own conclusions.  Pretty much every source says utilize your social media, place the links online, network with others and have them help you spread the word.  I agree with all of these. Place the link into your pages, remind people of how they can support you, and as in all things, be honest with your audience.  When people ask, "what are you doing with the money",  tell the truth. I'll be using it to commission art, help keep my lights on, to put food on the table for me and my kids, keep my car running, etc.  Whether I find $20 a month or $200 a month, every bit helps.  Be honest about that. People will relate to you and be more likely to support you.

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I made my Drip page live just before posting this entry.  You can find it HERE

Take a look at it, and keep it in mind for your own page (should you decide to launch one). Maybe it will be a useful example of how to set one up. Maybe it will be a cautionary tale of what not to do. Only time will prove if it was successful or not.  I hope you'll take what you like from the example and make good use of it in the future.

Oh, also please do support the page. Your subscription is very appreciated.  I will give my best effort with each release.

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Thank you for joining me today as we continue our adventure in game design, writing and self-publishing.  My book "Whispers of Persephone" is currently on KickStarter.  Please do take a look, support it if you can, and please do share the link to the campaign to help me reach my funding goals.




I will be updating information on how Drip is working for me, things I learn along the way and what I'll be offering on that page.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me through blogger, through KickStarter messenger, on Drip, or on my social media channels. This blog is a means for me to convey my experiences, help you avoid my mistakes in your own endeavors, and to chronicle the material I've been developing.

Time and Money, thoughts on crowdfunding and the growing pile of projects on my desk

I have been remarkably fortunate with the success of my crowdfunding efforts.  Thanks to my wonderful supports on KickStarter, I've been able to release four books (so far) and my fifth book (Whispers of Persephone) has reached 72% of its funding goal in just the first four days of its campaign.  Things are going well, so why are projects piling up on my desk?

The answer lies in the age old relationship between time and money. 

While I make time to write in my evenings, money to pay for art is slow in coming.  It takes time to lead into a crowdfunding campaign, more time to make it through that campaign, then if it is successful it often takes as much as two weeks before you have your money in hand.  Time ticks away, leaving you with ample time to write but without art.  Once you have money with which to pay the artist, you wait for the art to be completed.  Time ticks away a bit more.  Assuming that your artists meet deadlines (and I am very fortunate in that the artists I contract with do), you spend time formatting the art into your book, correcting any problems with the text layout and putting the final polish on your book. 

Lately my question has been, 'how do I accelerate the funding cycle so I can keep the art coming in steadily and produce more books?'.  I look at the pile of projects I want to produce, the books waiting in various stages from outlined to 'just needs art', and I ponder how to get speed things up.

Whether or not you agree with old saying that 'time is money', it is a fact that if you are like me and lack the skill/talent to create professional grade visual art, then you need money to pay artists to create that content for you. You'll need time for them to create in, and you'll want that time spent in parallel with any remaining writing/development you are completing.  This will allow you to get the book/product out to the audience expediently. 

What has and hasn't worked:

I've had success using KickStarter and no success on other crowdfunding platforms (GoFundMe, Indiegogo and Patreon).  As I look back I realize that I didn't really give Patreon a chance.  I needed to provide more value for patrons, should have kept the page up and running, and really should have done more research before my first attempt at using the site. My Indiegogo and GoFundMe campaigns simply didn't get the attention that my Kickstarter campaigns have garnered.

Insanity or insight?

*Edit* Following the release of this entry, I received an invitation to become a creator on KickStarter's "Drip" platform.  After reviewing the data available on that platform, I've decided to launch my monthly subscriptions on Drip.  I'll be posting a new entry concerning my thoughts on Drip and pointing out some other creators who are already there.*

What is the definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Or so the common wisdom would have.  So I have been taking a look at where I've failed in the past.  How do I utilize sites like Indiegogo, GoFundMe and Patreon to enhance my crowdfunding efforts?  These are big questions and I'm still working on some of the answers. 

