Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Writer Beware? (a bit of a rant)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Ghostwind" data-source="post: 2101430" data-attributes="member: 3060"><p><strong>Education of a freelancer</strong></p><p></p><p>KM, judging by your responses I am going to go out on a limb and make some assumptions which may or may not be correct. If I am wrong, no offense. I work both sides of the industry. I am a freelancer and I am co-creative director for a publisher. So understand, I know what I am talking about. One of the most basic errors I see freelancers make is to work without contract or to not sign and mail in the contract to the publisher. The first is the most prevalent and usually goes something like this:</p><p> </p><p></p><p> </p><p>Note that no terms were discussed. Before the completed/revised manuscript is turned over, the freelancer should be asking about:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">rate of payment (is it a flat fee, royalty or a per word basis?)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">terms of payment (payment upon acceptance of manuscript or X days after publication?)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">expected date of publication (this can be narrowed to month or quarter easily enough by the publisher.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">full rights or first-printing rights (99.9% of RPG publishers purchase the full rights from you. However, there is a very small contingent who are willing to buy first rights only, meaning they can only print the book once. If they want to do a second printing, they must renegotiate for them.)</li> </ul><p>Now let's look at reason number two:</p><p></p><p> </p><p>What usually happens now is that the freelancer makes his changes, emails them to the publisher and then forgets to send in the contract. If this is an open call submission, then a lack of contract is quickly lost to the multitude of entries until the time comes for the publisher to write checks.</p><p> </p><p></p><p> </p><p>Let's say that you signed and mailed a contract for every piece of work you did. Did you keep a copy? Contracts exist to protect both the publisher and the freelancer. Everything is spelled out in plain black & white on a contract. Have you read your contracts before signing them? Another common mistake that freelancers make because they don't read their contracts is the assumption that every job pays the moment they turn in the manuscript. Very few companies pay upon acceptance anymore. Most make payment 45-90 days after publication. If you don't read your contract, then you aren't going to know this and calling the publisher up to demand money two weeks after you've made your submission makes you look unprofessional and silly.</p><p> </p><p>Let's say that you have a copy of your signed contract from Publisher X, the book has been published and it's 120 days past the agreed upon date of payment. What are your options? This really depends upon the amount involved and your previous history with that publisher. If you have had good relations with them in the past and worked with them before, a simple but polite reminder email is likely all that is needed.</p><p> </p><p></p><p> </p><p>If you've sent the email and gotten no response after two weeks, send another one. If after one week, there is still no response, pick up the phone and make a polite and professional courtesy call to that publisher. <strong>Always keep a written record of these attempts to contact</strong>. Document everything. If no resolution can be reached after a reasonable amount of time, say 30 days, then you have some tough choices to make:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">compose an email that reminds the publisher of his contractual obligations to you and politely inform him that should non-payment continue, legal action may be taken.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">file a claim in small claims court against the publisher (this is a last ditch move only and may cost more than what you are owed, so investigate it thoroughly first).</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">wait it out to see if the publisher finally comes through.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">attend a convention where the publisher is exhibiting and on the last day of the show, go up and ask how business has been. When the publisher replies, "Great!" introduce yourself and gently remind him that you are still owed X dollars and that perhaps he could just pay you now. (this is a trick that has worked for more than one freelancer. the key is being professional throughout the whole exchange, even when the publisher says he can't pay you right then.) What this tell the publisher is that you are serious about your money and it also puts a face to a name in his memory. How you conduct yourself will also determine whether he actually does pay you when he gets back to the office.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">offer to accept product in exchange for payment. The key here is not to accept an equal exchange of retail value vs. the money you are owed. The publisher should be willing to give it to you at distributor cost vs. money owed. Negotiate for it if he offers less.