A totally snarky open letter

Dear RPG Publishers,

If you can't get your products into the big chain bookstores then I sincerely hope this whole gig is a hobby or a tax shelter. Because seriously, if you are trying to make money and you can't get into WaldenBorders & Noble then your business sucks. And you deserve to fail. The frickin' Wraeththu rpg is for sale at the big chainstores and your book is not. I'm not going to name names (Blue Rose) or point fingers (various licensed properties), but you guys totally dropped the ball.

And please stop all the wishful thinking. Don't count on the FLGS to market your game. The dude behind the counter can't even keep Cat Piss Man from stinking up the store. And don't expect me to preach the good word to a bunch of newbies. I'm not your marketing department. (What? You don't have a marketing department? Then stop reading this letter and send me all your money. It'll be quicker than pissing it away on a mismanaged game company.)

You want to be in business? You want to be a big shot RPG publisher? Then get yourself out of the death spiral of the game distribution system and get into some bookstores. Hell, kicking it indie style with lulu.com or PDFs seems to be a better choice these days than languishing under the cruel whip of game distribution. Stop killing poor defenseless trees just so 500 copies of your masterpiece can gather dust in a garage somewhere.

Love,

Jeff