I’m happy to say The WoW Diary is finally available on Amazon and as a PDF on my online store. It was no small matter shipping my Kickstarter rewards, 99.99% of which have been delivered. Month-long waits for Canadian customers will soon be eliminated after my inventory reaches the Amazon.ca fulfillment center in Calgary. I’ve learned so much about fulfillment and inventory management that I could write quite a lengthy article on the subject; although I suspect the average reader would find such an essay to be of little interest.
I’ve made barely any effort (or progress) in retail distribution, but retail margins are so thin, it’s unlikely I’ll lose sleep over it.
As I move forward promoting my book, I’m making myself available for podcasts again (checkout my appearances on Countdown to Classic), and I’m publishing a number of excerpts from the book for promotion. I realize now that The WoW Diary is ideal for this, since its essays are mostly bite-sized. I could have used them during my Kickstarter, but that’s only a hindsight realization.
I’m hoping to translate my book into Chinese, but the costs are insane, and the Chinese audience can’t afford hardcover prices. I’m even toying with the idea of a Chinese crowdfunding campaign, but it’s questionable whether the expenditure on such a campaign will be justified.
Board Game Progress
I’ve passed a couple milestones for my board game (my second project), although much of it is being redone from scratch. Even with years of research and prototypes, playtests often reveals flaws that require major changes. I expected this from the onset, and what I’m working on is more exciting than I originally imagined, a dungeon crawl for the casual audience. I hope to open up the genre the way Diablo did. If anyone can remember video games in the 1990s, RPGs were niche titles until Diablo conquered the market. I want to make something that features tactical combat, loot, and boss fights with simple rules, short set-up times, and 90-minute play sessions.
To meet these goals, I’m actively playtesting my game with other designers in the Cleveland area. My fulfillment experience with The WoW Diary has influenced my manufacturing plans: I’m pricing components to deliver the most bang for the buck with possibilities like ceramic pieces and plastic injection molds. I’m also learning from publishers about the industry, especially during cons (Pax Unplugged in Philly, Origins in Columbus, and GenCon in Indianapolis). So far, it’s already been an interesting ride.