JeremyKeller.com

A blog of creative endeavors

Posts Tagged sales

Gamers Helping Haiti: A Follow-Up

Feb 1

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Chronica Feudalis

Last night, the RPGNow and DriveThruRPG websites finally concluded the Gamers Helping Haiti deal in which thousands of gamers contributed $20 each to Doctors Without Borders and received a bundle of over $1000 worth of RPG related PDFs in return. I’ve been tremendously proud to have included Chronica Feudalis among the excellent material included in this bundle. I like to think that I played a small part in bringing some relief and support to the victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Here’s the deal, from my interpretation of the reports I get from RPGNow, there were something like 7400 purchases of the bundle. That is the kind of penetration into the gamer community that few independently published RPGs ever see. Over 7400 people now own Chronica Feudalis who didn’t before. Over 7400 people own 3:16 and Apocalypse Prevention, Inc. Thousands of new owners of Full Light, Full Steam and Beast Hunters.

You probably personally know several other people in your local gaming community who donated their $20 and picked up this bundle. This has been touted on every major gaming forum and a myriad of blogs, podcasts, Twitter tweets, and Facebook posts. Gamers came together in large numbers and in agreement for a cause like I have never seen before. It has been tremendously inspiring. The effort raised over $180,000. That’s significant.

Just because the bundle deal is over and the iPad was announced and Amazon and Macmillan got in a little tiff, doesn’t mean the problems of Haiti have gone away. So, when I say this, don’t take it like I’m saying the crisis is over. It’s not. We still have lots of work to do.

But here’s my point: take a little time to play. You and 7400 of your closest friends have new game material. There has never been a better time to find players to play these games. Take advantage of that. Games are meant to be played. They long to be played. They desperately want to be played. Call up your friends and say, “Did you download Diana: Warrior Princess? I did and it’s awesome. How about we get together this weekend and roll some dice.” Don’t just get your $20 out of these games, get the full $1000+ bundle value out of them. Crack them open, take them out, use them, abuse them. After all, they’re PDFs. They can take a beating.

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Domesday 2: The Reckoning

Jan 6

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Cellar Games

A while back I told the story of how Cellar Games was started and Chronica Feudalis was published. This was in the tradition of several indie games publishers who are forthcoming and transparent with their business. I know that for myself, Evil Hat’s quarterly sales reports were an amazing help when starting to get into this to help set my expectations for what kind of numbers I could expect to sell. Not that I ever expected Chronica to sell like Spirit of the Century but, you know, it’s a point of reference.

So here is another point of reference. Cellar Games’ sales for Q4 of 2009:

IPR Sales Q4
Print (Retail) 42
Print (Direct) 16
PDF 18
OBS Sales Q4
PDF 19
Lifetime Sales
Print 160
PDF 154
Total Sales 314

When we last talked about this, I was around $300 shy of Chronica Feudalis being a profitable endeavor. I am happy to say that it has now certainly made more money than I have put into it.

Along those lines I wanted to comment on something I said in that post. I said something off-the-cuff like “But if you ever expect this hobby industry to pay for your time, you’ll be sorely disappointed.” While I think it’s completely necessary to manage your expectations when getting into something like this, what I said was false. There’s some truth in there but it’s one of those things that people say without really thinking about it. There are plenty of independent game designers and self-publishers that do in fact pay themselves for their time. Vincent Baker said over at Story-Games that he gets “about $20/hour.”

Now I might be more accurate in saying that we can’t all be Vincent Baker, but there are examples of people making money doing this. Whatever, you know all of this. Point is, I said something wrong and, fuck, I’m going to own up to it.

The good news is that Chronica Feudalis continues to sell. From the reports I’ve heard, people are enjoying the game. As a new publisher and a hobbyist game designer, this has been a project I have been tremendously proud of. Thank you to everyone who has made this possible.

