cirom said:
There is a grave risk on certain occasions, that to not do so will give some budding deck designers false hope.
...
Blunt honesty could serve as a very useful counter balance and a blessing in disguise, but once again can also be achieved without having to impersonate Simon Cowell.
Cirom, in theory maybe I agree, but there are some problems with asking people to do this. Firstly, many people here are simply not going to be good judges of whether or not a deck is publishable. For example - I've often noticed a tendency to compare with 1980s decks and say, "Well if that got published, yours should be accepted easily". In reality, the tarot publishing industry is now very different - I would guess fewer and fewer decks will be accepted into what's already a pretty saturated market. People here are mostly not industry professionals and may give sincere and well-meaning advice which is misleading. That's hard to change.
Those who are in the industry - and I would say can pretty much tell at a glance if a deck is mass-market publishable (it's an amusing fact that the only two times I sent off offers based on cards shown here - both in fact were never completed - the artists told me that US Games had already jumped in) don't want to sit in judgement in that way. Personally I am just not prepared to say in public, "Yes, No, Maybe" - particularly as we know that the answer would be "No" in 90-95% of cases. This is not a "put down" of the decks - it's just that the mass market these days has very particular criteria.
In private it's different. But I have found that even then I am cautious - when you say privately to someone that their baby is unlikely to get published they quite often find it upsetting and argue about it. And that's not the kind of conversation I want to get into - it can be exhausting and emotive all round. So - who wants to be the one to break that news with "blunt honesty"? You, me, Ric, others here in the industry? I think it's asking a lot.
I've just remembered that Aesop fable about "belling the cat" - seems rather appropriate here!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_the_cat
I would suggest that maybe the best thing would be - time permitting - to write a "sticky" (or it might be easier to start a sticky thread) about the realities of tarot publishing. This can be generic and everyone can read it. It should include facts and fictions about self-publishing, as well as mass market publishing. For example, it can't be said too often that even if you do get a "big" publisher and the deck is successful, the market is so niche that you probably won't make very much money. Overly optimistic deck designers about to sink their life savings into huge runs of their deck - or basing their plans on getting a "big" deal and becoming rich and famous
- can be gently advised to read the facts and apply some caution.
On the optimistic side, it may also be encouraging to see that some self-published decks DO take off, get market distribution and generate some profit. In a world in which the whole structure of publishing and distribution is rapidly changing, I would quite like to "talk up" some aspects of self-publishing - it can be a very good option for the kind of deck that is likely to sell well, but in limited quantities.
Anyway, a good sticky thread could reflect different opinions and at the same time, be a great basic overview of the industry.
Does that make sense?