I do have an idea on how I can use Patreon to some effect.  Whether or not it will work, remains to be seen.  As this blog is all about my adventures in game design, writing and self-publishing I'll choose to look at this as yet another encounter along my journey.  Time will tell if this was insightful, or insanity.  See what I did there?

Patreon, as I understand it, is premised upon people providing some monetary support that you then use to fund your creations.  While I understand that there are people who earn their primary income on Patreon, I am convinced that number is very small percentage of the overall Patreon creator population.  Fortunately, my goal isn't to earn a primary income, but to help fund art for my books.  So my page needs to be set up with this in mind.

Monthly subscription options, are one of the patronage types available. As I have a monthly product I want to release anyway this is something I'm going to offer for patrons. Patrons should receive good value for their support (see any of my prior posts about providing the best effort for your audience).  So, I want to provide something that is unique for those patrons that is manageable on a recurring basis.  Fortunately, I have something that fits the bill nicely.  I've set up a total of three monthly subscriptions, ranging from $1 to $5 (with the $5 having a physical reward).  These are to facilitate the monthly release, which will now be done exclusively through Patreon, and it looks like it will be easier to fulfill this through Patreon anyway.

One time payments are of particular interest for directly funding future products.  With this, I conceive of a tier where I would transmit a Print on Demand code as well as PDF for those patrons who pledge that tier (Pledge?  I wonder if that is correct terminology.  Donate?... please comment below which you think is more appropriate).  In this way it acts just like a KickStarter Tier.  I do have one bit of concern, which is that this may migrate many of my KickStarter to Patreon. I happen to really like KickStarter, as it has fantastic RPG and comic book communities.  The potential advantage is that I can deliver these rewards upon release of the title, while earning revenue to pay for art ahead of time. 

Content for the Patreon needs to be more than just product in order to deliver real value (my opinion, feel free to disagree).  So I will be posting exclusive behind the scenes commentary on development, project progress, triumphs and setbacks.  It will be more detailed than what I manage to squeeze in here, more raw in many ways.  Who knows, maybe it will help patrons develop their own content.  That would be amazingly cool!

That's the theory anyway.  Will it work? I don't know, but I'm certain it will be exciting.

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I want to thank you all for joining me on my adventure.  I hope that this blog will help you along in your own creations, and that you can avoid mistakes I've made. 
Presently Whispers of Persephone is live on KickStarter and doing very well, but it could use some help to reach its goals. Please do check it out (link below) support it if you can and please do share it with others.   Thank you!

Checklist before Crowdfunding campaign launch

I'm counting down to Whispers of Persephone's KickStarter launch and the excitement is starting to build for me.  Excitement, stress, and that fierce pace to spread the word far and wide are common for me whenever I'm readying to push that "go live" button.  So, today I wanted to talk about a few things I have found useful to control the nerves and free up my mind to enjoy the excitement of a new crowdfunding launch.

1)  Make a checklist well in advance.  Define each step for your launch and make certain you actually check those things off once they are complete.

2) Check your print quotes (if any), shipping figures (again, if any), and run your numbers against your reward tiers a final time.   With this, you'll be checking the pledge level amount (minus the fees associated with the crowdfunding platform in question) then subtracting costs to determine how much this pledge level is benefiting your production cost total.

3) Look over your equipment.  This is an old hang-up of mine.  Before you go on "a mission" as it were, make certain that your stuff works.  In this case I'm checking my network, home system, webcam, mic (thanks Daniel for the new one!), and making sure that all are in working order for my live stream event.

4) Submit your campaign proposal for review at least four days ahead of time.  I've never had a campaign take longer than a day to be verified and approved by KickStarter, but they say it can take a few days on their site, so I respect that.  Give yourself that time so your campaign can launch on time. Related to this is your banking verification.  Do that at least a week in advance.

5) Reach out to your audience and let them know when the launch is happening.  It makes things easier on you when you hear from folks who tell you they are going to pledge for the new project.  I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it isn't.  I'm not talking about mailing lists (I don't like those), I'm talking about updates on prior campaign pages, social media interactions, and generally just giving folks a 'heads up' rather than an advertising blurb.

