A new way of thinking

We're trying a new "scheduling" idea. (Those of you who know me remember that I come up with a revolutionary way to get more things done two or three times a year, and none of them last a month. I think this one will work because there is a new factor in the equation, that being Vanessa.)

The general idea is to take a product (one with or without a fixed go-to-press date) and schedule so many pages of this product to be done every single week. For example, Captain's Log #35 goes to press in 22 weeks. The last two weeks are scheduled for the communications pages that have to be done at the last minute; the 100 content pages will then be done 5 pages at week. (Last week we did Victory at Origins and Galaxy of Song). I've also got a schedule to do Tholian Attack (Seltorian ships this week, Seltorian rules next week, Tholian ships the week after, Tholian rules the week after, then scenarios). Shortly, Petrick will select "the next SFB" product and will start churning out its 160 pages over a period of 24 weeks. This is going to work this time for two reasons.

1. We always wanted to do things this way, but never could because we had product scheduled and the time that should be spent doing a few pages of the July product got sucked into doing the March product. We have solved that this time by setting a schedule consisting only (so far) of Captain's Log #35 and 13 Fed Commander products. (Thanks to the way Ken Burnside set up the FC product line, "designing" two products for me means 13 products that Vanessa can sell.) We'll add other projects to the "weekly page quota" when we can (going to take a bit to figure out just how many pages we can do) and when we get things from outside designers. (Right now, John Sickels says he'll finish PD FED by the end of February. So for the next 12 weeks, I'll have to do 1/12 of the pages I'm responsible for.)

2. Vanessa is going to enforce the schedule, with screaming and physical violence if necessary. She gets this really hurt look when we disappoint her, and Petrick and I were down here all weekend figuring out how to avoid getting into trouble with her. That meant I had to do some parts of things we will give her in six weeks because if we don't start them now, we won't have them in six weeks when we run out of the first five weeks of easy stuff to give her. Which leads us to this amusing little thing which is now on the office wall. I hope no one takes offense, as I do take the original quite seriously and respectfully.

Vanessa, who art Marketing Director,
We tremble at your name.

Your schedule set,
Your will be met,
In Game Trade as it is in Previews.

Give us this day, our daily tasks,
Forgive us not our failures,
And forgive not outside designers who fail to deliver their RPG books on time.

Let us not fall into stagnation,
But make us deliver the products.

For thine is the schedule,
and the marketing plan,
and the Profit,
for ever and ever.
Amen.