Perhaps I should have asked what reasonable pay is. I'm sure what people actually get paid varies wildly, but I'm curious to know what both publishers and writers think are fair rates.
As the old saying goes - How do you make a small fortune in the RPG business? Start with a large fortune.
Yeah, not to start the that debate again, but the industry isn't soaring like it once was and rates reflect that. From what I recall at GenCon seminars, Paizo starts at about 5 cents a word if I recall (could be 6, I forget), but goes up from there for people they can regularly rely on. WotC starts a little over 6 cents a word (technically $1500 for each 24,000 word "module unit" I think). They are big enough and successful enough, that their rates haven't dropped with the market dropping off (most likely because their sales haven't dropped off much anyway). Probably everyone else mid-tier is 2 cents. Smaller PDF publishers can go as low as 1/2 cent a word (or often royalties only which in some cases can be even less).
For some perspective - at my best, I can crank out 1000 words an hour, but that's not counting in outlining, prep time, working on stats, etc.. So to make the math easy, let's say I can average 500 words an hour (which is probably unreasonable considering how much time I spend "planning" - i.e. procrastinating - as well as if it is a collaborative project or not, but when I really buckle down on a solo project, that's probably close. I'll have to actually clock my next project). At 1/2 cent a word, I would be making $2.50/hour - less than half the current US minimum wage. So on the low end, those rates are "unreasonable" only in the sense that you can make FAR more money flipping burgers. But if you are working on a project you enjoy, then any money is nice. Plus it builds skills and your list of credits so that you can climb up that ladder.
Some people would argue that the 1/2 cent and lower crowd diminishes the whole freelance pool by dragging down the rates for everyone. *shrug* I can see that somewhat, but from my experience, publishers tend to get what they pay for, and those who pay more typically sell far better (and can therefore afford to pay more, etc.). WotC and Paizo make enough money to afford to pay those rates, but they also demand a level of quality and rework that few other publishers do. The mid-tier companies could afford 4 cents a word and up during the booming years of d20, but the reality of the market now, they can rarely afford that, and even then only for writers who can guarantee them a great product needing minimal rework, and whose name can help sell that product. Few of us can even close to that.
Sorry for the long winded message that's basically a "me too" to Morrus'.
Most small pdf publishers dont pay by the word in my experiance. The best I have ever gotten was in the 4-5 cents a word range. More common is a percentage of profits. Usually 25-35%. Print pays better. Dragon was my first sale and I was very pleased with it, but after a second article and some editiorial changes I have had trouble getting even a response from submissions. If my pdf commitments slow down a little I am going to start pitching their again.
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So guesstimating from the current responses we're looking at typical word rate being .5-1 cent at amateur level, 2-3 cents being the median level, and pros going for 4 cents or more.
From a writer's standpoint, is a per word rate preferable to a percentage or vice versa? What about both together (say 1-2 cent per word advanced against a 25% royalty with the writer keeping all the advance even if the royalty never meets or exceeds it)?
So guesstimating from the current responses we're looking at typical word rate being .5-1 cent at amateur level, 2-3 cents being the median level, and pros going for 4 cents or more.
Less than 2 cents a word does not merit consideration from anyone when it comes to for-profit work. (If the publisher stands to make real money, why aren't *you* making real money?) I currently make 5 cents or more per word, depending on the project.
Quote:
From a writer's standpoint, is a per word rate preferable to a percentage or vice versa? What about both together (say 1-2 cent per word advanced against a 25% royalty with the writer keeping all the advance even if the royalty never meets or exceeds it)?
Pardon all the nosy questions.
Administratively, it's not worth it to mix royalties and advances. I have advanced royalties when a product didn't do as well as I'd hoped.
As a writer, I've found royalties to be pretty profitable. Over time, my work for Adamant has netted me the equivalent of about 10 cents a word. But you have to be confident in your work. Keep in mind that if royalties aren't good for you, then the product is not performing well for the publisher, either.
I think a lot of companies get mileage from constantly emphasizing how small and poor the industry is and how it's all about the love. But this is a crutch for companies who don't want to pay what they should and writers who don't want to come to terms with their true level of success. .pdf companies that can't meet 2 cents a word are, IMO, better off offering royalties (I usually offer 50% myself) or scaling back releases. Now that .pdf accounts for about 10% of the market, the excuses for offering substandard rates (even for semipro work) are rapidly vanishing. With good royalties, you and the author assume equal risk, so that even if the product bombs, it's ethical.
It does take time and effort to make a decent amount of money as a writer/designer; this is only my second year where game work has become my primary source of income.
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This has been quite interesting. With just a handful of responses we have those who swear by royalties and those who swear at them, along with a few different examples of different attitudes to different word rates.
As an aside, I have no aspiration of game work ever being my primary source of income. I was just wondering what others considered appealing or insulting at the entry level of the industry.
This has been quite interesting. With just a handful of responses we have those who swear by royalties and those who swear at them, along with a few different examples of different attitudes to different word rates.
As an aside, I have no aspiration of game work ever being my primary source of income. I was just wondering what others considered appealing or insulting at the entry level of the industry.
The HWA's membership standards are a good objective benchmark, as they specifically mention RPG work payments. See:
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* Idealism * Enlightenment * Adventure * Uncompromising modern fantasy -- relaunched! Get the PDF for FREE at RPGNow - and when you get it, enjoy $11 off the print edition! Offer extends until the end of Gen Con, so hurry!
If I may add my two cents worth (although I will note it will be more than one word), I only have a few projects out, and I am getting paid royalties.
I never expected to get rich, honestly I thought it was flattering that someone was willing to pay me for something that I would write anyway. I have made a few dollars and I just take the money from my PDF sales and turn around and buy more PDFs with it. The sales from my three PDFs has allowed me to buy more than a dozen PDFs in return. I consider it a great deal. I don't know if being paid by the word would have paid more, but I am certainly not going to complain.
By the way, some kudos for Dave Jarvis and Reality Deviants for all that they have done to help me along the way.
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