Linux Journal has an article discussing independent publishing and the role that Linux and open source applications can play in making it cost effective for independent authors. It discusses the publication of an independent RPG by Clinton Nixon titled “The Shadow of Yesterday.” The game seems to be fairly solid, but not necessarily widely popular. Nixon published the game both on line and in book format. “The Shadow of Yesterday” had a print run of only 150 books, but Nixon was able to recoup all this publishing costs within five weeks of publication.
Much of print publication cost was saved in the actual printing (Nixon works for a printing company) but a surprising about of the cost was saved in the use of web technologies, Linux, and open source publishing applications that allowed him to manage (CVS), word process (OpenOffice.org), format the print layout (Scribus), and create/manage/edit graphics (The Gimp.) Combine these tools with current print-on-demand solutions and you have a powerful combination.
This is amazing news that has the potential to opens up a wide area of innovation in the print publication world. Think about the opportunity that is available to independent authors if the financial limitations of print publishing are in the $1000-2000 range.
When I was ten I created a RPG that my brother and our friends would play. Thats the kind of price range that make me think about publishing some of my old work, and working on some new ideas.