6)  Read over your campaign to make certain it says what you think it says.  Check the reward descriptions to verify that they say what they should about what rewards are going out.  Ambiguity in your reward descriptions is NOT your friend and is not friendly to your audience and backers.  Clean up any vague language prior to launch.

7) Get your interviews in!  Folks, I will tell you that a LOT of my new audience members discovered my projects because I showed up on a podcast interview, answered some questions from a blogger/reviewer, or otherwise just made myself available to talk to people who want you for the content you provide.  I like the shows I've been on and it is always a thrill to do an interview.  Swallow any stage fright, be open and honest, and try to have fun talking about your project.
{of note concerning point seven:  I usually manage to get in a plug for other creators that have cool campaigns out there.  This is certainly not required, but I think it is good for the creator community.  Just my two cents on that.}

8) Finally, make certain you launch on time!  Once you launch, share the link to all social media channels you have available (with groups, make certain you are following group guidelines and have any permissions needed from admins).  In short, follow the rules with regard to your social media channels.  Not only is it the right thing to do, it is what you must do if you ever intend to launch another project!

Stygian Mummy screen capture
From Play test version 3.5 of
Whispers of Persephone

That's pretty much it for the final days pre-launch.  Check your math, make sure you're ready, and do what you can to get the word out.  As I've mentioned before, be honest with your audience and set realistic fulfillment deadlines and you'll be fine.

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Thank you for joining me on my continuing adventure in game design, writing and self-publishing.  I hope that this entry is of use to you in your own efforts to fund and publish your work.

I hope you'll join me next time!

Look for Whispers of Persephone to launch on Saturday September 22nd, 2018 at
12:00 PM (noon) EST.

Whats new with Sinopa Publishing and what is to come.

Title page from the play test edition
"Whispers of Persephone"
Art by: Christian Martinez

Updates:   

Editing for The Steel Road is proceeding at a fantastic pace.  I want to thank Pat for all her hard work in rooting out those pesky grammatical irregularities that tend to crop up.  (Thanks Pat!)  At this point, I fully expect The Steel Road to fulfill on schedule, though signed copies will likely arrive in September due to printing and shipping times.  The Steel Road will be available on Drivethrurpg.com following fulfillment.

Whispers of Persephone survived the first round of play test months ago.  Presently I am formatting a play test version that will go out to my entire play testing roster for a thorough shake down leading up to, and continuing through the KickStarter campaign.  The KickStarter campaign has been moved back to September, to all for completion of the fulfillment of The Steel Road and so I can get physical proofs in to check the art in print.  As a note to all of you who may be planning on publishing your own work in the future, if you have art on a page I recommend that you get a proof copy to see how that art fairs when it is printed.  It will always look different than it does on screen.  This is, in part, because your screen is backlit whereas the pages in your book are certainly not.  All art for Whispers of Persephone was created by Christian Martinez.


Things still to come in 2018:


Tarot Adventures, Book Three: Death comes to Glenfallow ~ Things heat up when a dreadful villain sets her eyes upon Glenfallow.  This adventure is designed to be of deadly level difficulty, incorporates a number of challenges, and brings new NPCs to the game. This book's art will be funded through KickStarter.  Watch here for more news on this title.

{For writers/game designers/self-publishers:  This project will require a substantial amount of art and I'm hoping to fully fund that from the KickStarter campaign.  There are a number of different features I hope to incorporate in this book, including two pages of comics if the KickStarter campaign can reach that stretch goal.  I'll be working on promoting this project quite a lot, posting information about the coming launch to the previous Tarot Adventure pages, and setting up podcast interviews as well as blogger interviews.  I hope to chronicle this effort in detail, so you can follow this process.  This will reveal my own errors as well as my methods (as usual) so that you have insights into what worked and what didn't.}  

47 Furious Tails, Issue One ~ The story of 47 Ronin re-told with anthropomorphic characters.  This project has been a real labor of love and is the first comic book I've written for publication.  Art coming in has been simply amazing, as Alexia Veldhuisen is showing the world that she IS the modern samurai of comic book artists.  47 Furious Tails will have a total of twelve issues and will tell the story of the Ako incident.  Beginning before lord Asano's fateful, final trip to Edo, issue one introduces principle actors of this historic act of loyalty.  


