A friend sent me a nice email and closed saying, “I just hope things really start picking up for Palladium this year. It's been a very ambitious year and it would be tough to see it all go unappreciated.”
It was a nice thing thing to say. He knows the Palladium staff, freelancers and I have been killing ourselves to do our best work under tight deadlines and looooong hours. It has been demanding, rough, and exhausting, yet everyone has been working hard without complaint. (The Palladium crew – including my freelancers – are all heroes in my book.) Thus, it can be disappointing to see slow sales and the wild up and down roller coaster ride we (and most businesses around the globe) have been experiencing this past year or so. It can even make you wonder, sometimes if, “Geez, is all this hard work worthwhile? Or are we killing ourselves for nothing?”
It’s all worthwhile
First, we know that Palladium fans “appreciate” our effort. I also know money is tight, the economy is weird, and job security is questionable for many people. That means tightening the purse strings and being cautious. That means people sacrificing the things they want and the games they love to be responsible, support their families and pay the necessary bills. Unfortunately, that sacrifice extends to buying Palladium products. We understand and it’s okay.
Second, it is worthwhile because we are creating excitement and momentum. Not to mention, we are doing some of our best work ever.
Three, there has been a wonderful camaraderie at Palladium, from staff to freelancers, that has been inspiring on many levels.
Four, the excitement we are building will pay off. I can feel it.
As for new product and sales
The roller coaster ride continues. Last week’s sales were lousy, one of the worst week’s sales in the last couple of months. It was disappointing as we had seen a couple weeks of strong sales and had hoped that things were leveling out.
This weekend and last night's sales were fantastic! We can't get too excited, because the way things have been going, tomorrow's sales could be in the toilet. Sales have just been so weird and unpredictable. At this point, however, we have made a little more money in just the first three days of this week than all of last week (which was, admittedly, a very, very poor sales week). Fingers are crossed for a BIG sales week and strong sales to follow in the weeks to come. Furthermore, with this economy, I think we are going to see huge X-Mas Grab Bag sales starting mid-October. The Grab Bags are a lot of work, but well worth it on so many different levels that they are always a pleasure. This year, when so many people are struggling, I'm happy to think that the Grab Bags will be more welcomed and helpful to gamers than ever.
2009 is a very ambitious year for Palladium
This year is on track to see the largest number of product releases in the history of Palladium Books.
Including The Rifter®, we have already equaled last year's entire output of books (which also included 4 issues of The Rifter®). In addition, we have already released a DOZEN new non-book products (new T-shirts, coffee mugs, dice bags, calculator, magnets, etc.) vs four items (T-shirts) last year.
That’s already 22 products for 2009 and we still have FIVE months to go! Whew. No wonder we’re so tired all the time.
I don't think Palladium will hit the 20-24 book releases I was hoping for, but we should see 15-17 books for the year, plus 16-18 non-book products equaling 30+ products of all kinds for the year. Not too shabby. 
Enjoy the new products and keep those imaginations burning bright. Role-playing is very much alive.
Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer & Game Designer
Palladium Books®, Inc. – 28 years of RPG Publishing
© Copyright July 28, 2009 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, Palladium Books®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, Fleets of the Three Galaxies, Mysteries of Magic, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.