In the past I have been a regular contributor to Storytellers Vault, and I've created supplements for a variety of games in both the World and Chronicles of Darkness. However, as I've talked about previously, one of the reasons I stepped back from doing as much with that platform as I had previously was that it just wasn't financially feasible for me. I take a 50% up-front pay cut whenever I write something for the platform (1 cent instead of 2 cents per word) and when you're writing tens of thousands of words, that adds up.
However, the other day I noticed something... several of my supplements have actually crossed the line into Electrum metal sellers (meaning they've moved at least 251 copies through the One Bookshelf websites). It was actually a surprising number of them. And since folks seemed to enjoy the break down I put out in An Autopsy On My Recent Deal Of The Day, I figured I'd take a moment to talk about what the numbers are telling me, and what this may mean for future supplements from me in the future.
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| And if you have opinions, there's going to be a way for you to contact me directly! |
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What Do People Respond To?
This is the question that every creator asks when they put something together, and throw it out into the void to see if it can find an audience. More specific aspects of this for Storytellers Vault include:
- What game line gets the best response?
- What format do people respond to?
- Do people prefer mechanics over flavor, or the other way around?
- Is there a particular subject that seems to be more popular than others?
Well, let's see what the numbers say, shall we?
To begin at the beginning, Werewolf: The Apocalypse has the most Electrum sellers for me. Whether it's the 101 Savage Kinfolk collection I wrote for the Savage Age, or the more "normal" kinfolk supplements I wrote many years ago, it's one of my most popular games. However, interestingly, only the 100 Kinfolk supplements for Glasswalkers, Get of Fenris, Silver Fangs, Bone Gnawers, Shadow Lords, and of course the Black Spiral Dancers have made it over that Electrum line. And while I've written supplements for things other than NPCs, those seem to be the supplements that have moved the most copies for this game.
The second-largest number of Electrum sellers comes from Changeling: The Lost. And unlike Werewolf, the offerings here are a little more diverse. The high sellers include: 100 (Mostly) Harmless Goblin Fruits And Oddments To Find In The Hedge, Buyer Beware: 10 Goblin Markets, 100 Hobs To Meet In The Hedge, 100 Strange Sights To See In The Hedge, and 100 Frailties. While there's a mix of mechanics and flavor in there, what seems very clear to me is that (for Changeling, at least) my top sellers are for things that concern the Hedge. And after all, why wouldn't they? It's a huge, constantly-shifting realm that's full of possibility, and a lot of Storytellers need some kind of starting point to help the Hedge take a more concrete shape in their games. While I've put out far more supplements for Changeling than just these 6, the ones that focus more on mortal world NPCs, on whispers and rumors, or even on the True Fae themselves just don't seem to be as popular.
Lastly, while I've written supplements for several other splats, the only other one that's reached Electrum status is 100 Resources and Rumors To Find On SchreckNet for Vampire: The Masquerade. While I have a handful of other supplements for Vampire (mostly focused on ghouls, but with another providing a list of potential havens), this seems to be the only one that's remained popular. And while it seems to go against the grain of the previous two games, where the most popular supplements seemed to be widely applicable overall, this supplement seems to be doing well exactly because of how specific it is. Which, when one considers that Vampire is the largest game in terms of the sheer amount of supplements and overall content made for it, makes sense from a marketing perspective.
So What Does All Of This Mean?
Sadly, even going over the numbers and successes, there is no clear formula for writing a supplement that is guaranteed to do well. Everything is a roll of the dice, and nothing is certain when it comes to popularity or sales.
With that said, however, the trends that I've noticed are:
- Supplements that provide support for the vague other-worlds of games often do all right
- Supplements that are hyper-specific to a part of the lore can do well
- Supplements that have broad use for Storytellers and players alike often do well
- Supplements in a complete series/bundle tend to do well (once the series is complete, at least)
I'm hedging my language a bit (if you'll pardon the Changeling pun) because even following these simple findings don't guarantee good sales. After all, Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See In The Penumbra for Werewolf never even broke Copper, even though it's functionally very similar to supplements I wrote for Changeling. Is it the format? The fact that more Werewolf games are focused on exploring the real world and its plots instead of diving deep into the Umbra? Is it there are more Umbra-based resources, whereas the Hedge was still big, vague, and largely undefined for so long? It could be any or all of those things... but there's just no telling what.
I've often compared writing RPG supplements to gazing into a crystal ball. I can see some vague shapes and patterns, but there is no clear reception. So at the end of the day, I try to follow what trends I can, and to incorporate past successes... but there's often no way to know for certain which things are flukes, and which things are actual trends. And worse, there's no knowing how long a trend will hold true before what was once a solid investment of time and energy simply stops being popular with players.
How To Make Your Voice Heard
I've often said that to make up for the loss in initial income for a Storytellers Vault supplement, every, single one I release would need to hit Gold status (501 supplements). Not a single one of the things I've written out of the 40-something supplements has done that well... yet, anyway. As such, I am taking an initial loss on writing these... I repeat this to drive home to folks how much I love these games, and how refreshing it can be to dip back into them from time to time.
But it is a lot easier to work on more of these if I actually have a definitive idea what it is folks out there want to see more of.
Now, if you're someone who has a strong opinion of what you'd like to see me (or Adrian) release for future Storytellers Vault supplements, here's what you need to do. Go to the video I linked above. Leave a comment telling me what you want as specifically as you can (because saying, "I want more stuff for Mage," is less helpful than something like, "I would like a supplement for running the awakening scenes for new mages in Mage: The Awakening."). Once you've left your comment, toss the video a like, subscribe to the Azukail Games YouTube channel if you haven't, and share the video around so we can get more people's opinions.
These actions accomplish several things. First and foremost, the publisher gets pings when new comments are left, so this means you're going to get a direct line to us. It lets us see at a glance what people want us to work on. Also, the more views, comments, etc. a video gets, the more likely it is that the algorithm boosts our signal, and the more people will find out about who we are, and what we do.
Because Storytellers Vault might be a relatively small pool, but I'd wager a majority of folks who play these games have no clue who I am, who Adrian is, and that Azukail Games even exists. So helping shine a spotlight on us, while also sending us clear messages about the kinds of games we should be working on, will help a lot!
Lastly, I do still have a pair of supplements that haven't even hit Copper status yet. So if you have a moment, consider helping these two get their feet under them:
- Dark Reflections: 50 Sights To See In The Penumbra (Werewolf: The Apocalypse)
- Agents and Assets: 100 Personnel and Contacts For Task Force VALKYRIE (Hunter: The Vigil)
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