Final Update: J.M. Perkins done working on Salt in Wounds & Public Domain release
over 4 years ago
– Fri, Jan 03, 2020 at 11:02:33 PM
Dear Kickstarter Backers;
As I mentioned several months ago, as 2019 has finished I am now officially done working on the Salt in Wounds Kickstarter.
To reiterate, I apologize that I both overpromised and underdelivered. I set out with the best of intentions (though certainly not with the best of realistic assessment) and I fundamentally fell short of my expectations & what I claimed to be capable at the beginning and via several updates during my campaign. I made mistakes that I then compounded until now I’ve reached the point where the best move -for me and everyone else I honestly believe- is to quit. This is no one’s fault but my own. Once again, I am sorry. While I’m certainly not the only kickstarter creator to fundamentally bite off more than they could chew, I am not justified or absolved due to the fact that others failed as well.
I tried my best; I fell short.
That said, I have nothing but love and gratitude for all of you amazing backers. Your support has meant worlds to me. Even your critique has been (overwhelmingly) helpful and needful, and I appreciate you even (or especially) when you’re telling me what you think I did wrong. While I understand that the discrepancy between my plan/intentions and my results may mean that you will never again support me/my work in the future, I sincerely hope that this does not sour your opinion of kickstarter and crowdfunding overall: while funded projects (like mine) can and do fall short of fulfilling every promise & reward for a whole host of reasons this community makes incredible things possible and I wish for that to continue to thrive.
While I feel remorseful for everything that isn’t being delivered, I am proud of all the stretch goals fulfilled and the 8 supplements & ebooks over 2 rulesets that I (along with my incredible series of collaborators) produced, published, and distributed to you.
On a personal note, this project is the first time I really consider myself to have failed... which might sound odd but is true. While I certainly have made mistakes/fallen short of expectations (nearly flunking out of college once upon a time in addition to plenty of other missteps); I always had the recourse of claiming that I ‘didn’t really care about/wasn’t trying’ or alternately that ‘I didn’t have the resources I needed.’ Salt in Wounds was the first time in my 36 years of life where I 1) Truly did care about a project 2) Asked for & received what I thought I needed (more as matter of fact) and 3) failed to live up to my expectations. This has sucked, for me and all of you, but I’ve learned a lot, I am a better man for it, and I’ve vowed to do better in response to the failure and everything that I have learned... not least of which is to take better care of myself and to be more honest (even prudently pessimistic) about my capabilities (especially as I discover that they have changed).
As of today (and this is additionally posted on the official Salt in Wounds website) all Salt in Wounds ‘intellectual property’ (save for that the rules covered by the open gaming license, and the various pieces of Stock Art are covered by use licenses instituted by their publishers /creators of the art) is released to the public domain… I/Pangolin Press no longer holds the copyright to it. What that means is that you are free to do literally whatever you wish with the material: print, edit, enlarge, change, release your own books… literally anything/there are no restrictions to your use. If you want to make your own Salt in Wounds books (using any part of the setting) not only do I no longer have the legal recourse to stop you, you have my blessing and active encouragement (I’m also happy to share any derivative/independent works if you’d like me to).
The work fully belongs to you/the community, now.
The books I [co]wrote will remain for sale and I request you do not independently list them for sale to ensure my co-creators -like the incredible Jesse Brake & Rich Howard - continue to receive their (much deserved) royalties we negotiated in addition to not violating the agreements surrounding the stock art. I should point out that the public domain release includes all the art commissioned for the project: to reiterate, rules are still covered under the OGL because all my rules are derivative of Pathfinder & the 5th Edition of the World's oldest RPG (and this would need to be acknowledged & legally satisfied if you're producing your own commercial work) and the stock art all has its own rights status/you generally can not use it. I do ask however that you credit the artist(s) if and when you use any of their artwork.
All files associated with the project (including completed pdfs, my various outlines, notes, art files, and half complete work) is available for your viewing, downloading, and use here. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kD7kYL-lOhwEW7-BLWU92B4WB2h1K6gH?usp=sharing
That said, if I need to make amends to you personally or you have anything you wish to communicate with me please email me john[at]jmperkins.com . Amongst my myriad shortcomings I have not been as responsive via email as I should be (and some emails have been buried unanswered for months) but I’m trying to do better in 2020. I will not however be checking my Kickstarter comments (and while I prefer direct email Kickstarter messages should auto-forward to me so that should be an option for communication if you prefer).
Happy New Year, I hope you play many wonderful games in 2020.
Sincerely;
John aka J.M. Perkins
An Apology, What’s Been Happening/Where I’m At, and What’s Next for Salt in Wounds
almost 5 years ago
– Fri, May 24, 2019 at 11:03:49 PM
Hey All You Lovely Backers;
First of all I owe you all an apology, or rather a bunch of distinct apologies.
I apologize that the writing, designing, and publication of the Salt in Wounds books has not gone according to plan; neither the initial plans I made nor any of the subsequent plans I put via updates. This was never my intention. The vast majority of the books and supplements are late. It’s probably been frustrating to be a backer/supporter of this project for a bunch of reasons and I’m sorry.