Planning for 2019:


Scheduling projects is proving to be more important as time progresses.  For 2019 I have the following projects that are planned for release as well as several other projects which may make their appearance before the end of the coming year:

'Untitled' comic book anthology ~ This title is packed with the original work of some amazing comic book artists and writers.  We'll be launching a KickStarter campaign to fund printing and will be providing signed copies, signed by all writers and artists on the project, as backer rewards. 

{For writers/game designers/self-publishers: Page count calculation, creation scheduling with the artists, and mapping the production/printing timeline is essential to this project.  To facilitate this endeavor each artist works to meet their creation deadlines, the project's print time was estimated and a generous amount of "whoops" time applied, costs were calculated for printing and shipping (both from the printer and to recipients), and the responsibilities for each party were carefully delineated. People have told me time and again that such anthologies don't get done because people can't finish their art, or because of monetary issues.  I've been working to avoid potential pitfalls and I recommend that if you ever try to create an anthology, such as this one, that you exam every detail in your planning.}

Tarot Adventures ~ The Tarot series continues as new adventures unfold in and around Glenfallow.  Will your player characters continue to earn their reputations as heroes in light of new challenges?  Fate can be fickle, and the future reveals strange twists in the life of Pieron. 

Look for several Tarot Adventures to be released in 2019!

Luther's Revenge ~ Tale of the Wizard's Eye introduced the Cavern of the Damned and the spawn of the vampire Luther.  Now he is seeking his revenge for the death of his bride.  Survive the machinations of this villain or become one of the undead. 

{For writers/game designers/self-publishers: Developing your timeline for release is an incredibly useful habit to adopt. I would like to recommend that you look to the future, plan your development thoughtfully, and build into your timeline for each project, an ample amount of time for you to make mistakes and then correct them. Creating a plan, then executing it, will make it easier for you to release multiple books each year.  Stay focused, work hard and you will prevail.}

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Thank you for joining me on my adventure in game design/writing/self-publishing.  I hope that my experiences will help you to avoid the same pitfalls I encounter, and be of use in your efforts to publish your own material.

I hope you will share this entry with others to help raise awareness of my own efforts as well as to help others to avoid my missteps.  I hope to see you here next time.

Sacrificial dagger and dire incantations: Whispers of Persephone update!

Athame from Whispers of Persephone
Art by: Christian Martinez
(No actual souls were imprisoned during the creation of this image)

As you have seen from previous entries, Whispers of Persephone is coming to Kickstarter soon.

All art for the book is being painstakingly crafted by Christian Martinez whose art has graced the Tarot Adventures books.

Now, for the news!!!!

The KickStarter campaign for Whispers of Persephone is being pushed back a couple of weeks due to a combination of scheduling difficulties and ongoing fulfillment of The Steel Road.   This should see the KickStarter campaign launching in September with fulfillment scheduled to be concluded in December or sooner.

Scheduling issues: 

Coordinating a launch event, such as the one planned for this campaign, is a bit complicated.  We'll be having guests appearing on the live stream for launch day and I intend for them to have play test copies in hand before that event.  This requires scheduling to account for delivery of copy, as well as the guests' own calendar availability.

The Steel Road

The Steel Road is actually on schedule to fulfill on time this month (August 2018) but it will be a near thing.   I am firmly committed to bringing the best books I can create to the backers who have made them possible.  Those backers come first, before other book launches (Note: Technically you're not supposed to launch another KickStarter campaign until you've fulfilled your previous one.  I'm not certain how some creators have gotten around that, and I'm not interested in doing so myself.)