</li> </ul><p>This is just a little bit of education concerning freelancing. There's a whole lot more to it and if I knew your circumstances better, I could guide you a little more. If you want to talk privately, feel free to drop me an email at <a href="mailto:ghost.wind@verizon.net">ghost.wind@verizon.net</a> and I'll see what I can do.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ghostwind, post: 2101430, member: 3060"] [b]Education of a freelancer[/b] KM, judging by your responses I am going to go out on a limb and make some assumptions which may or may not be correct. If I am wrong, no offense. I work both sides of the industry. I am a freelancer and I am co-creative director for a publisher. So understand, I know what I am talking about. One of the most basic errors I see freelancers make is to work without contract or to not sign and mail in the contract to the publisher. The first is the most prevalent and usually goes something like this: Note that no terms were discussed. Before the completed/revised manuscript is turned over, the freelancer should be asking about: [list] [*]rate of payment (is it a flat fee, royalty or a per word basis?) [*]terms of payment (payment upon acceptance of manuscript or X days after publication?) [*]expected date of publication (this can be narrowed to month or quarter easily enough by the publisher.) [*]full rights or first-printing rights (99.9% of RPG publishers purchase the full rights from you. However, there is a very small contingent who are willing to buy first rights only, meaning they can only print the book once. If they want to do a second printing, they must renegotiate for them.) [/list]Now let's look at reason number two: What usually happens now is that the freelancer makes his changes, emails them to the publisher and then forgets to send in the contract. If this is an open call submission, then a lack of contract is quickly lost to the multitude of entries until the time comes for the publisher to write checks. Let's say that you signed and mailed a contract for every piece of work you did. Did you keep a copy? Contracts exist to protect both the publisher and the freelancer. Everything is spelled out in plain black & white on a contract. Have you read your contracts before signing them? Another common mistake that freelancers make because they don't read their contracts is the assumption that every job pays the moment they turn in the manuscript. Very few companies pay upon acceptance anymore. Most make payment 45-90 days after publication. If you don't read your contract, then you aren't going to know this and calling the publisher up to demand money two weeks after you've made your submission makes you look unprofessional and silly. Let's say that you have a copy of your signed contract from Publisher X, the book has been published and it's 120 days past the agreed upon date of payment. What are your options? This really depends upon the amount involved and your previous history with that publisher. If you have had good relations with them in the past and worked with them before, a simple but polite reminder email is likely all that is needed. If you've sent the email and gotten no response after two weeks, send another one. If after one week, there is still no response, pick up the phone and make a polite and professional courtesy call to that publisher. [b]Always keep a written record of these attempts to contact[/b]. Document everything. If no resolution can be reached after a reasonable amount of time, say 30 days, then you have some tough choices to make: [list] [*]compose an email that reminds the publisher of his contractual obligations to you and politely inform him that should non-payment continue, legal action may be taken. [*]file a claim in small claims court against the publisher (this is a last ditch move only and may cost more than what you are owed, so investigate it thoroughly first). [*]wait it out to see if the publisher finally comes through. [*]attend a convention where the publisher is exhibiting and on the last day of the show, go up and ask how business has been. When the publisher replies, "Great!" introduce yourself and gently remind him that you are still owed X dollars and that perhaps he could just pay you now. (this is a trick that has worked for more than one freelancer. the key is being professional throughout the whole exchange, even when the publisher says he can't pay you right then.) What this tell the publisher is that you are serious about your money and it also puts a face to a name in his memory. How you conduct yourself will also determine whether he actually does pay you when he gets back to the office. [*]offer to accept product in exchange for payment. The key here is not to accept an equal exchange of retail value vs. the money you are owed. The publisher should be willing to give it to you at distributor cost vs. money owed. Negotiate for it if he offers less. [/list]This is just a little bit of education concerning freelancing. There's a whole lot more to it and if I knew your circumstances better, I could guide you a little more. If you want to talk privately, feel free to drop me an email at [email="ghost.wind@verizon.net"]ghost.wind@verizon.net[/email] and I'll see what I can do. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Writer Beware? (a bit of a rant)
Top