How to $ell Your Wargame Design

How to $ell Your Wargame Design is a book about how to successfully sell a board wargame design that was written and self-published by game designer and entrepreneur Lou Zocchi in 1975.

Description

As game designer Stephen V. Cole noted, Lou Zocchi ran a seminar every year at Gen Con on "starting a game company and selling your wargame design." Zocchi distilled this into a 16-page book that he self-published, How to $ell Your Wargame Design, with the intent to help other game designers get their games published. The book includes a list of game publishers, as well as various publishing goods and services for the person wanting to self-publish.

Reception

In Issue 35 of The Space Gamer January 1981), American game designer Steve Jackson noted the book's largest drawback was that it verged on being out of date: "Most of the basic advice is still sound, but many of the names on those lists are certainly obsolete. And don't take the copyright advice. The laws have changed since Lou wrote this book." Jackson also warned that the result would not be pretty, since Zocchi was advising self-publishers how to save money. "It tells you how to do a cheap-looking job without spending every cent you own." Despite this, Jackson concluded, "On the whole, I recommend this book highly. I wish I'd seen it a year ago. If you ever intend to see a design professionally, order this one."