The athame 

An athame is a ritual dagger.  Whispers of Persephone introduces the athame as a tool for ritual sacrifice, one used by the Stygian Necromancers as an important tool in their ritual work.  The athame is valuable to these characters beyond the damage output scale and are key to the accumulation of power and dread secrets.  I want to thank Christian Martinez for doing such a remarkable job on this and the other illustrations going into the book.

What is Whispers of Persephone?

Glad you asked!

Whispers of Persephone is a source book for the 5th edition game mechanic of the world's most popular tabletop role playing game.  It includes the new arcane tradition: Stygian Necromancy, new spells, poisons, alchemical agents, potions, magic items, rituals/rites, feats, and narrative text complete with fleshed out descriptions of these practitioners of the darkest of arts.  Whispers of Persephone is created to bring the 'DARK' back to the dark arts in your game.

The material within is designed for use by player and non-player characters alike.  Whether used by player characters or used against player characters, Whispers of Persephone brings dread evil to your game table.

Why use KickStarter?

I use KickStarter to fund the costs for art and development of my books. I'm a firm believer in paying my artists fairly for work well done.  Successful KickStarter campaigns allow me to do just that, as well as cover production costs for things like print copy.   Without KickStarter campaigns and the support of backers, I would not be able to produce books that are so heavily laden with all original art.

Who is Christian Martinez?

Christian is a very talented professional artist and graduate of the prestigious Kubert School. Christian has created fantastic art for other RPG books I've released, as well as for an uncounted number of clients. For more information you can access his biography.   He is a remarkable talent and you'll be seeing more great work from him in the months and years to come!


Notes for other writers, game designers and self-publishers  

I've been working at a furious pace, on several projects.  I wouldn't have been able to manage so many tasks if I hadn't taken the time to schedule my work and I would not have been able to adapt to unseen obstacles if I hadn't built in additional time as a buffer in my timelines.  I would like to recommend that in your own project planning you remember to give yourself time to make mistakes as well as for the curve balls life sometimes throws at as us all.

Remember to enjoy what you are doing, write to the best of your ability, check your game designs and have your play testers go over it thoroughly, and don't stop.  You can, and will, create wonders.  Give yourself the time to do so.

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Thank you for joining me once again on my adventure in game design, writing and self-publishing.  I look forward to seeing you next time as I explore my own missteps, discuss my own project development as well as other cool things I see around, and try to leave you with information that will help you avoid mistakes I make along the way.

Thanks again!

Cold Steel, Dark Arts, and comic books ~ a LOT of art in this entry~

Original painting (before digital enhancement) by Christian Martinez
From: Whispers of Persephone

It has been a very busy summer with me working to complete the formatting of The Steel Road, and getting the play test draft together for Whispers of Persephone.  I've also been coordinating work for a comic anthology project I'll be publishing in 2019 (once again we'll be using KickStarter to fund that printing).  So things have been very busy with me and Sinopa Publishing LLC lately!

The Steel Road:

Work on this project began more than a year ago and progressed nicely.  Things were going swimmingly and then my laptop died rather unexpectedly and in a fantastically thorough fashion. Long story short, I couldn't get my InDesign file to link to the image files again once I got a new computer system. This forced me to reformat the art for the book all over again (and YES, that cost me a lot of time).  I have been formatting text into the book for the last few weeks, and that has progressed nicely.  Presently, I have completed all but one region (the islands of the Pacific), and am very nearly done.  Great news is that The Steel Road is set to fulfill on time this August!

Lessons I've learned from this:  

1) Save the image files to your cloud after you've formatted them into your document so you can re-link them easily if your computer suddenly catches fire one day and you have to use a new machine.

2) Formatting text around an image and making it look good is a lot more time consuming than you might expect.  It is far easier to simply format blocks of text with reserved space allotted for your images.  That said, I think the text wrapping around the image looks far better.  So if you plan on doing this yourself, budget the time accordingly.


