I received mail yesterday (thanks!) from a few visitors inquiring as to my comments on the “overly-saturated” PDF market. My comments are founded in my understanding of that market and what (little) data is available publicly. Of course when I say “that market” I refer to RPGNow, which has a near-stranglehold on anything RPG/PDF-related.
Roughly a year ago there were a number of threads on ENWorld where publishers (companies and individuals) shared their sales data and ranks. What those threads illustrated was just how pathetic 99% of all PDFs sell. As of a year ago, selling 30 (thirty!) units would get you in the Top 100. Selling 50 units would get you in the Top 50. From that point, the variance was anywhere from 1-5 units moving you up one or more spots. The top spots were (rightfully) dominated by Monte Cook and his publishing company, Malhavoc Press. Selling over 100 units — something of a rarity — got you in the Top 20. Only Monte and ENPublishing — the D20 fan-based publishing arm of ENWorld — sold units in the thousands, approaching most physical print runs.
These comments also don’t take into account the economics of the situation. Most sales, as a matter of example, happen within 30 days of release. Most products don’t hit 50 units. Considering a PDF costs somewhere around $10, you can do the math pretty easily. (For the uninitiated, a physical print run moves anywhere from 3 to 5K of product on average in your FLGS. A major publisher such as White Wolf does figures in the tens of thousands. Wizard’s sold upwards of 3 million copies of the original PHB, MM, and DMG. Getting excited about selling 50 copies of your PDF is an abrupt wakeup call, IMO.)
At one point James, owner and operator of RPGNow, stated that something like 3-5 PDFs are released per day. As of today, three PDF products were released, three more on Tuesday, and eleven on Monday. Try getting people to notice your PDF when it’s one of sixteen in less than three days. In an already niche RPG hobby market, 3-5 niche PDF products are vying for the attention of a handful of buyers. Products being released with no advertising budget whatsoever in most cases. In fact, PDF “publishing” has gotten so out of hand that RPGNow is considering (or already implemented) a QA program; no longer is just anyone allowed to publish. (Discussion was also made of an upfront fee to discourage vanity press.)
Okay, time travel to 2004 and fellow author Chad Underkoffler’s latest release, Dead Inside (link). Chad has been gracious enough to share his numbers. For those that don’t know, Chad has been “pimping” his product pretty hard on message boards and across the gaming community. There’s a better-than-average chance that you’ve heard of Dead Inside. Also, as an established author and the backing of other “name” authors (Ken Hite, Bruce Baugh, et al) it’s safe to say that Dead Inside has received more press than most other PDF games and approached a larger audience. He’s even done several promotions and offers his product in print (POD) format. Thusly, his numbers are (IMO) disappointing as of April 23rd:
Total copies sold: 94 (71 PDF RPGNow, 23 PoD RPGMall)
RPGNow ranking, All Categories: #28
RPGNow ranking, Non-D20 RPG (April): #7
RPGNow ranking, Non-D20 RPG (All time): #66
Selling 71 copies in 90 days can get you #66 on the All Time list at RPGNow. Here are some comments from Chad via his livejournal (citation):
“However, it must be noted that — to keep everything real for everyone paying attention out there — my personal profit from DI has been miniscule. If I compare my usual payment for freelance game writing (at the “industry standard” of 3 cents a word [note 1]) to my profits for the writing of the book, there’s an order of magnitude (and then some) difference between them.
[note 1] That’s an industry-wide standard, and the minimum rate regarded as “professional work.” The larger companies offer more (the most I’ve seen is in the 8 to 10 cents a word range), and many smaller companies offer less. A substantial amount of writing in this industry is done for flat-fees, though some publishers offer royalties, sometimes against an advance.
FYI, Atomic Sock Monkey Press, depending upon project, goes with flat-fee or percentage of net profits to creatives. It seems to make the most sense, given the infinitesimal return on indie RPGs, in an industry where profits-margins are shockingly thin.
If I had written DI for an industry standard flat rate, I would have made ten times more money. On the other hand, so long as DI sells copies, I will continue to accrue earnings from it.”
I’ve run quite long now but bottom line: if you think pay in the RPG industry is bad as-is, it’s even worse in the PDF market.
Comments welcome and I’ll follow-up as necessary!
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