Individuals who have either composed or are currently composing a ‘By Night’ book, I would like to connect with you! How did you structure your book, manage your time and resources during the construction process? What were the main themes of your book? Did you conduct extensive research, or did you go with the flow? These are questions that interest me, as I am eager to share my own experiences here. Please feel free to do the same.

For structure see the previous post: Brussels By Night – Structure

Time:

The process of creating a ‘By Night’ book is undeniably lengthy. My journey began eight years ago when I initiated the first table, albeit without the intention of transforming it into a book. Over the course of this period, we played approximately once a month, leading up to the present moment where the campaign serves as beta testing material for the book.

Simultaneously, three years ago, I commenced another campaign where I introduced Ancillae characters for character creation (The first table started from their human origins). As we near its conclusion in March, this campaign has served as an opportunity to delve deeper into the content of the book and push its boundaries by incorporating Ancillae characters. Unlike the first table where I restricted character creation to Camarilla clans, in the second table, I opened it up to all clans, leading to interesting challenges such as having a Tzimisce and a Lasombra among our characters.

Concluding these two tables for beta testing instills a sense of confidence in the potential of this book to offer an engaging setting for players wishing to explore the heart of Europe. The majority of our setting creation and testing occurred on Roll20. Now, let’s transition to discussing the book itself.

By Night Book:

I commenced the composition of the book at the end of August 2023, marking six months into the endeavor. Admittedly, my time management and work structure have not been optimal, to say the least, and I’m actively addressing this issue. Initially, my productivity suffered as I found myself scattered, conducting research while attempting to work simultaneously. Looking back, I realize I should have approached it differently from the outset. However, I began to see improvements in my productivity once I prioritized refining my structure and managing my time more effectively.

To streamline the process, I’ve outlined a timeline:

1. Research phase (Ideally conducted before production).
2. Production of the book until June.
3. Edition – June and July.
4. Compose the book, replace the elements – Augustus.
5. Review by a select group of individuals.
6. Make adjustements based on the feedback.
7. Publishing. By implementing this timeline, I aim to enhance efficiency and ensure a smoother progression towards the completion and publication of the book.

Where I’m at after 6 month in?

1. Table of Content will be the last thing to do.
2. The introduction, the author notes, the V20 to V5 part are done.
3. The historical background of the city has been fully covered.
4. Particularity of the city is halfway done.
5. Domains just a few pages in, still a lot to do.
6. Clans & Cainites section is 80% done.
   • The biggest part, and I wanted to focus on that when I started to manage my structure. For now it’s 232 pages long (not definitive) but for each character there is one page dedicated to the illustration of the character. So for 36 characters, 36 pages are illustration. Some character take 7/8 pages others can take 4/5.
7. Progress on the Faction & Coterie section has just begun.
8. Initial work on loresheets has commenced but remains far from completion.
9. The scenario, initially developed in Roll20, awaits refinement for inclusion in the book.

What I do for this book:

1. My approach to working on this book involves dedicating one hour per day, except on Mondays and Thursdays. Occasionally, I extend this time frame, but one hour stands as the minimum requirement to ensure progress. This time allocation does not encompass the time spent preparing for tables, engaging in gameplay, debriefing sessions, or similar activities. It solely focuses on my individual efforts dedicated to the production of this book. Additionally, the time spent on artwork is accounted for separately.
2. Every Sunday, I commit to writing a newsletter about the progress of this book. This serves multiple purposes:
   1. Forge my discipline.
   2. Tracking progress.
   3. Sharing with the world: By sharing updates on the book’s development, I hope to connect with like-minded individuals who share this interest.

Are you one of those individuals? If so, I invite you to join the conversation and share your experiences with your own book! Let’s connect and exchange ideas.

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