Usherwood PublishingGoal and MissionUsherwood Publishing (UP©) (i.e., James D. Kramer design services (DS©)) began as a simple hobbyist effort by its creator, James Kramer under the campaign setting of the Usherwood Adventures (UA©). As such, the efforts of UP will remain focused on the growth of this specific campaign setting; both in creative elements as well as utilities designed specifically to support it. But I will continue to approach new adventures and setting concepts with the idea that they may be played outside the scope of the Usherwood Adventures environments. Prospective authors are also encouraged to begin the exploration of the areas upon the campaign world of Besh which do not fall within the geography of the continent of Vermé, as described through this Sourceweb. Always willing to listen to new ideasAs a publisher, the hardest thing to do is to pass up on a great idea. I had been placed in such a position in the spring of 2008, having had a marvelous module pitched to me by a well-known, up-and-coming module writer. The concept of the adventure was really well-conceived, being the child of a classic short story by the 19th century writer A. (Abraham) Merritt. Though the adventure was later picked up by another small game publisher, and I wish that author and game's publisher all the luck in the world with it. Unfortunately, the module at the time did not fit within the direction I was trying take UA, and I felt compelled to turn down the author's proposal. Point being, I am willing to review any and all adventure ideas, but I will be reviewing them in terms of how they fit within the current scope of the UA campaign setting specifically, and wont be adding just anything that comes along, no matter how good the manuscript might be, keeping in mind, this is still and artistic hobby for me, and not a business designed to generate serious income...at least not yet. Submitting your proposal
Prospective authors should make sure to read and thoroughly understand all the information on this page. If you have any questions regarding any of the information conveyed here, please contact us so your questions and issues can be dealt with promptly.
Content submissions
Outlines: I don't want to guess at what you are intending to do. Please make sure your outline is as complete as possible. Describe your principal NPC's, and what role they will play. Describe the main plot point, points of diversion, and primary antagonists. Vermé geographic locales: We will have final say on your descriptions and uses of specific locales upon the continent (and outlying areas). If you want to use an area that has little or no information available on it, please contact us so that we may work togther to flesh it out. Plagiarism: Submissions must be the original unpublished work of the submitter. Submissions which are either not new concepts, or are either in part or in whole the work of a third party will be rejected. The contributor is solely responsible for any accusations of plagiarized content. Content which relies to any extent on the previously published works of any third person, needs to be appropriately noted.
Usherwood Publishing and James D. Kramer design services shall not be held responsible for any claims of plagiarism, and copyright or trademark infringement. The submitter shall bear sole responsibility for all such claims, and will assume all legal and financial liability arising from such claims by any third parties, even where such content has been accepted by the UP reviewer, or any third party acting as its agent.
Editorial controlDS, or any third party acting as its agent, shall be the final editorial authority during the development of your manuscript. However, we do your respect your creativity as author, and you will be provided with adequate opportunity to review and make recommendations to any suggested edits prior to publication. Submission GuidelinesVermé, the continent upon which the Usherwood Adventures is set, is a land full of gaming opportunity and potential. It has been designed to support all conceivable climactic and encounter situations. It just requires good DM's to help populate its environs. If you are such a DM, please send us your ideas. We ask just a few things of your submissions; Game ResourcesWe primarily are interested in publishing your works which are based on the First Edition fantasy roleplaying rules. Therefore, your content should adhere to the following resources;
Also, your works may be based on the OSRIC[TM] SRD. File submissionsManuscript formats: Manuscript may be supplied in the following format types; *.txt, *.rtf, and *.doc. We can also accept native layout files in AppleWorks, PageMaker, InDesign, and Quark (only where *.txt, *.rtf, and *.doc are not available, please). Graphics formats: Graphics may be supplied in any the following format types; *.gif, *.jpg, *.png, *.eps, *.tif, *.bmp.
Most graphics will be recreated by DS, unless your production standards are on par with ours. In which case, additional compensation for your works may be negotiated.