My thoughts on this project

The Steel Road was tremendously fun to research and write.  The KickStarter campaign was my most backed to date, and many of those backers have asked if I would be putting a second book with more weapons out.  I've spent a great deal of time formatting the text, revising the material and sweating the little things to create the best book I can for the backers and the RPG community at large.  I'm thrilled to put this book out and very grateful to Zachary Viola for all the fantastic sketch art he did to make the book possible.



Whispers of Persephone

I wrote this book's material by hand.  I'm hoping to format the complete play test file for the next round of play tests this weekend.  With Whispers of Persephone I'm going to send this file (which should have the page background art in it) to the entire play test group with just a little art in it.

Christian Martinez is doing fantastic work for this project, creating all original paintings (some of which will be available as backer rewards during the KickStarter campaign).  If you've seen his work in The Draw of Glenfallow or Comet over Echo Rock you're probably as excited as I am for this new art! 

Lessons I've learned from this project:

1) I took a different approach with regard to play test on this product.  I put the material in front of a handful of people rather than in front of the whole play test group.  This afforded me the opportunity to tweak a few points early on.

2) For Whispers of Persephone I want a LOT of art, but I had to calculate my art budget based on a smaller number of images.  I've decided to create stretch goals for additional art in the KickStarter campaign.  Content is key, after all, and art is incredibly important.  This project has been an excellent exercise in project budgeting.


My thoughts on this project

Whispers of Persephone was fun to write.  Presently I'm looking to the launch date for the KickStarter and working to coordinate the live stream event (more on that soon).  The book's mechanics and content are things I'm particularly proud of and I hope people will get much use and enjoyment out of this evil tome, this bloody little book of necromancy!  As I write this I'm plotting out the time line for the KickStarter launch.  This an incredibly exciting project that has been a long time in development (from the writing and design) and one that I am enjoying the thrill of receiving new art for!



Comic Books   

Yes, I blew the font up for this section.  I have some dramatic feelings on this topic, so stick with me. There are a lot of fantastic comic book creators working on titles I'll be releasing in 2019... check this out!

47 Furious Tails  

The first comic book I've ever written for publication.  Last year (2017) I tried and failed to fund this project through KickStarter.  This year (2018, if you're viewing this in the far future) I'll be relaunching this project, with more of the art done.  This first issue begins the retelling of the Ako incident in a unique way.  Alexia Veldhuisen has made tremendous efforts and I'm thrilled that she has continued to pursue this project with me.

Cover art by Alexia Veldhuisen
47 Furious Tails, Issue One

Untitled Comic Anthology project  

We're focusing on the book and will have a working development title in a few months.  Right now that's not the important part.  The IMPORTANT part, is the work going into this jewel of a book.

This book will have eight (8), yes EIGHT different contributing artists sharing their titles.  These are projects the artists and writers are very passionate about and it shows in the art they've produced so far.  Each of these contributors are producing eight pages of content to introduce everyone to the fine work they are doing.  I'm pleased to help bring the work of these talented professionals to the world. Art direction/edits by Alexia Veldhuisen.

I'll be launching a Kickstarter campaign in 2019 to fund the printing of this book. Below I have included samples of art from that project. I hope you'll enjoy it and look forward to that book.  Artists credited with the images, and most of them are available for commissions (follow the links in their biography pages for more information).

From the mind of Brian Lee
Art by Brian Lee

You can learn about Brian Lee and his art HERE!

From the mind of Colin Hartigan
Art by the legendary Christian Martinez

You can learn about Christian Martinez and his art HERE!

From the mind of Kelsy Cowan
Art by Kelsy Cowan

You can learn about Kelsy Cowan and her art HERE!

From the mind of Lotus Blair
Art by Lotus Blair

You can learn about Lotus Blair and her art HERE!

From the mind of Nick Caponi
Art by Nick Caponi

You can learn about Nick Caponi and his art HERE!

From the mind of Rebecca Coulthart
Art by: Rebecca Coulthart

You can learn about Rebecca Coulthart and her art HERE!

From the mind of Zachary Viola
Art by: Zachary Viola

You can learn about Zachary Viola and his art HERE!


