This morning I looked through the sales numbers for various products I have sold under the Samardan Press label. Here's a rough breakdown of total PDF sales to date, by product:
| Title | Total Sold |
|---|---|
| Book of Races | 18 |
| Fantasy Concepts Campaign Resource | 125 |
| Flynn's Guide to Alien Creation | 149 |
| Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveller | 71 |
| Hammersong's Legacy | 7 |
| Modern Options: The Tome of Talents | 18 |
| MyD20 Lite Player's Guide | 42 |
| OGL Alternatives: Alternate Advancement System | 55 |
| One-Act Adventure: Vengeance By Proxy | 12 |
From the numbers above, it really looks like my best sellers are my Traveller products (except adventures), followed closely behind by Fantasy Concepts. Obviously, campaign settings such as Hammersong's Legacy are not good sellers at all, followed closely behind by adventures. I'm not really looking at the singletons that I started off with. System-wise, my best avenue would be to pursue Traveller, followed by Fantasy Concepts. Swords & Wizardry does not appear to be my thing, product-wise.
With that in mind, I'm inclined to put my efforts toward the following directions with future products:
- I should focus on Traveller above other systems, because the rate of return is higher.
- Despite the fact that MyD20 Lite isn't doing well, I will continue to develop it, simply to make sure I have the version of D&D I want to use for future fantasy games.
- System books and supplements do better than adventures and settings, so I should focus on those.
- I should also try a few experiments into products of other types beyond just the basics I've tackled here.
- Stellar Quest will also make it out, just because it was fun to research and develop, and I know that there are a few fans of the project here among the readers.
I'm sure that this blog will continue to talk about Old School gaming, as that's the campaign style I prefer to run. I may also make a few more Traveller posts, if there's interest. While I'm not publishing with the goal of making a profit, but rather for the fun of creating works that others can enjoy, I have found that with today's economy, my Convention trips are easier if I have extra spending money earned from my product sales. So I suspect that I'll need to focus if I'm going to have a better Gen Con this year.
With Regards,
Flynn
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3 comments:
Interesting that Traveller material sells so well, given that there are so few Traveller blogs. Maybe all the Travellers just hang out on the discussion lists for the chat, and aren't really into writing about their games?
It is unfortunate that d20 Lite is not selling that well. I think that it strikes a near perfect balance between 3.5 and OSR. I think that it is a near perfect system system to me. I am waiting anxiously for the Masters Guide.
I second what Great has said. I, too, think MyD20 Lite is very close to my ideal system for running "D&D" fantasy.
I am eagerly awaiting the Referee's Guide, so please keep it high on your list of priorities.
I know that you mentioned that you were thinking of putting together a free "MyD20 Lite Quick Start" pdf. Do you plan to do so? I think that it would be great to give people a taste for the system without the need for them to buy the game.
I doubt that I would have paid for the pdf or digest softcovers that I have purchased from you if I didn't already have a good idea about whether or not I'd like the system from the drafts you shared over at Dragonsfoot.
If you don't have plans to put together a "taster" pdf, would you like me to put together something for you? I really think it would help generate more interest in you game.
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