Although it does seem like Uber... just a little bit. Very interesting development. I wonder how much/if those agreement(s) would cover simple software tools.

Quote from: Omega;873915Does OBS really take 30-40%?

Yes it does and some people get bent out of shape about it and some don't. For me I wish it was more at Lulu's level but OBS does go the extra mile and their PoD service a lot better IMO. So I don't feel ripped off.

Quote from: Omega;873915I agree though that the idea the DM Guild will allow you a chance to get added to the official works is pretty much a pipe dream. But its still a venue to get a more official look and access. Who knows what may come of it?

But even in so short a time theres a fair amount of dross being put up if my last glance at was any indicator.

I think 50% is more than fair for getting to use all of the publisher IP for the core game and the Forgotten Realms without a approval process and a easy to follow content guideline.

Quote from: S'mon;873923In a vanity press setup, you pay the press to publish your book. This is not a vanity press.

Technically you are paying. 50% of each sale.

Quote from: Omega;873952Technically you are paying. 50% of each sale.

No, in a vanity press YOU GIVE THEM MONEY. Here THEY GIVE YOU LESS MONEY.

Quote from: Omega;873915An OBS designer over on RPGG had some thoughts on it.

They seem to be missing the point that they aren't comparing like for like. The 50% cut that's taken from your DM Guild sales isn't solely for OBS hosting - it's also for being allowed to put out charged-for products using the Forgotten Realms at all, and for access to useful resources and templates and art bits for making your product.

Quote from: Omega;873952Technically you are paying. 50% of each sale.

Not really - you're making an agreement as to how to split the money people pay for your product, not transferring any of your own money to them. For it to be "paying" them, the money would have to go to you first and then you'd get an invoice for your cut, whereas the money is collected by OBS and paid out to you.

And, of course, 50% of the money is still much more than 0%, which is what you'd be able to get for your homebrewed Forgotten Realms stuff if you didn't put it out through the DM Guild. Unless, of course, you fancy infringing Wizards' IP - in which case, I hope the 100% of the take on ADozenNewForgottenRealmsSpells.pdf is worth it when the cease-and-desist letters and legal threats start.

Something always struck me as weird. How come lots of people hated 4e but 13th Age generally gets praise?

Quote from: Omega;873952Technically you are paying. 50% of each sale.

If that makes it "vanity press," then commercial publishers are the worst of the vanity presses. A commercial publisher might give me an 8-15% royalty on print, depending on format and total sales. That percentage is for completely original work -- not derivative work based on their IP.

"Vanity Press" means the author pays the "publisher" an upfront fee (and possibly/usually a percentage of sales). The author pays this money whether he sells a million copies or zero.

By contrast, the Guild takes 50% of any sales of your strictly derivative work (split with the distributor) and no money upfront, and you get access to a vast amount of valuable IP. If you sell zero copies, Wizards gets zero dollars. Calling it a "vanity press" is ignorant.

If you're an auteur who doesn't want to relinquish 50% of your sales and some control over your work, I'd strongly recommend focusing your artistic efforts on original, non-derivative work (i.e. not D&D, and certainly not Forgotten Realms) marketed and distributed via a pure self-publishing model.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;873967Something always struck me as weird. How come lots of people hated 4e but 13th Age generally gets praise?

1. 13th Age generally gets praise from people who enjoyed 4e.

2. 13th Age is it's own thing, not a hijacking of D&D.  Nobody has a problem with a mango if it isn't pretending to be an apple.

Quote from: Warthur;873963They seem to be missing the point that they aren't comparing like for like. The 50% cut that's taken from your DM Guild sales isn't solely for OBS hosting - it's also for being allowed to put out charged-for products using the Forgotten Realms at all, and for access to useful resources and templates and art bits for making your product.

Correct. From what the files say its something like 25/25 for OBS/WOTC and the rest to the creator.

Sounds like a good compromise.

Quote from: Greg Benage;873970If that makes it "vanity press," then commercial publishers are the worst of the vanity presses.

Some of the people at BGG have some odd ideas of what constitutes vanity press. Which sometimes includes anything not sold to and printed by a publisher. I dont happen to agree with that view.

Do I think the GM-G is? Not in the sense the term is supposed to be used. But then in gaming what term doesnt eventually get bastardized to mean "everything on earth"?

I do though think that its a pipe dream if you go into it thinking you'll be picked up for larger publication. I doubt we will see hardly any of that. If at all.

And I will be very happy if WOTC proves me totally wrong there.

Quote from: Omega;873975I do though think that its a pipe dream if you go into it thinking you'll be picked up for larger publication. I doubt we will see hardly any of that. If at all.

And I will be very happy if WOTC proves me totally wrong there.

It's not unheard of. Anyone else remember the "official setting websites" experiment of the early 3E era?

More substantially, the 3E versions of Dragonlance and Ravenloft were heavily written by promising fans, and I had some fan writing included in the hardcover edition ofDragons of a Vanished Moon.

I don't think its a pipe dream. There's such a thin line between "professional" and "amateur" in hobbyist publishing.

If a promising new author does some great stuff with FR that gets attention and sales, there's no reason why WotC would not offer that author some pennies to do more FR stuff.

It's not like the difference between a WotC author and a DriveThru author in per-word compensation is some massive gulf. On various forums, a number of authors claim their freelance stuff pays more than their contract work. It's just risk vs. paycheck.

As for "what is vanity press", its a meaningless term today in the age of self-publishing and the death of the publishing house gatekeepers.

It isn't a pipe dream to imagine that someone contributing to the DM Guild today could be the hot new designer of tomorrow, proving themselves through that venue in order to get a professional gig with Wizards to springboard their career. If it takes off, you could see lots and lots of people providing content there, and the review system will allow works of quality to shine like sparkling diamonds in the mire of shovelware.

It would, however, be a pipe dream to go into the DM Guild imagining that you, personally, will be the person that happens to. Writing a good-quality product is a matter of skill and practice, but capturing the zeitgeist is always at least partly a matter of luck; sometimes the product that's most carefully tailored to meet the tastes of the public ends up being the bland one, whilst the product which takes a gamble ends up being a wildcard hit. Getting into this sort of business is always a bit of a gamble, though at least with DM Guild stuff if you turn out a duff product usually the only thing you'll lose is time.

Quote from: BoxCrayonTales;873967Something always struck me as weird. How come lots of people hated 4e but 13th Age generally gets praise?

Mostly because 13th Age takes only a few things from 4e, mechanically speaking, and LARGELY because it isn't saddled with the tag *D&D (because that tag has a considerable amount of baggage that must be adhered to even if it's bad).