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What's a Freelance RPG Writer Worth?
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<blockquote data-quote="Steve Conan Trustrum" data-source="post: 7659186" data-attributes="member: 1620"><p>Well ... there you have it.</p><p></p><p>Of COURSE you'll always make a profit if you don't consider the time necessary to do something as an expense. However, considering one of the key points of this thread is "know how much your time is worth as a writer," I think you'll find you're wandering more than a tad afield in order to found a point that's a tad ridiculous. I mean, if I can say I'm making a profit by doing away with whatever expense happens to prevent that from happening on paper, how can a business POSSIBLY not make money?</p><p></p><p>That there is just FANTASTIC business sense.</p><p></p><p>No, I do NOT say it's a terrible idea. I'm saying it's an idea not to be taken lightly, and not to go into thinking "I'll learn what I need along the way."</p><p></p><p>I think self-publishing is a great idea for people who do their research and prepare.</p><p></p><p>I certainly don't think profit is a given, as do you, so long as you just keep putting the time in. The facts of what happens to a lot of companies in this industry certainly don't support your theory.</p><p></p><p>And yet being able to put out whatever product you want, whenever you want, isn't a guarantee of making money from it. Here's the problem with ALL of your reasoning: you keep insisting that "if you self-publish, the profit is inevitable. It isn't. It PROVABLY isn't. You can't swing a dice bag around on OBS without finding a publisher that has numerous products on their publisher page, but only one or two that are showing as having made any sales, and none of them having reached copper sales yet.</p><p></p><p>Again, provably wrong.</p><p></p><p>There are some types of work I can crank out faster than others. WAY faster. It's just mindless typing to me. I can crank out WAY more of that at $0.01/word than I can something more detailed and thoughtful that I'm getting paid $0.03/word. Purely from an economic standpoint, it would make more sense to me to take the $0.01/word job in such a situation, which I've done.</p><p></p><p>Also, consider your response here hinges upon the lowered expectations of freelancers, and then consider the context of the thread you made such a response in. You may not see the irony here because, frankly, it needs you to actually acknowledge that self-publishing does not guarantee profit, no matter how much time you dedicate to it.</p><p></p><p>That's why it's just one option I presented. There are, however, people who like to stick to their niche. Even when there's an open license, there's no guarantee of sustainable work.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Possibly. Depends on what you have planned and if it's viable. I hope you understand how the "I'll keep it dirt cheap" approach is not sure-fire winner without it being explained.</p><p></p><p>Possibly (and again, I note, you discount any relationship between time having a monetary value attached to it, which is nonsense.) Oddly, most of the successful small press publishers didn't get started with free art or by thinking the time they spent devoting to their initial products wasn't an expense.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Oh, it is? Interesting ...</p><p></p><p></p><p>Agreed.</p><p></p><p>They'd also be well-advised to do their research, consider the time involved to make money doing so, and not just jump in because someone foolishly guaranteed they'd make money doing so.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Ah, okay. A sales pitch attached to your particular line of reasoning. Everything comes into focus now. Thanks for the unbiased advice, Tony Robbins.</p><p>Are the people who comprise an intended market, and the money they have available to spend, virtual as well?</p><p></p><p>There are two parts to the whole "supply and demand" aspect of economics and, as I keep pointing out, and understanding the role the "demand" aspect plays is kinda important.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Steve Conan Trustrum, post: 7659186, member: 1620"] Well ... there you have it. Of COURSE you'll always make a profit if you don't consider the time necessary to do something as an expense. However, considering one of the key points of this thread is "know how much your time is worth as a writer," I think you'll find you're wandering more than a tad afield in order to found a point that's a tad ridiculous. I mean, if I can say I'm making a profit by doing away with whatever expense happens to prevent that from happening on paper, how can a business POSSIBLY not make money? That there is just FANTASTIC business sense. No, I do NOT say it's a terrible idea. I'm saying it's an idea not to be taken lightly, and not to go into thinking "I'll learn what I need along the way." I think self-publishing is a great idea for people who do their research and prepare. I certainly don't think profit is a given, as do you, so long as you just keep putting the time in. The facts of what happens to a lot of companies in this industry certainly don't support your theory. And yet being able to put out whatever product you want, whenever you want, isn't a guarantee of making money from it. Here's the problem with ALL of your reasoning: you keep insisting that "if you self-publish, the profit is inevitable. It isn't. It PROVABLY isn't. You can't swing a dice bag around on OBS without finding a publisher that has numerous products on their publisher page, but only one or two that are showing as having made any sales, and none of them having reached copper sales yet. Again, provably wrong. There are some types of work I can crank out faster than others. WAY faster. It's just mindless typing to me. I can crank out WAY more of that at $0.01/word than I can something more detailed and thoughtful that I'm getting paid $0.03/word. Purely from an economic standpoint, it would make more sense to me to take the $0.01/word job in such a situation, which I've done. Also, consider your response here hinges upon the lowered expectations of freelancers, and then consider the context of the thread you made such a response in. You may not see the irony here because, frankly, it needs you to actually acknowledge that self-publishing does not guarantee profit, no matter how much time you dedicate to it. That's why it's just one option I presented. There are, however, people who like to stick to their niche. Even when there's an open license, there's no guarantee of sustainable work. Possibly. Depends on what you have planned and if it's viable. I hope you understand how the "I'll keep it dirt cheap" approach is not sure-fire winner without it being explained. Possibly (and again, I note, you discount any relationship between time having a monetary value attached to it, which is nonsense.) Oddly, most of the successful small press publishers didn't get started with free art or by thinking the time they spent devoting to their initial products wasn't an expense. Oh, it is? Interesting ... Agreed. They'd also be well-advised to do their research, consider the time involved to make money doing so, and not just jump in because someone foolishly guaranteed they'd make money doing so. Ah, okay. A sales pitch attached to your particular line of reasoning. Everything comes into focus now. Thanks for the unbiased advice, Tony Robbins. Are the people who comprise an intended market, and the money they have available to spend, virtual as well? There are two parts to the whole "supply and demand" aspect of economics and, as I keep pointing out, and understanding the role the "demand" aspect plays is kinda important. [/QUOTE]
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