1KM1KT: Are you getting read?
You sat down at your desk and wrote a masterpiece. It’s the best thing since Tolstoy, and it’s going to be the cornerstone rpg for the next generation. You immediately sent it to 1KM1KT and they posted it online. Hours later with no response you start wondering if anyone has even bothered to read your masterwork. So what happened? Why aren’t people reading your work? Is there anything you can do to fix it?
The answers here are simple. People, especially those in the roleplaying community, are fickle. We have school, work, parties to go to, spouses, children, deadlines, tivo, co-workers, and puppies to deal with. In short, we have busy lives. It's a safe bet that most roleplayers would love to try out a new roleplaying game or talk about the latest RPG trend, but don’t have the time to track them down. Most of the time if these things don’t come directly to us, they get buried under the internet and are never heard from again. Here are six simple steps that will give your work a fighting chance on the internet:
Make it public. Unless you're a big time author with publishing contacts and backing, you're probably going to need to do some pro-bono work to get your name out there. Try posting free versions of your work for people to try. Once it catches on, use your existing fan base to leverage new ideas, go commercial, or sponsor an event.
Free is free. Take advantage of all the free resources on the internet to expose your work. Many of them come with few or no strings attached and can only help you. What have you got to lose? Check out this article from 1km1kt for a list of free internet publishing ideas: 1KM1KT: Expose Yourself
Don't make them come to you. If you make your audience seek you out, you'll wind up all alone. You have to go to them. Every successful organization uses some form of advertising to attract interest. Word of mouth, e-mail campaigns, search engine rankings, forum postings, etc. Something as simple as attaching a link to your work as your e-mail signature or forum signature can have a measurable impact!
Get involved. The best way to get people interested in you is to be interested in them. Take time to find people with the same interests as you and partner with them. Try asking other people for advice or talking to them about their work. They'll appreciate the attention and sooner or later they'll get around to asking you what you're into.
Stick together. There are lots of fish in the sea, and it can be very difficult to do everything yourself. Try to find other individuals or groups that can help you promote your work. If you can't find a group, try forming your own. People respond to initiative and leadership.
Be professional. Read your work. Think about what you say before you say it. Treat everything you release to the world – from e-mails to rpgs to forum postings – as though it will be the only reference your readers have to check you out. This is very often the case.
Keep moving. Don't make one big push for exposure and wonder why your response was lukewarm. Instead, make your efforts constant over a long period of time. You'll regarded as a stable author with something to offer instead of a flash in the pan.
Take these concepts and make them your own. With a little creativity and effort, you can put yourself out there and take a shot. You may be surprised where it takes you.
Keeton Harrington is Director of the 'one thousand monkeys, one thousand typewriters' online publishing group, where they accept open submissions and provide publication resources for artists and writers in the roleplaying game, fantasy, and science fiction genres. His site can be found at: http://www.1km1kt.net
