Publishing lessons

A few months ago, the husband-and-wife team behind Meeple Design reached out to me asking if the licensing rights to my games were available as they wanted to create some themed merchandise.

I looked through their proposal, browsed some samples of their existing work, and thought it would be an interesting thing to do. I’m glad I said yes as they’ve now launched a series of posters for The City of Kings, Vadoran Gardens, and The Isle of Cats which I think are great. In total I spent maybe 90 minutes reading emails, finalising agreements, and signing off on various ideas and now there are some great new products available for my community.

The agreement

It is always important to get agreements right and in this instance, there were 2 key things I needed to cover:

• Non-exclusive. Meeple Design are a relatively small (but quickly growing) business and I wanted to make sure I didn’t limit myself too just them in the future.
• Approval of every design. For licensed items based on my games, it was critical to make sure each design required my approval. I am keen for Meeple Design (and anyone) to explore different art styles and new ways of presenting my world, but equally I need to be sure nothing negatively impacts the core story I am telling.

Outside of those 2 points it is important to me that I believe the creators are passionate about what they do, and their emails have shown me that – I really recommend working with Meeple Design.

It is always good to explore new opportunities, especially with passionate people as you never know what will happen. Keep your eyes open and as you discover new companies offering related products, don’t be afraid to reach out and see if there is an opportunity for both of you.