Publications and Publishing

[Harroghty]

We are going to put a temporary moratorium on publishing further works (but I will be faithful with those works already submitted) because the current publishing process is OOC and deprives published works of any real significance more than qualifying the author for membership in a bard's guild. We can do this better.

My vision is to create two publishing houses (at first) through which players can publish written works. The publishing house would:

• - consist of least three PC editors
  - have its own magical post address
  - have its own private message board object
  - have a private work space

It would:

• - review and edit player-submitted works in collaboration with the authors
  - operate on its own rules
  - approve or disapprove player-submitted works
  - submit approved works via Applications for creation as an object in the game

Groups of would-be editors should submit an application that includes:

• - the names of all three (or more) would-be editors involved
  - desired general location of office (e.g. Waterdeep, Zhentil Keep, Berdusk, etc.. please don't specify street names, we can sort that out later)
  - brief statement of purpose and background

Not every application will be approved. The staff will select two groups to begin with and go on from there. That's not to say that those not selected in this round will not be later allowed, but this is just a pilot of the idea for now. Please post here with questions. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Grenwyn]

1. I like the idea of making this something IC.

2. Will the IC publishing houses be able to keep up with the demand and compensate for player downtime? I know a lot of player organizations (and even some faiths) tend to slide into oblivion as players lose interest. How easy will it be to keep a continual stream of editors in their chairs, as one character or another disappears?

3. How can we encourage competition between publishing houses, to goad them into improving their services (mainly turnaround time, but also quality of response, etc.)? Ordinarily a free market system would suffice, but I don't think our playerbase is really large enough to generate the kind of incentives you'd usually get from the free market. How can we encourage improvement and growth for individual publishing houses (without getting too OOC)?

[Harroghty]

Good points. I am open for suggestions about the third point, but I am initially most concerned with your second point. This obviously will require a commitment from players. In the end, I can process all of the books, but I don't want to have to.

[Emeric]

I also have a question as to how applications for bard will be working if your character is not one that would logically be found where either of the two publishing houses are located, like an underdark character.

[Harroghty]

Once we get two up-and-running houses, then we will publish clearer guidelines about those.

For now, publications or performances for the purposes of becoming a bard will follow the same guidelines.

[Aveline]

I was just thinking about the item #2 about the publishers staying active. My idea is that if any one of the three of the group is absent from the game for a pre-determined time then the other two characters will consult one another and decide on a new third person. Before approaching this third person they must submit an app to see if this third person is acceptable to the staff. If accepted they can ask the third to join them. This rule will be clear in the beginning so if someone disappears and then comes back to find they have been replaced, tough cookies.

[Harroghty]

For clarity, right now there is one active publishing house in Waterdeep (on Book Street, of course). Publications should be routed through that office (staffed by Palas, Thanasis, and Ynaura) unless there is some great role-play objection to doing so (alignment alone is not enough). Also, if it is your first publication for a PC aiming to become a bard then you may use the old procedures and submit via application; really, we would still prefer that you go through the office, but you have the option of skipping it.

We will still accept applications for additional publishing houses. It requires at least three PCs working together.

[Harroghty]

The publication process has been updated:

• Bards must now make a performance, not a written publication
• Publications may be included with an area
• Publications may be submitted by a player-run publisher at a cost of 100 platinum

See here: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19105

You can post here with any questions. Thanks.

[Yemin]

A suggestion for keeping the 3 PC editors around might simply be to organize it like jury duty. When a book is submitted or somesuch a pre-existing list of players with certain criteria are randomly selected and mailed with a copy of the work, or a notice to view the work in <insert location here>. after which they can go to the house and say yay or nay.

This gives the advantage that the 3 players don't even have to know each other so offsets any disadvantage in having to meet up or discuss as well as taking care of issues with time zones.

Perspectives and judgments of the work are more likely to be varied and honest.

And depending how the criteria are set, you of course avoid the death of the editors via lack of interest and so on.

I suppose Icly, this form would make the PCs beta readers instead of editors but moving on.

As a suggested list of Criteria:
Must have been active within the last week max 2 weeks.
Must be above lvl 20 - 30
Surface and under races stick together in terms of submission and judgment.


Some IC criteria might also be applicable depending how people feel like:
No half-orcs. Cos why would a publishing house think they can read anyway.
No enemies of the ogman church.
No fighters! see half-orcs above.
No evils? - People known to be malicious might damage the work's standing to be published just because they feel like it and it would be completely IC for them to do so.

[Harroghty]

There is already a system of peer review with full area support for the one existing publishing house. The details of a publishing house's policies are their own business though; they have volunteered their time to do the work.

[Emeli]

What if you've already performed and have already sent in publications before this change? I'm hoping someone else has the log of Merinysi reading the poem.. because I can't find mine.

[Yemin]

If you mean her most recent, yes. I have a copy

[Nearraba]

Em, I believe it was said in the first post that they'll keep the ones submitted before the change was in effect.

Harroghty: We are going to put a temporary moratorium on publishing further works (but I will be faithful with those works already submitted).