Opinion Piece on the 4th Edition Book size.
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2014 12:05 am
First save yourself some time and do not read this.
As it stands now, 1/21/2014 , the 4th edition books will be digest size / perfect bound just like the previously released books for Earthdawn Revised. I have not contributed to the Earthdawn 4th Edition Kickstarter for exactly this reason. I found myself at odds with myself over this as I really want Earthdawn to succeed but I know that I must vote with my silver.
If you wish to understand why feel free to read on, if not, you will have saved yourself valuable living time.
Going on the current information all future Earthdawn books are to be released both in Hardcover and Softcover in the 6.14” x 9.21” format exclusively. This format is also referred to as Perfect Bound or Digest size. The Gamemsater’s Guide and Gamemaster’s Companion will shoot for 350 pages, digest size. This is the equivalent of 56.54% of a 350 page full sized book or if you prefer, a single 350 page digest book is equal to 197.89 pages in a full sized book.
Dimensions
As for the 6.14” x 9.21” format… Let’s consider Occam's Razor and that the only thing changing is the book size. If that is the case, the 6.14 x 9.21 is only 56.54% the size of an 8.5 x 11. Simple math says that a single 8.5 x 11 book with 152 double sided pages; the Game Masters Guide, will have 251 double sided pages in the 6.14 x 9.21 format. This provides a relatively short and fat book, good for flipping through but a pain to set flat on a table and read without damaging the binding. Let us assume that the remaining 99 pages are filled with some of the content from the current game master compendium.
Printability
The printability of a 6.14 x 9.21 format e-file is limited to two options for the average person. Either they expand the undersized layout to fit the standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper or they print the page on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper leaving a large empty boarder around every sheet. This is a good thing if you want to make notes or bind your printout but not such a good thing for the amount of paper wasted. If you are not interested in either of these options finding paper for the 6.14” x 9.21” format might be a bit tricky.
Flexibility
Electronic files formatted for the 6.14 x 9.21 are excellent for electronic tablets, I-pads, E-readers and the various other small hand-held devices in use in the modern world today. They translate ok to smart phones with a relatively large screen. I can understand the desire of FG to capture this market, particularly since it was often commented on in the old RedBrick forums. In the next 10 years this will probably become the standard for most online electronic documents.
Legibility
Text in an Earthdawn 8.5 x 11 book varies from a very easy to read 18 point font for heading to a 9.5 font for basic paragraphs. Very detailed information is often in 6 point font. If this remains the same in the 6.14 x 9.21 I will have no issue reading the books. Should this font scheme change to a smaller font to conserve pages I can see issues with attempting to read the books without the assistance of a magnifying glass.
Artwork and Æsthetics
I have arrived at what is often considered the crux of the 8.5 x 11 versus 6.14 x 9.21 issue. Many players are used to a large format, it can be easily read, and the artwork is usually generous in detail. Many older players find the 8.5 x 11 size to be comforting. For the smaller editions new artwork will, by necessity, need to be smaller. This artwork need not be less detailed, but let’s face it, smaller pages will have smaller images, and smaller images will have less visible detail.
Price Point
What follows is all conjecture all based on information from 2 years ago. First let me share with you the quote I received from One Book Shelf after using their contact form.
[i]Re: OBS_Contact_Form
1 recipientsCC: recipientsYou More
BCC: recipientsYou Show Details FROM:Matt McElroy TO:tableau.infractus@yahoo.com Message flagged Sunday, March 11, 2012 3:40 PM Hello,
Thanks for your interest in DriveThruRPG / RPGNow.
It would depend on whether the book was black & white or full color.
Also depending on where the customer who orders the book from out site lives, the book might be printed in the USA or in the UK and shipped to the customer from that print location.
Black & White
USA: 6.00 + .015 per page (US Dollar)
UK: 4.00 + .01 per page (UK Pound)
Color
USA: 6.00 + .09 per page (US Dollar)
UK: 4.00 + .06 per page (UK Pound)
Those are single copy quotes, as in when you have it listed on the site and a customer orders a single copy. Publishers can order books at cost and get a bulk discount if they order in quantities of 50 or more.
Regards,
Matt M McElroy
This assumption is for a single black and white hardcover Gamemaster’s book of 350 pages.
Black & White (Hardcover)
USA: 6.00 + .015 per page (US Dollar)
350 pages x .015 = $5.25
So base cost of the book before any of the game company’s costs is $11.25, now include in this price the requirement of the game company to make a profit to pay all of its people, designers, writers, artists etcetera, ( has an excellent article on this subject.) If we go with the idea of 150% mark-up, not an unreasonable assumption considering the various other unknown details, the price falls in at 28.13. So figure $30 - $35 being a reasonable price for the hard cover.
Shipping
Let me be clear, I never purchased the Classic edition books because of shipping fees. The price point was steep all alone, add to that the shipping fees and they were ridiculously prohibitive. Unless these new books can retain a price point of around $40.00USD, including shipping, I can’t see new players plunking down to buy them. I bought the 3rd edition books because I liked the look, the feel and the fact that they were on store shelves. I wrote about this on the old forums as well. Shipping adds extra cost to any book and rankles the customer base.