Spreadsheet formats: Spreadsheets may be supplied in AppleWorks and Excel. Database formats: Databases may be submitted in Access and FileMaker Pro. Submitting submissionsBy eMail: No submissions larger than 5MB, please (includes compressed files). Multiple files should be compressed using either WinZIP or Stuffit. Send your submittals by clicking here. Larger files may be transferred via an FTP drop-off location with prior arrangements. By USPS: Large files, or submissions containing numerous files, should be submitted on CD or data DVD. Contact us directly to obtain the postal address. Request postal address by clicking here. By FTP: using your prefered FTP upload software, you may upload your files to a secured server. Contact us directly to have a private FTP location established for your project. By Web-based large file server: you may at your option use a third-party file transfer service, such as www.yousendit.com. CopyrightAll works, written and illustrated, purchased by agreement with James D. Kramer design services will become the sole property of DS. Attempts to publish any materials to any third parties that had been previously accepted (or, have entered a 30-day publishing review [refer to The Review Process below]) by DS may be construed as breach of contract and copyright infringement, and legal action will be undertaken as may be appropriate. Please consider these issues before submitting your content for our review. Open Game ContentBecause our product is covered by the rules (and restrictions) of the Open Game License (version 1.0a, copyright Wizards of the Coast), as well as the OSRIC license (trademark Stuart Marshall and Mathew Finch), 5% of all content we publish under the Usherwood Adventures trade name must be identified as "Open Game Content" (OGC). This means that any such content in your published manuscript identified as OGC may be used by any third party also covered by the OGL without the permission of the creator (you), or of the copyright holder (DS). Please consider this requirement before submitting your content, and try to identify which sections you would be willing to have identified as OGC. In the absence of specifically identified OGC sections, DS, or any third party acting as its agents, shall determine such OGC material prior to publication. CompensationAll works obtained by DS for UP is paid for as work-for-hire. Meaning, once we've paid you for your work, it then becomes the copyrighted property of DS. We will not enter into any agreement in which royalties are expected. We typically pay $.02 USD/per word in the final published manuscript.
Reality check: keep in mind, while it's your job as the author to get the best compensation package for your works, it's our job to pay as little as we have to in order to obtain your content. We are all capitalists here. However, we will never sacrifice the quality of your content in order to reduce our bottom line. If we make recommendations to cut content, first consideration will have already been given to how such an edit will affect the manuscript before we consider the effect on author compensation.
Please note the following elements that will not be included while calculating your final compensation;
The Review ProcessOnce the author and DS, or a third-party acting as its agent, have engaged a Discloser Agreement, DS shall have a minimum period of 30 days to review and accept/reject your proposed manuscript. During this period, the author agrees not to submit the manuscript covered by the Disclosure Agreement to other publishers for consideration. DS, or a third-party acting as its agent, will make a determination based on this review. The author will be notified if additional information regarding the submitted manuscript is required before a publishing decision can be made. At the end of the 30 day period of review, DS, or a third-party acting as its agent, will either make an offer to publish the content and provide an estimated compensation (refer to the Compensation section above), or reject the proposal. (Although an explanation of rejection will not be required, DS will try to make clear the reason(s) why your proposal had not been accepted.) In the event an offer to publish is extended to the author, the author may accept, reject, or make a counter offer, and enter extended negotiation. Once an agreement is reached, the author will have entered into a Work-for-Hire agreement with DS, and will be provided with a publishing and payment schedule. Editorial StandardsWhether you're an author creating an adventure, or an editor polishing up an adventure, please click here to review UP's editorial guidelines and house editorial styles. Keep in mind, this is a 'living document', so please review before beginning any new project, as details may changed or been updated since your last project with us. The guidelines page will always be dated with the most recent modification date. All content presented on this website is copyright James D. Kramer design services, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
Some artwork used is from Darkroom Productions and is © 2005 Darkroom Productions and Cutter's Guild Games. All rights reserved. Some artwork copyright Paul Daly, used with permission. | |||||||