Linux as a Publishing Platform

In December of 2004, Clinton Nixon published his role-playing game,
The Shadow of
Yesterday. The content of the book was nothing shocking,
nor was the fact that he published the book himself. Independent
authors have been writing role-playing games for as long as there have
been role-playing games. Likewise, self-publication is not a new
phenomenon. The revolutionary thing in Clinton's case is the fact that
only open-source tools were used, from authorship to artwork to page layout.
The Process
Clinton's choice of tools is slightly unusual for an author. He
wrote his text with vi, an editor more traditionally used by
programmers than by authors. His choice partially is explained by
the fact that Clinton also is a programmer.

Because he's a programmer, it also was a natural choice for him to
use Python's DocTools to convert the text source to HTML, the format
used to publish the book on the Web. This copy of the book was
released under a
Creative Commons
License.

From the HTML files, Clinton was able to load the book into
OpenOffice.org Writer. Writer interpreted the HTML files beautifully,
converting HTML tags to OpenOffice.org styles.

The next step in the chain was an accident. At first, Clinton had
decided to use Create from Stone Studios, a Macintosh layout program,
to do the print layout design. When it was time to start layout,
however, Clinton's Mac went up in smoke. He had to find a solution quick,
and it showed up in the form of the CVS release of
Scribus, now at version 1.2.1.
Capable of reading his OpenOffice.org files and retaining the style
information, Scribus was a perfect match for his layout needs.

This wasn't the first time Clinton published a gaming book, so he was
familiar with the process of laying out a book and with a variety of
programs. He said Scribus and it's integration with OpenOffice.org made
it by far the easiest program to use. Additional power came from the
ability to script Scribus using Python.

One of the few faults of Scribus, though, is objects on template pages
that intrude into text boxes prevent the text from flowing around the
box. Because Clinton's layout used a graphic around the page number that
intruded into the text box, the text flowed directly over his
graphic, obscuring both text and image. He was able to use Python
scripting, however, to draw an invisible box automatically around the graphic,
causing the text to flow as expected.

Clinton said that the Python scripting feature is what made his layout
in Scribus possible and is one of the features that made Scribus such a good choice.
The other feature is, without a doubt, the OpenOffice.org integration.
The ability to read OpenOffice.org Writer files allowed him to get his
print book done in time to go to press. Without that ability, the print book
simply wouldn't have happened.

When I asked Clinton about what he'd like to see improved in Scribus,
he mentioned the template objects issue and better table support. Other
than that, he said it was the best layout program he's used, surpassing
expensive commercial offerings.
Business Implications
Although Clinton had a miniscule print run--150 books--he recouped all
of his publishing costs within five weeks of publication. Several
factors played a role in that rapid profitability. The single largest
expense for this book was artwork, costing about $500. For a printed
role-playing book, this price was very low and can be
attributed to the fact that the independent role-playing community,
like the Open Source community, has a strong tradition of
collaboration.

The second largest expense was printing, which cost Clinton only $300
for materials. Working at a printing company, he was able to make use
of his employer's presses and equipment. Although this option isn't
available to most self-publishing authors, print-on-demand services are
available that eliminate or reduce the need for large, expensive print
runs. Traditional book printing and binding, on the other hand, requires
a run of 1,000 or more books and several thousand dollars paid up front.

The marketing expenses for the book were low. The book had
a Web page on a
site shared with Clinton's other books. He did his own design work,
which meant the only marketing expense was his Web hosting service and
domain registration.

Although Clinton didn't choose to use a Creative Commons license
specifically for business reasons, that he did so helped him sell books. The book
was mentioned on Slashdot, and many readers took advantage of the
chance to read it on-line. In fact, several people who purchased the book
mentioned that the ability to preview the text helped convince them to
part with $20 for a self-published game book.

This book project could not have happened without Linux. The high level of
integration between separate tools simplified Clinton's workflow. The fact
that he did not need to invest money in software kept his start-up
costs down. Even with his print run of 150 books, he
was able to recoup expenses and turn a profit within his first two
months of publication. His first print run has sold out already, and he plans to
reprint using
Express Media, a print-on-demand printer specializing in
small print runs.

Because of the profitability, Clinton is able to bring out another book
that will expand further the world created in The Shadow of
Yesterday. That book will be published using the same tools and
process that helped to make the first book such a success. Clinton also plans
to use the process to re-release an earlier game book,
Paladin. This game will be published as part of an
anthology with two other authors, and the proceeds will be given to charity.
Linux in After-Purchase Care
Taking care of customers after they purchase a product is an
important part of developing a good reputation as well as repeat business.
Because book authors and publishers thrive on repeat business, this kind
of after-purchase care is especially important for Clinton.
Open-source software is helping Clinton address that issue in two
different ways. The first is through his Web site, where he posts
supplemental materials for his books, which often is material provided
by his customers. The contents of the Web site are maintained as a
text file and are converted with Python DocTools. He uses CVS to maintain
version control on those contents, including the text of the book
itself. This work is done at Clinton's home, on his Linux machine.

The single largest part of after-purchase care is the player forums
Clinton maintains at
The Forge, an on-line
site for independent game publishers. Hosted on Linux and using the
popular phpBB forum software, it provides a low cost, highly effective
mechanism for building a community out of existing customers. These
customer forums suggest new ideas and serve as a good introduction
to the product for new and prospective customers. The forums also help
provide inspiration to existing customers when they read what other
customers have done.
Conclusions
Although many technically inclined people are out there with something to
say, there are many more small publishers that are not technically
inclined. When I asked Clinton about this, he said that the
combination of OpenOffice.org, Scribus and The GIMP is suited perfectly
to willing users, even if they aren't technically advanced users. As the
IT director for a printing company, Clinton has helped introduce many
non-technical employees to OpenOffice.org and The GIMP. Most if not all
of the people he introduced to these tools stopped using the
commercial software equivalents. The users cite the superior features
and ease of use as the reasons for their switch to open-source tools.

The single biggest hurdle for most people is installing Linux
itself. Converting to a new operating system is no small move, even
if it is more powerful and offers a serious price advantage. Linux
distributions such as
Ubuntu make the move easier. To help address that
concern, Clinton is presenting sessions on self-publishing at gaming
conventions. He also will be giving away copies of Ubuntu, his
preferred distribution. Ubuntu is designed with the end user in mind and
is intended to be a desktop Linux distribution.

The first steps to capitalizing on Clinton's work, however, may not involve
Linux at all. OpenOffice.org and The GIMP already are available for
Windows and Macintosh OS X systems. Users who become comfortable with
these new tools on a familiar operating system then may become more
open to trying a new operating system where all of their tools are
already available.

The compelling story here clearly is the ability to publish without
fear of expense. Although print-on-demand publishing isn't appropriate
for every book, it is suitable for a lot of books. Low overhead
coupled with a low initial investment in tools can make it possible for
many more authors/publishers to distribute their work.
Resources
"Introducing
Scribus"

"Eleven Tips for
Moving to OpenOffice.org"

"Desktop
Publishing with OpenOffice.org"