>* It sounds like you're then going straight to LPI, not through iUniverse.
>You therefore don't get some of the extra services: ISBN, available through
>Ingram, etc. Right?
I bought my own block of ISBN numbers, yes. It's rather cheap ( $275,
IIRC ) and (at least at the time ) LPI's minimum first short run
requirement of 100 copies was reduced to 25 if I approved the book for
Ingram distribution. The book in question was hardcover ( Nobilis ) , so
the savings on 75 books more than paid for the ISBNs. Technically, LPI
requires ISBNs, so you really should do that anyway. :) Books listed with
Ingram are automatically listed ( with some small delay ) with Amazon,
Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers. It makes your availability
outside the traditional gameshop channel ( which might be a hard nut to
crack by itself ) grow dramatically.
>* But then you mention Wizards Attic. Please elucidate. Mayhaps this is a
>better thing for gamers than Ingram?
Wizard's Attic ( http://www.wizards-attic.com ) is a well, it's hard to
pigeonhole. Basically it's a consignment warehouse that deals with the
gaming and print trade channels at all levels ( consumer, retailer, and
distributor ) of sales. They attend the major national and regional
tradeshows ( Such as Origins, Gencon, The Book Expo in Chicago, etc ) and
have strong relationships with many of the reliable national and
international distributors.
Advantages of WA are ( not all inclusive )
Not debt chasing with distributors.
Because WA represents multiple publishers a distributor can restock
your book without having to meet sales minimums they believe they cannot
sale in a reasonable amount of time.
Timely payments and sales reports
WA can act as your online storefront, taking care of order taking,
phone answering, and order fulfillment as well as the annoyances of taking
credit cards and bad checks.
WA represents a *lot* of the bigger names in small press.
>* How might a small operator go to LPI with a book for printing? To Wizards
>Attic with a book for distributing?
I'm not 100% sure if the process has changed since I started, but I can
give you the number of my account rep and she can get you through the
basics. They are terribly busy so they really don't have the time to
explain *how* to publish. You need to know how to get a book ready and to them.
If you need help with this, I recommend joining the GPA.
Wizard's Attic has an info packet on their site about signing up. It
should have the details you need.
-------------
For more information, please link to www.opengamingfoundation.org
