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Open Game Table v2 - an assessment by the RPMN
(cross posted to the RPGN google group as well)
Some of you may already know this -- but I'm currently in the very early stages of planning for Open Game Table volume 2. I'm shooting for a GenCon 2010 release window. My own assessment of Vol 1 was basically (in short):
A) while I had no idea what the hell I was doing; I learned as I went and I did learn a great deal about the ttRPG publishing industry (still more to learn).
B) I feel like it was a personal success,
C) I met the goals I set out ahead of time (although the financial break even point didn't come for many months), so in the end I figured it would be something I would try again (which is why I put the "Vol 1" on the title... in the hopes that there would be a second round).
So... why this email? Well, there's two things I want to look into before starting, in earnest, on the next volume.
FIRST - An assessment from each of you on the Open Game Table project would be ideal. Do you think you benefited from the Anthology as a blogger? Do you think your readers benefited? What impact do think Open Game Table may have had on the RPG Blogging community (if any)? What would you like to see done differently the next time around? I'm not looking for a review of the book - I'm looking for feedback on the book, the project, the process, the whole shebang. If you have _anything_ to say - please send me an email about it; or heck... even blog about it (send me a link!).
SECOND -- I want to know if any of you gained any new readers becuase of the Anthology. The major #1 goal of the anthology was to bring NEW readers into the RPG blogging community. The reason I pushed the project forward was becuase I had this sense that gamers browsing the aisles at their FLGS or B&N or Borders had no idea that all this great content was spilling out everywhere in the blogosphere. There were potentially thousands of readers who would love the content that the RPGN was generating - and one way to connect with them would be to put a book on the same shelves they were already browsing. So... did we reach those gamers? Are they still reading your blog 1 year later? That's what I want to find out. Maybe a poll would be in order here to find out -- something I could set up that everyone could post the code to on their blogs or something (a cross-site poll).
Feedback on these points will help me decide how much work to put into it - where it needs improvement, what I can do differently next time, etc.
Sorry for the long email (I have a bad reputation about verbosity)... Hopefully I'll hear from you in this thread or directly via email.
Cheers all
-- Jonathan Jacobs
Editor, Open Game Table
Editor, Nevemet Press
Blogger, The Core Mechanic (it's snoring right now though)
Some of you may already know this -- but I'm currently in the very early stages of planning for Open Game Table volume 2. I'm shooting for a GenCon 2010 release window. My own assessment of Vol 1 was basically (in short):
A) while I had no idea what the hell I was doing; I learned as I went and I did learn a great deal about the ttRPG publishing industry (still more to learn).
B) I feel like it was a personal success,
C) I met the goals I set out ahead of time (although the financial break even point didn't come for many months), so in the end I figured it would be something I would try again (which is why I put the "Vol 1" on the title... in the hopes that there would be a second round).
So... why this email? Well, there's two things I want to look into before starting, in earnest, on the next volume.
FIRST - An assessment from each of you on the Open Game Table project would be ideal. Do you think you benefited from the Anthology as a blogger? Do you think your readers benefited? What impact do think Open Game Table may have had on the RPG Blogging community (if any)? What would you like to see done differently the next time around? I'm not looking for a review of the book - I'm looking for feedback on the book, the project, the process, the whole shebang. If you have _anything_ to say - please send me an email about it; or heck... even blog about it (send me a link!).
SECOND -- I want to know if any of you gained any new readers becuase of the Anthology. The major #1 goal of the anthology was to bring NEW readers into the RPG blogging community. The reason I pushed the project forward was becuase I had this sense that gamers browsing the aisles at their FLGS or B&N or Borders had no idea that all this great content was spilling out everywhere in the blogosphere. There were potentially thousands of readers who would love the content that the RPGN was generating - and one way to connect with them would be to put a book on the same shelves they were already browsing. So... did we reach those gamers? Are they still reading your blog 1 year later? That's what I want to find out. Maybe a poll would be in order here to find out -- something I could set up that everyone could post the code to on their blogs or something (a cross-site poll).
Feedback on these points will help me decide how much work to put into it - where it needs improvement, what I can do differently next time, etc.
Sorry for the long email (I have a bad reputation about verbosity)... Hopefully I'll hear from you in this thread or directly via email.
Cheers all
-- Jonathan Jacobs
Editor, Open Game Table
Editor, Nevemet Press
Blogger, The Core Mechanic (it's snoring right now though)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Scott Keenan on -
I don't know about new readers since I didn't have an article in the OGTv1, and I don't really have any thoughts on the project or process. However, I do have some thoughts on the mere existence of the book.
To me, the OGT represents the RPG blogging community's very best. It is our peer-reviewed journal, and is the greatest degree of the refinement process that begins with the blogrolls, rebuttal posts, comments, and enthusiastic endorsements that we make as a matter of course.
It's also something that could not exist for many blogging subjects. The RPG blogging community is fairly tight-knit and there is a high level of cooperation and goodwill, not to mention skilled writing and continuous creativity. That is to say, we are a community, and we create things together. It seems only natural that there should be an OGT when I look at it that way. When I think about other subjects—political blogging, bass fishing blogging, or mommyblogging—I can't imagine those generating an anthology like the OGT. So, the OGT is something that reflects the unusual nature of the RPG blogging community. Its existence underlines that special nature.
Apart from all that, it's useful. Because we are a community that creates, and because it contains the best of our best creation, it's a practical resource for enjoying our hobby.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Wolf on -
I fully agree with Scott on this.
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Jacobs on -
Thanks for your support guys -- the #1 main thing we need right now is NOMINATIONS NOMINATIONS NOMINATIONS !!! Much like last time, the initial rate of submitted nominations was a bit lacluster... hopefully word will spread and we'll get more. So far, I've recieved about 50% of my nominations from two blogs; and the rest are a smattering of others - single posts from different blogs (which is what I would honestly prefer... please don't submit your whole RSS feed... )
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