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My Personal Domesday

Nov 10

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Cellar Games

As easy as it has become to self-publish your RPG, it’s still a fairly daunting prospect. There’s a lot you have to learn and, for the most part, you’re going to have to teach yourself. Sometimes it’s difficult to see what things really cost and how much money you can reasonably expect to make. Fortunately there are many publishers who are willing to share what they’ve learned along the way, helping those of us who are new to the industry with the first steps. Fred Hicks is practically famous for this: regularly revealing Evil Hat’s quarterly sales figures, and providing spreadsheet breakdowns of cost comparisons between print-on-demand vendors. The transparency of small-press and self-published outfits is a boon to anyone looking to join those ranks.

So, in that spirit, I want to share the story of the publication of Chronica Feudalis, my first RPG published in print, and Cellar Games, LLC, the company I started to publish it. I am not claiming to be an expert at this – I don’t know that I’ve fumbled through this process better than anyone else has – but having freshly traversed this ground and by revealing the real numbers behind the process, I hope to provide a solid reference for those who find themselves where I was only a few months ago.

I start a lot of things. Not counting the novels, screenplays, and video game designs, I’ve started writing at least 6 different role-playing games with unique and fairly fleshed-out systems. Chronica Feudalis was begun – practically on a dare by my girlfriend – as an exercise in trying to finish something. My first notes (a skill list and a rough outline) were sketched out in late September of 2008. My plan even then was to bring it to Gen Con Indy in August of 2009.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Get Chronica Feudalis at IPR

Aug 28

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Chronica Feudalis

Once lost in scattered, fragmented documents that hid in dark corners of musty archives, the game of imagined adventure written by the diligent monks of a forgotten priory has crossed the sea of vast centuries to be delivered directly to your doorstep.

That’s right, Chronica Feudalis is now available at Indie Press Revolution.

There you will find the print and pdf copies of the game bundled together for the cover price of the print book. You’re essentially getting the pdf for free!

Visit IPR today and begin your adventure.

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Chronica Feudalis now available in print

Aug 26

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Chronica Feudalis

Visit our CreateSpace store to purchase Chronica Feudalis in print. Now you can bring the game of imagined adventure to your gaming table in this attractive, half-letter, softcover tome.

https://www.createspace.com/3394084

Already picked up a PDF copy of Chronica Feudalis? Just email me at jeremy [at] cellar-games [dot] com with your order number from RPGNow or DriveThru and I’ll email you a coupon for $5 off the print version through the CreateSpace store.

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Get Chronica Feudalis at Gen Con Indy

Aug 11

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Chronica Feudalis

Gen Con is almost here, and Chronica Feudalis will be there. You’ll be able to find the game of imagined adventure, in print, at the Indie Press Revolution booth (that’s booth number 2139).

Want to try before you buy? I’ll be running two games of Chronica Feudalis as part of the Indie Games Explosion. The adventure begins on Friday and Saturday starting at 1pm. Follow game codes RPG0902797 and RPG0902798 for more information. There are still slots open, so sign up now or come by with your generic event tickets and grab a seat at the table.

Can’t make it out to Gen Con this summer? Well, make sure to check back over the next few days for news on where you can get your mail-clad mits on Chronica Feudalis in print.

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Chronica Feudalis PDF Now Available!

Jun 18

Posted by Jeremy Keller in Chronica Feudalis

Dash over to RPGNow.com where you’ll find the Chronica Feudalis PDF ready to buy. This 128 page electronic copy of the game provides everything you need to play daring knights, crafty courtiers, determined monks, and rebellious peasants in the imagined past of 12th century Europe.

With Chronica Feudalis’ quick and intuitive mechanics, your characters will engage in thrilling combats, parleys, chases, and subterfuge. Your characters will increase in skill with the help of their mentors and the FATE-based aspect mechanics allow you to add flavor and drama to every roll.

Chronica Feudalis will be making its debut in print this August at Gen Con Indy.

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