We've assembled a great team for this project and I hope you will all look forward to some fantastic comic book material coming from these talented artists and writers!

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{Legal stuff:  All art included on this blog is copyright of their respective creators and are used with the express consent of those same individuals.  All rights are reserved.}
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So stick with me for more information on these and other titles that are presently in development.  2018 will continue to be busy as development for "Death comes to Glenfallow" is underway, and new titles will be seen coming out with more art from these artists and more!

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Thank you for continuing this adventure with me!  I hope you'll join me again next time for more information on artists I'm working with, projects I'm exploring, games I'm developing, and mistakes I learn from as I continue to publish.

See you next time!

A little bloody book of Necromancy

I wrote a book on a new arcane tradition that involves the darkest rites of necromancy.  It is a book themed on evil practices, full of horrific rites, searing spells, poisons, and magic items of vile purpose.   It is my own little bloody book of necromancy, and I'm almost ready to unleash it upon the world.  That book is Whispers of Persephone.

This is a far different book than any I've done before. I want to make certain it is as cool as I think it is before I unleash it into my general play test teams.  To keep this book under wraps, I've kept it to only a handful of people.  Now I'm preparing to release it a select few game designers I'm acquainted with and an enlarged field of players/game masters.  One of the things I want to do first though, is format the book (without art, I'm not completely mad), to give these people an opportunity to comment as to the look and "feel" of it.

As with my previous works, this one is going to use KickStarter to fund the art included within.  The artist creating these commissions is none other than the remarkable Christian Martinez .   I'll be teasing out a little of the art for this book in the coming weeks.  I hope you'll enjoy it but be advised that this is content meant to adorn a book about horrid practices and bloody evil.  It is NOT intended for children nor is it suitable for work environments (you have been warned).

The KickStarter launch will be kicked off with a live stream event unlike any I've ever seen before.  I hope you'll turn out to participate.  The campaign will go live in August of 2018.  I'm working with several folks to coordinate the launch date.  This will be the "First Blood" event of the campaign and will launch with an early backer tier.  Come early and support the book to get a great deal.

What is in Whispers of Persephone???   

Inside a cover which hints at its contents, Whispers of Persephone contains dark rituals, searing spells, poisons, potions, alchemical agents, new feats, a new arcane tradition, and a selection of NPC data.  The book is uniquely created, with page art that is designed to make it look like the book has been bleeding from its spine, and the text is being colored to look as if it were penned in blood.  Have I gone too far in producing a book that brings darkness back to the dark arts?  We'll see...

I've been developing this book to bring a sense of purpose to characters who perform evil acts, and to bring darkness back to the dark arts.  I hope you'll find I have succeeded.


Who is going to use Whispers of Persephone???  

I imagine that Whispers of Persephone will see a lot of use from Game Masters who want their heroes to face horrific villains, as well as by players who are playing evil characters of the most wretched sort.  It is fun and disturbing, like a good horror movie.

This book is also created to resemble an evil tome. As such, I believe cosplayers will find the book useful as their grimoire.


What I'm doing about Whispers of Persephone right now ... 

While I am finishing up my formatting of The Steel Road, I'm working on Whispers of Persephone in those moments between tasks.  I've done work on the introduction (trying to polish it up a bit), the text accompanying the Stygian Necromancer arcane tradition,  working on narrative text for some of the NPC's that are named within (Kroalish and Ild being two of the most infamous), and following up with Christian Martinez (read that as harassing him about art).

I've been going over the stretch goal calculations for things I really want to add into the book (art, art and, oh yes, more art!).  These calculations must be done with care as you want to be certain that the different permutations of expense calculations all fit within your stretch goal figures.  I've been checking that over with great care and so far, everything looks great.  I've calculated stretch goals all the way out to $35000.

Preparations for the promotional campaign for this book are underway (I suppose this entry counts as promotion???).  I'm working hard to schedule the launch, and a special live stream event featuring some very special guests.   I'll be revealing more about the live stream event once all parties have agreed to the schedule.  Some other things I'll be doing for promoting this book include reaching out to yet more RPG blogs, podcasts, and YouTubers for interview opportunities.  Here's to a full schedule 😊.

