Start scouring industry publications for the news about this fall's most anticipated books because PubFight 2017 is coming!
This is the first and only fantasy publishing game that puts your trend-spotting and inventory management skills to the test. Think you have what it takes to snag the hottest upcoming titles in the Fakefurt auction? Can you anticipate just the right print run to sell through? Only time will tell.
The steps:
Get your league(s) together. We run two types of leagues: trade and educational. Either way, we recommend that you have six to 10 "publishing houses" per league. These houses can be made up of individuals or teams — it's up to you.
Prepare your league. Decide how much money each house will have to spend at the auction. Decide on the requirements for the list composition: will you require each house have a minimum number of Fiction, Non-Fiction, or Canadian-authored titles? Or will your league take a chance and just go rogue?
Set aside time for your auction. Book a meeting room or grab a table at a nearby coffee shop or patio. Set aside at least two hours for your auction. (Summer-hour Fridays are perfect for this.) We'll supply the titles, you brush up on your poker faces and trash talk.
Get ready to print. Once you've got your final list, it's time to use all the tools at your disposal to correctly predict the print run you'll need: comp titles, previous works by the author, that feeling you have deep in your bones that this is going to be the breakout book of the fall. But be wary: print too long and you'll be paying for books that will simply languish in your imaginary warehouse; too short and you'll either be missing out on sales or paying more than you would like to for quick reprints. It's a tightrope walk only for those with nerves of steel.
Monitor your sales. Even the most seasoned publisher can still be caught off guard by an out-of-left-field trend (adult colouring books) or publishing phenomenon (Fifty Shades of Grey), so make sure you're logging in to your account every week to check that you have enough inventory to make it through. We'll send an email each week to taunt remind you.
Bring it on Twitter. Tweet using the #PubFight hashtag and commiserate with or brag to your fellow players. (And enjoy the occasional unrelated tweet about an actual fight in a pub. Oh, Twitter.)
Crown your winners, console your losers. At the end of the game, celebrate, cry, do whatever you have to do to mark the occasion.
If you want any more detail on the above steps, consult the Official PubFight Rule Book.
And, if you've read this far, we've got the real goods for you:
Tips on how to win at PubFight written by a bonafide PubFight champion, 2012. Complete with a foolproof formula.
An auction-helper spreadsheet (XLS); plug and play your way to auction victory!
And maybe the most helpful piece of advice of all: "there are no friends in PubFight."
Good luck. Publish well and prosper!
Want to participate in PubFight this year? Email us at pubfight@booknetcanada.ca to get set up.
