Newsletter

[KeeperMurph]

So I have these grand hopes of having a meaningful newsletter that will supplement not only our podcast, but also the CoC gaming community as a whole. As such, I am now opening up a serious brainstorming session as of now. I have tossed some of these ideas back and forth on the IRC channel lately, you should really be there if you are cool by the way, so some of these ideas are suggestions from other listeners/fans/people in general.

• Is there a reason not to do a newsletter?

• Would anyone actually pay for a newsletter if it is done well?

• What type of articles about the Lovecraftian scene in general would you be willing to sit and read about?

• What format should it be in? -- I personally think a nicely laid out PDF that is fully inked up would be the best solution, but make arguments for HTML, epub, mobi, etc.

• inclusion of paper props seems like a no brainer

• serialized stories? If we do this we have to go off of purely free fiction, that means old, freely given, or fan stuff (the last two are those of us reading this)

• Scenario snippets?

• how about including actual, and fake, period newspaper articles and advertisements?

• Text based interviews

Once we actually have an idea of a) whether there is enough interest in this to proceed, and b) what the newsletter should and should not contain, I will start actively pursuing articles and text interviews with member of the community. So let me know. If it at all possible I want to have some idea of just what the hell this is going to be within the next month.

[Scriven]

Okay, so I’ve been turning this over a lot since Keeper Murph brought this idea up on the forum. Paul Maclean at YSDC had a similar idea with the Yog-Sothothery newsletter he launched a while ago, although I’m not sure where that ended up. I think the editorial workload it put on him might have stalled production, especially considering all of the other projects he’s got in the hopper at any given time.

Anyway, here’s a few things, in no particular order, that popped into my mind about an MU Podcast newsletter.

1. I think it’s a great idea. It might even be fun to present it as the MU “Campus Newspaper” with articles and columns featuring prominent faculty and students including Monterey Jack (legal issues with Fantasy Flight allowing), Dr. Gerard, Jimmy and the Professor, and other personalities.

2. A well-designed PDF sounds right for the format. There’s no reason why epub and mobi formats couldn’t follow, but PDF works with so many devices it’s a good place to start.

3. I’m not sure I’d necessarily start off by aspiring to produce a publication that emulates or rubs shoulders with established publications like The Unspeakable Oath or periodicals with similar production values. That’s not to say it couldn’t grow in that direction, but sometimes these projects just need time to mature, and setting the bar too high too quickly can discourage the editors and contributors alike. Just a thought – I could be totally wrong.

4. I’m not sure that distributing an MU Newsletter through a paid subscription is the right way to go – at least not initially. If you really do want to use the newsletter to encourage a revenue stream for the podcast, it might be best to produce a “digest” one-pager version of the newsletter that’s freely available to everyone, and then make the full (multi-page) newsletter issue available as a premium for MU Podcast patrons. I believe this is similar to the approach that YSDC took with Yog-Sothothery and some of their other expanded/enhanced content for site patrons.

5. I’d recommend doing a pilot issue that sets the tone for the project without committing to a strict production calendar. Try it on for size and see how it works. If the stars are right and it all comes together nicely, that’s great. If the contribution, editorial and production process still needs work, you can go back to the drawing board without having a deadline hanging over your head. Also, making a free, full-issue “teaser” could interest contributors and encourage patrons to back the MU Podcast to receive future issues, if that’s the direction you want to go.

6. The proposed content you’ve outlined sounds right – anything that expands upon the podcast and provides house rules ideas, tomes, short scenarios, plot hooks, NPCs, artifacts, in-game props, etc. Granted, the MU forum itself can freely accommodate all of this already. But polishing that content for a publication that is vetted and governed by a set editorial policy can (I think) take it to the next level. The short/serialized fiction pieces could work too, so long as all the editorial policy spells out clearly and correctly what the legal terms are between contributors and publishers. Freely-given, original content is the only way to go, but the legalese probably still needs to be there, somewhere. Admittedly, I'm not an expert on that side of things.

7. Just from what I've seen on the forums and heard on the podcast, the growing MU Podcast community incorporates an amazing amount of talent and knowledge that could support this project. For what it’s worth, in real life I do layout and publication design, copywriting and editing and other related communications…stuff. Maybe those of us interested in contributing to the project could schedule an organized meeting online (IRC channel? Skype? Google Hangouts?) to talk out a rough work plan?

Anyway, just a few thoughts.

Cheers,

Mike

[KeeperMurph]

Mike,
I think we are both in sync with the newsletter could be eventually, and what it should start out as. I went ahead and created a rough draft layout of a newsletter in Scribus and will send to you upon request. Nothing about this has to remain the same. This was my internal proof of concept to see what the other hosts thought.

I agree the editorial load might become an issue, but honestly at first I don't see that happening. Eventually if we aspire to the levels of Unspeakable et al, then we might run into that issue. I have actually toyed with the idea of releasing the newsletter for free on a regular basis and then selling a digest version, or a best of version, in epub/print. I think that would be the best idea for an actual revenue stream, not actually making any money off of that, but just enough to cover the costs of the publication.

Which brings up another point, anything done on the newsletter would have to be freely given, freely edited, and freely laid-out. At first I don't see this being an issue, but in the future, especially if some of my crazy schemes come together, then it might be. That being said, anyone that wants to help please let me know. I have a Google Doc folder that article submissions can go into, and if you want to critique my layout, Mike, please do so. I'll pm you my email address.

[Wordcraftian]

I'm definitely interested in contributing articles, short fiction, and or poetry on a regular basis.
I can send you some of my work to review if you're interested.

I'm also very interested in reading pieces from the minds of other community members. So I fully support this newsletter idea!

Another thought for monetization: if we end up going with the newspaper format, you could sell some AD space. It wouldn't be much, but it might help with some of the cost. People who choose to could pay for an AD free version.

Also, contributors could be compensated by allowing a very short author's bio, no longer than a tweet, where they can plug their blogs or twitter handle.

(Written from my phone with Swype, so I apologize if this post is less than perfectly coherent)

[Scriven]

Wordcraftian --

Thanks for the feedback and enthusiasm -- we're pretty excited about this project and how it's taking shape. At present, we're in the process of developing the publication's editorial policy and submission guidelines, honing the layout, and working out other production considerations. The author's bio/byline is an excellent suggestion, and fully consistent with the kind of community-building content we'd like to see featured in the newsletter.

Keep your eyes peeled for the initial call for submissions -- coming soon! In the meantime, Keeper Murph, as the editorial lead of the publication, may weigh in with his own insights and updates on how this is all coming together.

Cheers -

Mike

[Keeper Dan]

I've seen some of the layout ideas, and this will be a beautiful newsletter.

[KeeperMurph]

Hey guys sorry for not getting back to the forums sooner.

I am working as we speak on the Submission Guidelines. I am trying to do it with as much fore-thought in place as I can muster. The announcement should go out by the end of the month asking for submissions.

Thanks for hanging in there.

[KeeperMurph]

Just as a general note to keep everyone up to date. The call for submissions should go out this weekend. When it goes live there will be a post on the site and a thread started in the Campus Square portion of the forum. This thread will then be locked and all further business will go through that new thread.

Stay tuned guys! More info should come out in the next few days!