The Last Day for Nominations! So, what's next for the RPG Blog Anthology?

Today is the last day nominations will be accepted to The 2008 Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs the first publication of the Open Game Table working group. Thus far, we have received 124 nominations from nearly 50 different RPG blogs; last week I gave a sneak peak into some the blogs that are represented. If there is an RPG blogger out there that has produced some amazing material, don't assume someone else has nominated them. Instead nominate their work yourself! Today is the last day to do so!

Introduction
You may be wondering what this Anthology thing is all about, who is putting it together, whats next and when will it be made available. First of all, the 2008 Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs is a project inspired by Open Laboratory, a highly successful science blog anthology. After three years in the running, Open Laboratory is a success because it is a grassroots publication organized by science bloggers and not some big publishing house looking to make a profit. It is my hope to organize the Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs in a similar way by drawing on the talented skills of dozens of RPG bloggers across the net. The goal of the Anthology is simple: to bridge the gap between the RPG blogging community and the rest of the gaming community at large in the hopes of bringing attention to the very best of us, while increasing the overall readership for all of us.

The Team
Who is putting this Anthology together? You are: RPG bloggers and blog readers alike. Many of you have already nominated posts to the Anthology, shared their opinions, volunteered to act as reviewers and judges, offered to contribute artwork, and shared their expertise on the Open Game Table working group forums. The turnout of help has been incredible and seems like there's nothing the working group has not been able to handle thus far.

What's that... you have not contributed to the project as of yet? Well there is still time. Today is the last day to volunteer to be an Anthology Reviewer if you are interested, please sign up here! These individuals have volunteered to act as judges who help decide which blog posts are included into the Anthology by scoring them. Not interested in being a reviewer? Then you can still help by simply signing up and joining the Open Game Table working group forums. As with all projects, someone has to be "in charge". That's where I come in. The Open Game Table and the RPG blog anthology were both my ideas, and for now, I'm happily managing the project. Got a question? email me at jonathan DOT jacobs AT gmail DOT com.

The Future
Starting tomorrow, the next stage of development for the Anthology will begin: Reviewing, Layout & Design, and Fundraising. First, during the month of December, the 124+ nominations will be critiqued and scored by the Anthology Reviewers (who may remain anonymous, unless they choose to out themselves). The resulting reviews will be collated and ranked, and the best blog that have been nominated will be selected for inclusion into the anthology. The results of the reviews will be made available on the Open Game Table forums as progress is made, so that everything can remain as transparent as possible. The number of blog posts that are actually included in the Anthology will depend on a number of factors such as page count limitations, copyright release, subject area, etc and (unfortunately) not every post that is nominated will "make the cut". Those blog authors who are accepted and who agree to release their creative works for the anthology will be given the opportunity to edit their posts so they are "print friendly". I'm hoping to have all of this wrapped up by the 2nd week of January, 2009.

While this reviewing and editing is going on, the actual physical layout and design of the Anthology will be discussed and finalized on Open Game Table. This is so that, by the time the reviews are done and print edits are completed, the layout will be ready to accept the text of the blog posts. I'm hoping that proofs of the book will be ready to be printed for final review by the end of January.

The Survey
Today happens to also be the very last day to fill out the survey for the Anthology. This survey is going to have a major influence on the types of blog posts that make into the final printed book, so if you have not already done so please click here and share your opinions. You might even win a free copy of the book by doing so too!

Fundraising
Recently, I brought up the issue of advertising space or direct sponsorship of the Anthology so that we might raise the small amount of funds that would be needed to cover the expenses associated with publishing and printing an Anthology. Open Laboratory had the luxury of the direct support of Lulu.com - they sponsored the project directly, thus the issue of start up costs was eliminated. We do not have that luxury, but that is not to say that we are not aiming to provide the same level of quality in the final print. In particular, I would very much like to offer all the contributing authors a free copy of the Anthology and to allow them to choose their Friendly Local Gaming Store to receive a free copy as well. This of course, will cost money. And while I don't seem to be too short on ideas lately, the availability of cash is another issue. Thus, I will be making a call for sponsorship of this project and detailing the benefits of doing so in the very near future. Sponsorships will be available to both individuals and companies, so please stay tuned.

A Final Note
I want to thank everyone who has already contributed. This project was inspired on quiet Sunday morning in October over a hot cup of coffee. Honestly, it was one those "Oh, this might be cool!" moments which was immediately followed by a blog post about it. As I have said before - the response has been amazing. I would have never thought that on my tiny little blogspore I would have so many offers to help. Thank you again - with your help this Anthology may yet find itself in print. And who knows... maybe even on your FLGS bookshelf.

Until next time... GAME ON!!!

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Want to help shape the future of RPG blogging? Click here to volunteer to be a reviewer for or submit a RPG blog to the upcoming 2008 Anthology of Roleplaying Game Blogs! Also, if you fill out our survey - you can win a free copy of the Anthology!