Bardsandsages
First Post
Neiyar: Land of Heaven and the Abyss is our d20 campaign setting. The world of the Neiyar is an isolated jungle environment with a matriarchal society on the brink of civil war. We are looking for freelancers interested in working on the following projects:
Racial Supplements: Neiyar introduces four new races unique to the island. While they are briefly explained in the core book, feedback from consumers has led us to believe that supplements fleshing out these races would be well-received.
Hearth Magic: Hearth Magic is a magic system unique to Neiyar, which more closely resembles folk magic than the traditional D&D style of spellcasting. Again, this is an area that consumers have expressed an interest in seeing fleshed out more, and this we are interested in producing a supplement for it.
Adventures: We are planning a series of modules, which will eventually be published in on giant print product. Adventures for all levels are encouraged.
Our Goals:
We strive for game balance. We aren't looking for the "kewlest" twink ideas. The goal of Neiyar is to create a world that is functional, believable, and fun.
We strive for originality. We rarely use OGC from other products. We aren't interested in simply reproducing something that has already been done. While we don't want you to recreate the wheel if there is OGC that would logically blend well with the setting, we really aren't interested in simply publishing tweeked versions of stuff already done.
We strive for flexibility. Neiyar straddles the line between stand-alone campaign setting and supplemental setting for existing worlds. Because it is an island, Neiyar could easily exist in any number of campaign worlds. As such, we try to insure that while supplements are Neiyar specific, they could easily be used by a GM simply wanting to run a jungle setting without neccessarily running Neiyar.
Payment:
We pay on a royalty basis. Writers for Neiyar supplements are paid a 20% royalty on net proceeds from sales. This is not negotiable. If you do not want to work on a royalty basis, there is no amount of arguing or badgering that will convince us to make a special arrangement just for you. I completely understand that some writers don't want to work on a royalty basis. That's fine and there is nothing wrong with that. Please accept that this is how we pay and it has worked very well for us and those who have worked for us in the past.
Payments are made via PayPal on a monthly basis. Payments are send to freelancers no later than the 15th of the month following the reporting period. In the event you are unable to receive payments via PayPal, we will mail you a check on a monthly basis each month that royalties are at least $20 or more. If royalties for the month are less than $20, we will simply roll over payment to the following month.
A couple of freelancers have made the request of asking for Amazon gift certificates instead of PayPal. We are more than happy to accomodate this. Such certificates can be issued monthly under the same terms as Paypal payments.
There is no cap on how much a freelancer can earn in royalties. So long as the product is available to the public for sale, you will continue to earn royalties on it.
Why do we pay this way?
We're very upfront about how we do things. Considering the recent demise of various other publishers, we feel transparency is important.
First, and perhaps most obvious, it keeps upfront costs down. By controlling production and other costs upfront, we can take more risks and develop more products at once.
Second, it gives the freelancer a vested interest in the work. Having worked in direct sales a number of years before starting my company, I can tell you folks work a little bit harder when they work on a commission/royalty basis than a straight fee.
Third, if a product becomes a runaway hit, quite frankly we believe the writer should get a piece of that action. He or she took a chance with us, and therefore we feel they should benefit from it. There are a few products in our line that I have paid out far more in royalties over the long term than if I had just paid a flat rate upfront. But since that means I've sold a lot of the product, I'm cool with that . As my old sales boss use to say "If your people are making money, then you are making money." So if I'm paying out a lot of royalties each month, that means I'm selling a lot of product.
More Information on Neiyar:
For more information on the world
Neiyar Homepage
Feel free to contact me directly at neiyar@bardsandsages.com
Racial Supplements: Neiyar introduces four new races unique to the island. While they are briefly explained in the core book, feedback from consumers has led us to believe that supplements fleshing out these races would be well-received.
Hearth Magic: Hearth Magic is a magic system unique to Neiyar, which more closely resembles folk magic than the traditional D&D style of spellcasting. Again, this is an area that consumers have expressed an interest in seeing fleshed out more, and this we are interested in producing a supplement for it.
Adventures: We are planning a series of modules, which will eventually be published in on giant print product. Adventures for all levels are encouraged.
Our Goals:
We strive for game balance. We aren't looking for the "kewlest" twink ideas. The goal of Neiyar is to create a world that is functional, believable, and fun.
We strive for originality. We rarely use OGC from other products. We aren't interested in simply reproducing something that has already been done. While we don't want you to recreate the wheel if there is OGC that would logically blend well with the setting, we really aren't interested in simply publishing tweeked versions of stuff already done.
We strive for flexibility. Neiyar straddles the line between stand-alone campaign setting and supplemental setting for existing worlds. Because it is an island, Neiyar could easily exist in any number of campaign worlds. As such, we try to insure that while supplements are Neiyar specific, they could easily be used by a GM simply wanting to run a jungle setting without neccessarily running Neiyar.
Payment:
We pay on a royalty basis. Writers for Neiyar supplements are paid a 20% royalty on net proceeds from sales. This is not negotiable. If you do not want to work on a royalty basis, there is no amount of arguing or badgering that will convince us to make a special arrangement just for you. I completely understand that some writers don't want to work on a royalty basis. That's fine and there is nothing wrong with that. Please accept that this is how we pay and it has worked very well for us and those who have worked for us in the past.
Payments are made via PayPal on a monthly basis. Payments are send to freelancers no later than the 15th of the month following the reporting period. In the event you are unable to receive payments via PayPal, we will mail you a check on a monthly basis each month that royalties are at least $20 or more. If royalties for the month are less than $20, we will simply roll over payment to the following month.
A couple of freelancers have made the request of asking for Amazon gift certificates instead of PayPal. We are more than happy to accomodate this. Such certificates can be issued monthly under the same terms as Paypal payments.
There is no cap on how much a freelancer can earn in royalties. So long as the product is available to the public for sale, you will continue to earn royalties on it.
Why do we pay this way?
We're very upfront about how we do things. Considering the recent demise of various other publishers, we feel transparency is important.
First, and perhaps most obvious, it keeps upfront costs down. By controlling production and other costs upfront, we can take more risks and develop more products at once.
Second, it gives the freelancer a vested interest in the work. Having worked in direct sales a number of years before starting my company, I can tell you folks work a little bit harder when they work on a commission/royalty basis than a straight fee.
Third, if a product becomes a runaway hit, quite frankly we believe the writer should get a piece of that action. He or she took a chance with us, and therefore we feel they should benefit from it. There are a few products in our line that I have paid out far more in royalties over the long term than if I had just paid a flat rate upfront. But since that means I've sold a lot of the product, I'm cool with that . As my old sales boss use to say "If your people are making money, then you are making money." So if I'm paying out a lot of royalties each month, that means I'm selling a lot of product.
More Information on Neiyar:
For more information on the world
Neiyar Homepage
Feel free to contact me directly at neiyar@bardsandsages.com
