A peak behind the scenes

[Kevin]

A peek behind the scenes

I’ve been so busy this week dividing my time, that it dawned on me that people might like to get an idea of what goes on behind closed doors at Palladium.

I often get the impression that people think all we do is write, play games, and ship out books. I wish!

There is a lot more to the business of making role-playing games than people realize. A lot of it revolves around time management, being well organized, wearing several different hats, while juggling 20 different things, trying to be creative and paying attention to the details.

The first obstacle is switching from business mode to being creative. When you are in the groove being creative, plotting, brainstorming, writing or drawing, all you want to do is focus on it. The creative work is the most fun. Unfortunately, you also need to deal with business issues and the day to day stuff.

Here are a few examples

Nightbane®. All of a sudden there appears to be interest in Nightbane® for marketing in different venues. Film or television perhaps. That could lead to videogames, toys and a host of other moneymaking new market areas Palladium could certainly use.

Okay, that’s exciting and yes, I have my agent working on things, but that doesn’t mean we can just sit back and let it all magically happen. We are actively involved in making it happen. You have to be.

There was an hour long telephone discussion with the independent writer/producer. Another telephone discussion with Palladium’s agent, Mark Freedman of Surge Licensing. That was followed by an hour after discussion meeting with the Palladium crew. I had Julius ship out some extra copies to various interested parties. I had to call Mark Dudley to discuss a Nightbane® project he, Mike Majestic, and others had created and pitched to me a couple years ago. It was time to dust it off and pitch it to my agent. That led to several telephone conversations, emails, writing of a synopsis and overview, making a slick digital presentation, and looking over, reading, reviewing and approving the material. Wayne spent the better part of a day on almost that alone. All of this involves reading and answering several emails, followed by several short emails and telephone conversations with my agent and attorney, and follow-up calls. We have to think about and talk about all the various aspects. Questions arise that need to be answered, and then we need to coordinate with all parties to make sure everyone gets done what they need to get done by the time it needs to get done. That leads to more email and telephone calls.

Then: It is wait. Wait and see what happens next.

The worst part? All this time and work is entirely speculative. This interest in Nightbane® might go absolutely nowhere. Or languish in development for years like the Rifts® movie. Yet, it demands out attention, time and energy NOW. You need to try to strike when the opportunity appears. Especially with the big markets like Hollywood and videogames.

More things to get done

Speaking of videogames, I’m being flown in for a speaking engagement at Blizzard Entertainment in 10 days, November 17th. It will be fun and exciting and I can hardly wait. All of a sudden there are a bunch of time sensitive details that need to be taken care of immediately. All of it requires my attention, time and some minor expense. Ten days before my exciting trip to Blizzard Entertainment, my flight and hotel still aren’t booked by them, giving me one more thing I have to wait and worry about.

Outside creators. I love my freelancers. They are great. Just this week I’ve had a quartet of freelancers contact me with questions and offers that should, ultimately help Palladium release new product in 2010, but again, I must find the time to read their emails, think about what they are offering, discuss the details with them, tweak and make changes, and perhaps involve legal help. This is good for Palladium's long-term, and they are welcomed, but it requires more phone calls and/or emails, meaning more time I’m NOT writing.

The Christmas Surprise Packages are awesome on many levels. We love doing them, but they are demanding. Reading each one, making the selections, personalizing each one, signing the books, packing, shipping, making sure we have enough shipping supplies (boxes, packing slip envelopes, stickers, pastic bags, bubble wrap, etc.), ordering the shipping supplies, getting local freelances to come in to sign books . . . it all takes time. Ah, but we make so many fans happy.

Promotion and sales is another element most people don’t think about. It requires writing, printing and shipping flyers and placing advertisements, doing Press Releases, contacting distributors, telephone calls, emails, product pitches, Murmurs from the Megaverse, the occasional store and convention appearance (and any appearance takes time to prepare for, pack, travel, unpack, set up display, tear down display, etc., let alone the actual event itself), order processing, invoicing, payment collections, and more.

Run of the mill day to day stuff includes, managing and updating the Palladium website and online store, processing orders, paying bills, banking, insurance, maintenance, repairs, juggling finances, filing copyrights, legal matters and documents, coordinating efforts inside and outside of the office, contracts, correspondences (fan, freelance, professional), maintaining a rapport with people on numerous levels, dealing with issues that may arise online, or with shipping, or illness, or printing, or new opportunities, and on and on. This stuff is a constant. There is a great deal involved in running a business that people just don’t think about. We’re a small outfit, so even things like trash removal, vacuuming, and who cleans the toilets this week is something to be dealt with.

Of course, all the above is divided between several of us, but Palladium is down to FIVE people these days, and we’re all pretty darn busy all the time.

For me, finding a day, or better yet, several days in a row, where I can spend most of my time writing with few interruptions are a rarity, especially during Christmas season. That’s okay, it comes with the territory, but it’s stuff I think outsiders looking in forget about or brush away as incidental when they are not. Just wanted to provide a little insight.

Hey, I need to get back to finishing a book. Keep those imaginations burning bright and game on!

Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Game Designer, and Overworked Business Owner
Palladium Books®, Inc. – 28 years of RPG Publishing

© Copyright November 5, 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, Dimensional Outbreak, 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.