I know this might belong in a more industry oriented forum, but I'm losing my mind trying to navigate that flipside of the online job market. So I thought I'd take my chances here. If I transgress, my sincere apologies...
After a long hiatus due to personal tragedy, I am once again working on my project to release novels and games set in a fictional universe I have been working on for quite some time. With all the Corona troubles and people losing their jobs and other incomes and whatnot, I thought I'd see if I could do some good with the project. So I am considering hiring people to do some writing. I intend to direct all income from the project to this in the future, too. I doubt it would make me rich, anyway, and I'm not financially vulnerable any longer.
BUT... finding writers is a freaking NIGHTMARE, Job sites seem to actively throw obstacles in the way, and the amount of false advertising out there is just backbreaking. I hope to be able to get a small group of writers, at first, then expand as the project becomes manageable for me. So I basically have two questions:
1: What kind of hiring would an RPG writer prefer, royalty or fixed rate? I thought fixed rate was more fair, since RPG sales are not usually selling like hotcakes, especially new ones. But some argued that it was unfair to not give the writer a share of earnings and told me to do royalties instead, so I am no longer sure which is better, or if there's a third option?
2: What are the rates, assuming the writers are novice to low experience, and assuming they know precisely what is to be written (though unsolicited work may also be a possibility)? Most seem to advertise hourly rates, but that says nothing about the results. I can write 2000 words/hour on a good day, but many (especially those also advertising poetry) go as low as 150 words per day(!), so it's a jungle!
Anyone with experience, please let me know if there are some kind of answers to this. Anyone who has offered this kind of work, what did you charge?
Note: I'm not currently seeking artists, not until I can get through this particular hiring challenge...
After a long hiatus due to personal tragedy, I am once again working on my project to release novels and games set in a fictional universe I have been working on for quite some time. With all the Corona troubles and people losing their jobs and other incomes and whatnot, I thought I'd see if I could do some good with the project. So I am considering hiring people to do some writing. I intend to direct all income from the project to this in the future, too. I doubt it would make me rich, anyway, and I'm not financially vulnerable any longer.
BUT... finding writers is a freaking NIGHTMARE, Job sites seem to actively throw obstacles in the way, and the amount of false advertising out there is just backbreaking. I hope to be able to get a small group of writers, at first, then expand as the project becomes manageable for me. So I basically have two questions:
1: What kind of hiring would an RPG writer prefer, royalty or fixed rate? I thought fixed rate was more fair, since RPG sales are not usually selling like hotcakes, especially new ones. But some argued that it was unfair to not give the writer a share of earnings and told me to do royalties instead, so I am no longer sure which is better, or if there's a third option?
2: What are the rates, assuming the writers are novice to low experience, and assuming they know precisely what is to be written (though unsolicited work may also be a possibility)? Most seem to advertise hourly rates, but that says nothing about the results. I can write 2000 words/hour on a good day, but many (especially those also advertising poetry) go as low as 150 words per day(!), so it's a jungle!
Anyone with experience, please let me know if there are some kind of answers to this. Anyone who has offered this kind of work, what did you charge?
Note: I'm not currently seeking artists, not until I can get through this particular hiring challenge...
