Category Archives: Publisher Advice

Posted on

Just How Good is The Forge of Fury?

by

Several years ago, in my Borderland of Adventure campaign, our band of heroes explored a fragment of the upper level of The Forge of Fury. Sadly, their exploration was cut short when their foray alerted a tribe of orcs in the upper level. In the ensuing battle, the party were forced to flee—and only escaped because of the heroic sacrifice of one of their number.

tsr11644_the_forge_of_fury

Posted on

6 Things I Hate About Module Presentation

by

There’s a subtle difference between module presentation and module design. As a freelancer, I spend a lot of time obsessing over module design. As a publisher, I spend just as much time obsessing over the layout and presentation of the module.

By William McAusland (Outland Arts)

By William McAusland (Outland Arts)

Posted on

Publisher Advice: Three Unexpected Benefits to Raging Swan’s Patreon Campaign

by

In March, Raging Swan Press started a Patreon campaign. The campaign has been wildly successful and I’m delighted with its progress.

Oo4th_patreon_name

 

Our patrons’ support has transformed how Raging Swan Press pays its freelance designers. I’m very proud of our enhanced pay rates. I love paying our freelancers a decent wage (and I suspect they also love getting it as well).

However, I’ve also noticed the Patreon campaign has had a couple of unexpected (positive) side effects for me.

Keen Freelancers

Our freelancers are much keener to work with us. This is great as it means I have to spend less time chasing designers, begging them to fit us into their schedule and so on . Often when a freelancer finishes a job, they ask for another one. This is epic as it saves me time, hassle and stress.

For example, at time of writing (early November 2015) I have scheduled and contracted every Raging Swan Press product through to the end of April 2016. Previously, I was probably working—if I was lucky—three months ahead.

Better Turnovers

The turnovers I’m receiving are getting better and better. The text is tighter, more focused and they require less editing than before (in the main). This is great as it saves me time and increases the quality of our finished products.

More Writing

I’m writing more. I suspect this is because I have more time. At the start of the year, I was struggling to spend any meaningful time writing. That sucked as the joy of creation was why I founded Raging Swan Press in the first place.

However, this year I’ve written:

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of these products released after our Patreon campaign started. In any event, my output is a huge improvement on last year. Looking ahead it seems next year will be even better. I can’t wait as I’m mad keen to get back to Gloamhold and the Duchy of Ashlar!

Learn More

I’d be delighted if you wanted to learn more about Raging Swan’s Patreon campaign (and perhaps join up). Doing so means you get our books before they go on general release and you get them cheaper than normal as well! In return, your support enables us to pay our freelancers better than ever before.

And if you are a publisher, I highly recommend you set up your own Patreon–and if you do, leave a note below so I can come and check it out!