Re: Electronic publishing (am I alone?)

From: L C <lightcastle_at_uMkFVDDtesvs4VxP4bhkQG9xQQAP8DgT3bEOkeWdVVGcePZNlZgQGojklYFEPHUW>
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:07:58 -0400


Dan Ross wrote:

>Please, no. Unlike the comparison with CD's and tapes, where CD's were
an improvement in almost every sense, PDFs are not a clear progression from books.

Three advantages: 1 - quicker searching (assuming a properly-coded PDF) 2 - take up less space 3 - cheaper to produce/distribute

That's it.

>Books have a tactile component lacking in electronic versions, one
suited to intimate browsing.

All true. But books will become increasingly rare. Sucks, but true. (This is not limited to RPGs).
I mean, they'll stay as the majority through your lifetime, I expect, but not much longer.

>Others have notes in the margins by previous owners, with clever
character twists. The medium is part of the message.

*nod*
There's a lovely book about Copernicus's works and all the interesting things you can find in the margins.

>So it's a fair question to ask in a niche market like this, how
typical am I?

Quite typical, I would think.
Won't stop it, though.

>John's solution is a lot more appealing:
>
> >All sorts of indie gaming folks have found that pre-orders, with PDFs
> >being provided to pre-ordering clients until the books are printed, is
> >a fairly good way to go.

>This seems increasingly common with boardgames for wargamers.

Interesting. Good to know.

>I've ordered several games from different publishers in this format,
with a typical waiting period of about nine months.
>It allows customers to get high-quality prints and publishers to sell
their games with payment up-front.
>
>Is this a viable option for RPGs?

It's probably worth a try.

LC            

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