We're working on returning Glorantha to status as professionally published active game world and happy hunting ground of the mind. We're using material we've created in the past as the basis of this work. . . but also exploring new directions that published material has never gone. Approval of independent publications will depend in large part upon how it conflicts with our own publishing plans, so if you have questions before you work all-out on a self-published project, contact me beforehand.
On the Digest, Chris Lemens asked some questions which allow me to address issues which were not clear in my earlier posts. After Chris' four questions are done, I'm going to treat this as a FAQ and add other questions I've been asked, with answers... I will supply a more official phrasing of the legality notices at some point, but for now I just want to answer questions.
Personally, I'd prefer that these discussions not take up Digest bandwidth. If you send me questions that need to be answered, I'm likely to answer them out here in public, but I'm not gonna be entering discussions about 'em.
If you've sent me questions that this doesn't get around to answering, I'll be trying to help you next week.
Answer:
Chaosium does not expect people who are writing about Glorantha on their web
sites to ask our permission. That would be silly, yes? If your Web site
contains material you wrote about Glorantha, kindly mention our trademarks
and copyrights. You don't need our approval to write what you want to about
Glorantha on your web site. For purposes of scholarly investigation, you can
even quote snippets of our material, it's called fair use. But don't quote
large chunks of our material, please, or include translations of our material
into other languages, or offer up our out of print works.
2. Is Chaosium going to commit to a turn-around time for submissions that it now requires?
Answer:
Chaosium isn't asking for submissions at this time. People who are interested
in self-publishing their work (the way that the MegaCorp published the Meints
Index and that Steve Martin published The Book of Drastic Resolutions) need
to send it to us for approval. I'm the contact person. You can ask me about
turnaround time for an answer/approval when you submit a project and I'll
answer as best as I can. And then I'll stay in touch with you. That's all.
3. Will Duck Point Press be producing or sponsoring reprints of out of print material? Would Chaosium be willing to permit an independent to do it?
Answers: Chaosium itself is working on producing new Gloranthan material that incorporates and expands upon previously released and out of print material. Chaosium is putting some out of print material on its Web page, as mentioned in a recent post. Chaosium is not willing to permit an independent to reprint its out of print material.
Duckpoint Press is not a publishing label, it's a distribution label. We don't really intend that Duckpoint Press will be 'sponsoring' anything, though I can see how you might have got that impression from the way I've been gushing over some of the boardgames I hope their creators choose to publish!
If we at Chaosium decide to put some odd stuff onto the market through Duckpoint Press, it's more likely that it will be material which no one has seen before.
4. Will Duck Point Press be supplying publishing guidelines?
Answer: Like I said, Duck Point Press isn't soliciting submissions. Duck Point Press isn't a publisher. Duckpoint Press is an imprint.
If people are unclear about the difference between publishing and distribution, let me put it this way: people self-publishing their work produce it and pay to have it printed. People using Duck Point Press to distribute their work will sell copies to Wizards Attic (which is how it works now, by the way) and Wizards Attic will sell their product for them. Your alternative, as a self-publisher, is to sell your product yourself, and only sell some of the copies to Wizards Attic. The advantage of working through Wizards Attic? Well, if you've published yourself, you're probably not asking this question, but the biggest advantages are that you won't deal with the hassle of advertising, selling, and shipping your product. Or rather, you'll only have to ship it to Wizards Attic.
When Chaosium is publishing Glorantha material professionally again, we will have submission guidelines. For now, I'm not drumming up Duck Point Press publications by producing guidelines. People who have products they are seriously working on can contact me. People who have things they think they might be interested in working on but they're not sure if they're going to self-publish. . . well, they probably should not contact me. Most of our work will be on the professional side of the publishing schedule. I won't have time to talk with everyone about projects they *might* want to undertake; if I get too many letters/e-mailings about potential self-published projects that never materialize, I'll probably settle upon a minimum page count and publishing plans before undertaking approval.
So self-publishing Glorantha stuff currently goes like this. . .
First Step: If you've done something cool and are publishing it yourself, you have to submit it to Chaosium for approval.
Second Step: If you want to have your product exclusively distributed through Wizards Attic, then you can opt to have your product bear the Duck Point Press label.
5. Do fanzines have to get approval for anything they publish about Glorantha?
Answer: Definitely not. Fanzines such as INTERREGNUM, ALARUMS & EXCURSIONS, et. al. that talk about Glorantha and have articles about Glorantha don't have to get our approval to do so. Again, that would be kinda silly. As periodicals that come out regularly and take subscriptions, they're exempt.
6. How are convention booklets and freeform materials going to work, since people usually finish them at the last minute?
Answer: Well, for starters, we obviously don't need to approve of a whole convention booklet. 90% of what's in convention booklets isn't anything that needs approval. If you're including Gloranthan content in your con booklet, I hope you'll be in touch with us first rather than at the last minute. Approval is always a case-by-case basis, in some cases approval can be granted after seeing an outline, in other cases we'll have to see finished work.
Where LARP material is concerned, if it's not being published, we don't need to approve it. You can play whatever you want. If you are publishing it, contact us before you publish.
7. What about foreign language publications?
Answer: For now, get in touch with us about the specific projects rather than asking us for blanket policies.
8. Do we need to repeat the trademark and copyright statement you supplied verbatim?
Answer: No, so long as it says what it's supposed to say in clear language we clearly aren't going to be troubled if you make the statement fit your product.
9. We'd really like it if Out-of-Print Product X was reprinted, can we do it ourselves?
Answer: No. Greg has a special curse waiting in his office for those who mess with our property.
Love,
Rob Heinsoo
Glorantha editor, Chaosium
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