I am particularly sorry that -of the all myriad ways I’ve struggled with this project- one of the aspects I’ve handled especially poorly is being consistent with my communication (especially over the last year). You guys deserved to know what was happening.
The truth is, I’ve done my best; but my best often sucked. Or, being more fair and less judgemental, the best I ultimately was capable of has fallen consistently short of what I claimed I could do/produce. I apologize for how I’ve let you down. I’ve been honored by your support and attention, it is and has always been a gift. While I haven’t read the comments, I will say that the vast majority of critique and criticism I got via email about how I -John aka J.M. Perkins- have handled this project is fair. I made a lot of mistakes and missteps, and that hasn’t always been fair to you. I’ve learned a lot, I’ve grown a lot and even though (especially in small scale artist stuff like my kickstarter) you can’t separate the art from the artists journey, you didn’t necessarily want to go on this kind of absurd saga punctuated by these odd silences and rpgnow emails – you just wanted to get some cool game books. I get that. And I am sorry.
I’ve spent a lot of time feeling shame about my difficulties and I’m more or less done with that, I feel guilt for my mistakes -hence the apologies, hence the explanations- but I’m about done feeling shame.
I messed up.
I acknowledge that.
I apologize.
My aim now is to do the best with where I’m at.
Here’s the further truth; I’m just about done. I don’t mean done in terms of I’ll suddenly deliver on all the stretch goal plans in the next 3 months, I mean I’m just about done working on this project at all: almost completely out of ideas and not doing anyone any favors by trying to grind out agonizing work that I’m handling badly. So what am I saying specifically?
I’m going to spend the next six months (the rest of 2019) dedicating my creative life to Salt in Wounds. I can do this, and I can do this with a happy heart, and an all-in creative burst focused on completing as much as I can. I don’t know what all I’ll accomplish in that time (one of the things I lost in this journey that I used to have is the ability to judge/guess how long it takes me to finish creative work, and the various sub-projects are a scatter of half done, outlined, drafted documents) but I can commit to giving my best which (thanks to therapy and a bunch of other ways I’m doing a better job taking care of myself) is probably gonna be a lot more than my best of a year ago. But I honestly can’t say what I’ll accomplish in that time. I feel comfortable promising the hardcopy of the campaign setting & the pathfinder version of the player’s guide certainly in addition some of the other supplements; but I can’t imagine it will be all the other stretch goals.
Secondly, at the end of 2019 I’ll be turning over everything related to Salt in Wounds -the proper names, the art, logos, the lore, the fiction, the characters, the maps, everything- over to the OGL*. In case you’re not familiar, the Open Game License (OGL) is the legal framework started by Wizards of the Coast years ago that allows game designers to build off of one another even commercially – it’s why I can produce and sell supplements using the 5e or Pathfinder rulesets. Usually, rules & stats are all considered OGL while characters, certain monsters, places, and other ‘intellectual property’ aren’t. In the case of Salt in Wounds, it will all be OGL. So if you want to make your own Salt in in Wounds books, if you want to sell your own Salt in Wounds books, you absolutely can not only legally but also with my whole and complete blessing. I’ll even assist you and promote your work any way I can within my time budget (which will be -at least- a social media share). People love the setting, and I want the incredible community to be wholly free to keep creating, making, and adapting Salt in Wounds for as long as it remains something people care about.
Is this what I promised?
No, it isn’t. I’m sorry if I let you down and I apologize.
Do I believe that -given where I/we are, given my and your hopes & desires around this project- this is what’s best… not only for me but also you/the community?
Yes, I honestly do. It’s the best I can do given where I’m at.
To recap (or if you were searching for a TLDR):
1. I apologize. The project didn’t go according to plan and I let you down. I’m sorry.
2. I’m going to spend the next six months dedicating my creative life to doing & putting out the best work possible, focused on finishing as much of what I started as I can. I promise -at least- the hardcopy of the Campaign Setting Guide, the PF Player’s Guide, and some other supplements.
3. Not all stretch goals will be delivered.
4. Salt in Wounds goes all OGL at the end of the year, so it won’t be something that ‘belongs’ to me, it will be a place -a series of art, images, ideas, rules, and more- that essentially belongs to community and that anyone can build off and sell.
This has been my apology and explanation aimed at the community at large. But here’s the deal, maybe I let you down personally; maybe I need to say sorry/make amends to you as an individual. Or maybe you’re just curious what the hell happened behind the curtain, more specifically than I’m getting at here. If either of those things are true -either that you’re curious and/or I need to make amends- email me and I’ll do my best to meet you in that space as a person and make things right to the best of my ability. If at all possible, even with everything that’s happened, I want everyone leaving this project with at least no hard feelings or regrets and ideally some fondness.
You guys have been and persist in basically being the best. Thank you. I know I’m behind on some emails -I’ll try and respond to everyone this weekend.
Take care. I’m taking the rest of Friday off, and Saturday I’m getting back to work on Salt in Wounds.
Sincerely, Apologetically, and with Gratitude;
John aka J.M. Perkins
*I believe I can use the OGL this way, but it’s possible that I misunderstand and the eventual community release will be via some flavor of commercially viable Creative Commons license or something of that nature.