Obvious Visual Reference
For a clear visual reference of what you lose with a digest book compared to a full sized book.
As it stands now, 1/21/2014 , the 4th edition books will be digest size / perfect bound just like the previously released books for Earthdawn Revised. I have not contributed to the Earthdawn 4th Edition Kickstarter for exactly this reason. I found myself at odds with myself over this as I really want Earthdawn to succeed but I know that I must vote with my silver.
If you wish to understand why feel free to read on, if not, you will have saved yourself valuable living time.
Going on the current information all future Earthdawn books are to be released both in Hardcover and Softcover in the 6.14” x 9.21” format exclusively. This format is also referred to as Perfect Bound or Digest size. The Gamemsater’s Guide and Gamemaster’s Companion will shoot for 350 pages, digest size. This is the equivalent of 56.54% of a 350 page full sized book or if you prefer, a single 350 page digest book is equal to 197.89 pages in a full sized book.
Dimensions
As for the 6.14” x 9.21” format… Let’s consider Occam's Razor and that the only thing changing is the book size. If that is the case, the 6.14 x 9.21 is only 56.54% the size of an 8.5 x 11. Simple math says that a single 8.5 x 11 book with 152 double sided pages; the Game Masters Guide, will have 251 double sided pages in the 6.14 x 9.21 format. This provides a relatively short and fat book, good for flipping through but a pain to set flat on a table and read without damaging the binding. Let us assume that the remaining 99 pages are filled with some of the content from the current game master compendium.
Printability
The printability of a 6.14 x 9.21 format e-file is limited to two options for the average person. Either they expand the undersized layout to fit the standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper or they print the page on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper leaving a large empty boarder around every sheet. This is a good thing if you want to make notes or bind your printout but not such a good thing for the amount of paper wasted. If you are not interested in either of these options finding paper for the 6.14” x 9.21” format might be a bit tricky.
Flexibility
Electronic files formatted for the 6.14 x 9.21 are excellent for electronic tablets, I-pads, E-readers and the various other small hand-held devices in use in the modern world today. They translate ok to smart phones with a relatively large screen. I can understand the desire of FG to capture this market, particularly since it was often commented on in the old RedBrick forums. In the next 10 years this will probably become the standard for most online electronic documents.
Legibility
Text in an Earthdawn 8.5 x 11 book varies from a very easy to read 18 point font for heading to a 9.5 font for basic paragraphs. Very detailed information is often in 6 point font. If this remains the same in the 6.14 x 9.21 I will have no issue reading the books. Should this font scheme change to a smaller font to conserve pages I can see issues with attempting to read the books without the assistance of a magnifying glass.
Artwork and Æsthetics
I have arrived at what is often considered the crux of the 8.5 x 11 versus 6.14 x 9.21 issue. Many players are used to a large format, it can be easily read, and the artwork is usually generous in detail. Many older players find the 8.5 x 11 size to be comforting. For the smaller editions new artwork will, by necessity, need to be smaller. This artwork need not be less detailed, but let’s face it, smaller pages will have smaller images, and smaller images will have less visible detail.
Price Point
What follows is all conjecture all based on information from 2 years ago. First let me share with you the quote I received from One Book Shelf after using their contact form.
[i]Re: OBS_Contact_Form
1 recipientsCC: recipientsYou More
BCC: recipientsYou Show Details FROM:Matt McElroy TO:tableau.infractus@yahoo.com Message flagged Sunday, March 11, 2012 3:40 PM Hello,
Thanks for your interest in DriveThruRPG / RPGNow.
It would depend on whether the book was black & white or full color.
Also depending on where the customer who orders the book from out site lives, the book might be printed in the USA or in the UK and shipped to the customer from that print location.
Black & White
USA: 6.00 + .015 per page (US Dollar)
UK: 4.00 + .01 per page (UK Pound)
Color
USA: 6.00 + .09 per page (US Dollar)
UK: 4.00 + .06 per page (UK Pound)
Those are single copy quotes, as in when you have it listed on the site and a customer orders a single copy. Publishers can order books at cost and get a bulk discount if they order in quantities of 50 or more.
Regards,
Matt M McElroy
This assumption is for a single black and white hardcover Gamemaster’s book of 350 pages.
Black & White (Hardcover)
USA: 6.00 + .015 per page (US Dollar)
350 pages x .015 = $5.25
So base cost of the book before any of the game company’s costs is $11.25, now include in this price the requirement of the game company to make a profit to pay all of its people, designers, writers, artists etcetera, ( has an excellent article on this subject.) If we go with the idea of 150% mark-up, not an unreasonable assumption considering the various other unknown details, the price falls in at 28.13. So figure $30 - $35 being a reasonable price for the hard cover.
Shipping
Let me be clear, I never purchased the Classic edition books because of shipping fees. The price point was steep all alone, add to that the shipping fees and they were ridiculously prohibitive. Unless these new books can retain a price point of around $40.00USD, including shipping, I can’t see new players plunking down to buy them. I bought the 3rd edition books because I liked the look, the feel and the fact that they were on store shelves. I wrote about this on the old forums as well. Shipping adds extra cost to any book and rankles the customer base.
Obvious Visual Reference
For a clear visual reference of what you lose with a digest book compared to a full sized book.