While there's a lot of math and behind-the-scenes explanations for this, the important lesson to take away from this statement is that buying merch directly from performers and creators you like is one of the best ways to support them.
Which is why I wanted to stop in and ask folks today... would you be interested in seeing me put out some merch for The Literary Mercenary?
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| I've got some plans in the works... |
Before we get into the nitty gritty this week, don't forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter to get all my updates right in your inbox. Lastly, to be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree!
Lastly, don't forget to check out my Vocal archive for additional fiction, articles, explorations of weird history, and more! And, of course, check me out on Blue Sky, since that's what we're talking about today!
A Couple of Potential Ideas...
On the surface, this might seem like a bit of a weird direction to go in. After all, I'm an author, and all my books and gaming materials are already merch. And while you should absolutely check out my Amazon author page, as well as the nearly 200 tabletop RPG games and supplements under my name on Drive Thru RPG, the idea behind this week's post is all about expanding the options I can both bring with me to conventions, but also making sure there's more stuff available in general for folks who are fans of what I'm doing.
The advantages of having additional merch is that it provides more options for fans, and it represents an additional stream of earnings to help keep the wolf from my door. It also provides a wider range of costs so that different folks with different levels of disposable income can still get something when they come across me in the wild. The difficulty, of course, is production costs for getting new merch made, and the fact that you usually have to order a minimum number of things up-front. So if they don't sell, you're stuck with a lot of stuff you bought, but can't turn a profit with.
So, I had a few thoughts I'd like to lay out. And I can basically break them into two, very broad categories...
#1: Literary Mercenary Merch
The first category is broad strokes stuff for fellow writers out there. Stuff that likely uses some of my logos, as well some... shall we say choice phrases I've decided to identify with over the years? Some of my thoughts so far include:
- Stickers (surprisingly not something I've done yet, though I feel I should)
- Notebooks (I do love myself a handy dandy notebook, and something pocket-sized is always useful)
- Patches (I did this once before, and they were middlingly popular... just not quite enough to restock)
- Bandannas (for those who prefer a piratey look, or who just want something cool to hold back their hair)
These are just a couple of thoughts I had to get me started... but if there's another item you'd like to see, let me know in the comments down below!
#2: "Army Men" Merch
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| And you should grab a copy if you haven't yet! |
For those who aren't familiar with it, my tabletop RPG Army Men: A Game of Tactical Plastic has been out for a couple of years now. And while there are plenty of additional supplements for it like the mission module Assault on Outpost 13, or the medals system introduced in Army Men: Medals of Honor, those are all digital things, and I sort of want to provide something physical for people to buy to go with their game. A couple of ideas I've had thus far include:
- "Standard Issue" Faction Dice (color-coordinated to your faction, complete with an Altoids tin-sized carrying case)
- Faction/Unit Patches: Something to identify players who favor one nation over another. An expansion might be patches for particular units or regiments in the game setting
- Dog Tags: Another simple, color-coded way for you to let everyone know which faction you fight for
Given that I have copies of my game book out on the table when I go to an event, I figured adding another few options for players to check out would be worth adding into the mix... but what do you all think?
Again, if one of these sounds good to you (or if you think something should be added into the mix) let me know in the comments down below!
Support The Literary Mercenary
If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!
- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)
- My Rumble Channel (longer videos that won't show up on YouTube)
And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!
Also, if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the Azukail Games channel, as well as my Rumble channel listed above!
Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!
That's all for this week's Business of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!
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