Last night I was working on the cover to the next Book of Beasts. Placing the logos is a lot more time consuming than you’d think. “Does it look good here or should I move it over 2 pixels?” is a common question. Yes, being that nitpicky really is that important.
So I came to the title. I put it in place and made sure it filled the space. Done. I sat back and thought about it and I didn’t feel the font was perfect. So I changed it. About a dozen different font tests later, I still wasn’t satisfied. I narrowed them down to the above 4 choices (click on the image to see a larger version of it). To me, each says something different. The top choice says “Disney movie” to me. Its a beautiful font, but I don’t want someone looking at the Book of Beasts and thinking Beauty and the Beast.
The font below that one to me says “Gothic Horror.” It makes me think of Dracula and all the classic horror stories we geeks grew up on. That’s good, but I’m not sure if that is what I am looking for with this one. I will admit, since I used it in Book of Beasts: Wandering Monsters 1 as the logo, this font might be chosen. Branding is important.
The next to the bottom font is cool and all but … for some reason I think of Pan’s Labyrinth. While that is a good thing in my opinion, I’d prefer it more for something like if I was doing what Paizo calls the First World or White Wolf calls Arcadia or Jim Butcher calls the Nevernever. Basically, Faerie. That is definitely not what I am doing with this. But I still like the font.
The bottom font is more of what I consider to be a basic font. It presents the title in big attention grabbing letters. As a small publisher, grabbing attention is important. However, the font itself does little to promote the fact that this is a fantasy book. I could see this font being used in science fiction or modern or super heroes. Definitely super heroes.
So what do you think. Is there one you like more than the others. Is there a font you like that I didn’t use. Check out dafont.com for more awesome fonts.
So GenCon is over for the year. The news coming out of the great gamer con is exciting as it always is. Most exciting for us is Paizo’s Pathfinder announcements. Incase you had not heard, the word is that Paizo will be releasing Ultimate Equipment as their GenCon 2012 release and the AP after the Pirate themed one is going to be about artifact-hunting and more Runelord stuff. All of which sounds like fun to us but we’re even more thrilled that our plans for 2012 are completely different.
We were really worried that Paizo was going to do something similar enough that it would leave us largely ignored. To date, we have 4 covers commissioned and turned in, manuscripts for large sections of those books turned in (and one is nearly finished) and deals made for several more tie in surprises. All that would be for not if the main company was doing something in a similar vein.
I’m not ready to say anything yet. We’re about 2ish months away from making any formal announcement but subscribers to our newsletter will be getting exclusive previews and first looks each month. Sign up today to stay in the know.
Just a quick update. For personal reasons (of maintaining my sanity), I instead decided to launch my whole secret project thingy on Jan 13, ’09. My original intent was for Dec 16, ’08, but things got in the way. But This will allow me a touch more time to get things right the first time.
As a Traveller referee, I have a decent idea as to what would make my job easier. But I am not a player so I do not know what kinds of products a player would desire. Any suggestions?
When you’re going to do something big, you have to time it just right. Striking while the iron is hot is important, but so is being coordinated. At the end of the day, coordination is more important. Even a slow economy can work to your advantage. Being as professional as possible by meeting deadlines, having something finished before it is even announced, while taking your time to do things right goes a long way with consumers. I don’t remember who said it be someone said “Underpromise and Overdeliver” was the best business practice to live by. That’s my plan.
As part of my writing regiment, I write out my material for a given role playing game. So for Traveller, I write out my patrons, I write up a description of a planet, the goods for sale, places for the players to buy drinks and so on. Previously, I just came up with a list of names and a few plot ideas, but I feel that having a number of different plot ideas in front of me has helped me to run a better game. I have even cumulated most of my work into a little handout for my players so they can operate better on the worlds.
All this is paying off in my freelance writing. This free flow of ideas has helped me to be more productive and organized then I normally am. My current freelance project, I’m on my last section and I have about 1000 words to go. With any luck, I’ll knock that out between Wednesday and Thursday. Then comes edits. 16,000 words to edit in 10 days. Good thing I’m becoming more organized. 
Ever play Traveller? I have. I’m still new to the game, and by new I mean I have played two sessions since the new rules were officially launched and two sessions of the playtest rules. That’s it. Its been around for 30 years and I played 4 sessions. I ran all of them. Last night was the first session in a campaign. It was fun, alot of fun. Simple mechanic, allows for lots of room for character development, and easy to write up characters, plots, etc.
So what exactly does this have to do with the big announcement. Alot. Exactly what, I can’t say for the moment. But stay tuned.
I recently started something new. I’ve been thinking about it for years and have been preparing for the day that I finally decide to do it. That day came two days ago. I have made the official decision. Now I am working towards it. I expect to make a formal announcement in about three to four months. Until then, I’ll keep talking about it and drop hints from time to time. For now, all I will say is that it has something to do with Role Playing Games.
Keep Reading and Be The First To Guess. I have taken my first step into my larger dream world.
Last night I was working on the cover to the next Book of Beasts. Placing the logos is a lot more time consuming than you’d think. “Does it look good here or should I move it over 2 pixels?” is a common question. Yes, being that nitpicky really is that important. 