Color matching:  This is a fun task for a grim purpose.  I'm working on picking the exact color for the text of the book.  This book will only release in full color (for several reasons) and I want this color to be, well, special (insert evil grin here). 


What rewards will be available in KickStarter campaign???  

For the first few days there will be the "First Blood" reward tiers that allow early backers to support the campaign at a lower rate.  This is being done in conjunction with the previously mentioned live stream event, sort of a "thank you" for all the people checking out that event and discovering the book through it.    During "First Blood" backers can get PDF and Print on Demand codes for Whispers of Persephone, as well as signed copies of the book at that reduced rate.

What else is available:

PDF copy of Whispers of Persephone as well as a PDF of a custom character folio designed for the 5th Edition for use by Necromancers.

Signed copies of the book!  If you've been following this blog, you know I love to sign books.

Fallen Hero reward ~ This is a limited reward where the backers get named as one of the heroes who have been struck down by the necromancer forces.  You also get a signed copy of the book and the digital rewards.

Acolyte of Death ~ This is another limited reward where the backers get named as one of the 13 Acolytes.  You get named in the book and get signed copy and digital rewards as well.

Surviving witness ~ A very limited number of backers can pledge at these levels for original paintings done for the book by Christian Martinez.  Each one is specified in the backer description.

The Necromancer ~ There is only one!  One backer will be named as the Necromancer and have his or her portrait painted for inclusion in the book (as the Necromancer).  Whispers of Persephone will be dedicated to that person.

Lord Hades & Queen Persephone ~ This one requires a little bit of an explanation... I saw a KickStarter campaign done by an RPG satirist and he had included a reward tier for someone to fund the entirety of the project.  There was a great deal of sarcasm in the that reward but I thought it amusing and decided to put my own version of that idea into practice.  If you want to fund the entire project, there are some neat rewards in that tier, but it literally funds the WHOLE book in one fell swoop, so maybe talk to your spouse before pledging it .... just a suggestion.

What you'll find when you see that campaign is that I am once again working to fund as much art as I would like to include in the book.  So you'll see some a lot of ways to get your hands on Whispers of Persephone, and I hope you'll take the opportunity to do so.

What to take away as a writer/self-publisher/game designer:

One thing I will point out is that I'm basically booked through the end of this year and well into 2019.  I would like to recommend that if you are also writing and developing quite a lot, that you may want to consider shorter KickStarter campaigns once you have a following large enough to support such.  Right now, I don't have enough people following me for a realistic expectation of 200 or more backers on a KickStarter campaign (though The Steel Road passed that milestone this morning). 

As discussed in numerous locations throughout this blog, build your audience by doing the best work you can and keeping your communication lanes open, and your dialogue honest and realistic.  I firmly believe it takes time to earn the trust of your audience.  I've been working for a year on building mine.  I've made mistakes, and owned up to them, and continue to work to improve.  I think that honest effort is the principle reason I've seen such a high rate of backer retention.  I hope you'll experience the same!

I would also like to point out that working toward small goals, crowdfunding small amounts for projects (such as adventure modules, comic books, etc) can give you invaluable experience in not only crowdfunding, but also in fulfillment processes.  Fulfillment is critically important, don't forget to plan for your fulfillment and to have fall back plans in case things go pear-shaped.

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Thank you for joining me once again on my adventure into writing, self-publishing and game design.  I hope this blog continues to prove useful as I chronicle my own experiences here. I'll make mistakes, I know, but I hope that by being open and honest about those missteps I can spare you the same.

The KickStarter campaign for The Steel Road is in its final hours, so if you haven't checked that out, please use the link in the "featured crowdfunding" spot above and to the right of the page to take a look.  Please do share that link with others to help spread the word before the campaign ends.

Until next time, have a wonderful time and I look forward to your comments and questions.