After a break of nearly three months, I have resumed work on my Napoleonic project.
Sorting through the figures that I had yet to renovate, varnish, and base, I discovered that I had far more to do than I had originally thought. I have at least ten units of French Infantry to do – most of which are destined to represent Garrison or Veteran/Invalid troops – and nearly as many Artillery units. I also found quite a few more French Cavalry ... and the small Russian army that I had totally forgotten about!
The latter are also Del Prado pre-painted 25/28mm figures, but were sold as part of the RELIVE AUSTERLITZ! range, which was not sold in the UK. I acquired my figures via eBay, and although there are not a huge number of figures, there are sufficient for my needs ... at present!
The joy of this project is that I can take a break to do other things, and then return to it with new enthusiasm. I find the renovation process quite cathartic, and it gives me time to think about all sorts of things ... including my proposed PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME.
Sorting through the figures that I had yet to renovate, varnish, and base, I discovered that I had far more to do than I had originally thought. I have at least ten units of French Infantry to do – most of which are destined to represent Garrison or Veteran/Invalid troops – and nearly as many Artillery units. I also found quite a few more French Cavalry ... and the small Russian army that I had totally forgotten about!
The latter are also Del Prado pre-painted 25/28mm figures, but were sold as part of the RELIVE AUSTERLITZ! range, which was not sold in the UK. I acquired my figures via eBay, and although there are not a huge number of figures, there are sufficient for my needs ... at present!
The joy of this project is that I can take a break to do other things, and then return to it with new enthusiasm. I find the renovation process quite cathartic, and it gives me time to think about all sorts of things ... including my proposed PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME.
".... and it gives me time to think about all sorts of things ... including my proposed PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME."
ReplyDeleteAfter " ..... DEVELOPING THE PORTABLE WARGAME and I hope to include things such as: Rules for pinning and unpinning units, Fighting campaigns using the Portable Wargame Rules (with a short example), A more complex version of the Early and Mid Twentieth Century Portable Wargame Rules.." I hope!
Nobby,
DeleteI might include the Napoleonic rules in the next book ... or might turn item into a separate book. It depends upon how work on the next book progresses.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI'm considering writing and illustrating my own Wargame Book- possibly a soft back- in terms of Publishing costs I'm wondering about up front costs that you may have paid to the Publisher - did your Portable Games book cost you an awful lot to begin with - or was it waved in terms of a Commission on the Sales ? Be interested to know the arrangement - as I've had it quoted to me by a Brisbane Published in Queensland that it would cost me $4500 up front for them to start to do the book...interested in knowing your thoughts. Regards. KEV.
Kev. Robertson.
DeleteWhen you use a company like Lulu.com – who print individual books to order – the only up-front cost is for the proof copies that you MUST buy. These are not too expensive (although the Post & Packaging do seem rather steep!). After that they charge a commission on each book that they sell, and any profits are passed back to you every month or so, starting a couple of months after the book is published.
Lulu.com also deal with online retailers for you (but only after you have proof-read the book and agreed that it is ready for distribution), and although the profit you make on each copy will fall if the book is sold by Amazon or Barnes & Noble (they also charge a commission on sales), if you price your book correctly, you will make a small amount of money on each sale.
Besides the proof copies that I bought, I did buy some copies direct from Lulu.com to distribute myself, mainly to people who would review it online or in magazines. In the case of the Masonic book that I wrote a few years ago, I bought 100 copies (which brought the printing and P&P costs down) and recouped the cost and profits from handling the distribution myself. (The book was written to raise money for charity, which it did.) I would not do that again unless the circumstances were similar.
I did look at so-called vanity publishing using a more conventional company, but they all wanted money up-front (in some cases a lot of money!) and did not seem to offer any sales or distribution support. I would have borne all the risk and most of the work ... and potentially made more money. That said, I never expected my books to sell more than a few copies, and it was never intended to provide me with a new income stream.
I hope that you find my comments helpful ... and good luck with your own book.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
DeleteThankyou for your very informative reply- most interesting. It seems that Lulu.com offers a very good complete arrangement. I would certainly like to do a book in the future and I will certainly keep Lulu.com in mind. Regards. KEV.
Kev. Robertson.,
DeleteI'm pleased that my reply was of help to you. Lulu.com does provide a reasonable service, and they are certainly worth looking at.
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteAre there any play sheets with your actual (and future) book (s)? Its more easy to use on the tabletop..
Many thanks,
Lex
Lex,
DeleteThere are no play sheets available as yet, but I am looking at possible ways of making them available in the future.
When I have solved the problem, I will make an announcement on my blog.
All the best,
Bob