Adventure writing

[zilch]

Quick Question: How much is one paid, on average, for writing a d20 adventure?

 

[mearls]

There's two factors:

Your rate per word.

The words required to fill the manuscript.

The starting rate for most d20 publishers is 3 cents a word, some offer 4. Smaller companies usually can't offer more than 3 cents.

For a 32 page module, I've been asked to write between 15,000 and 30,000 words. IME, 24,000 words is about average. The mini-modules run between 5,000 and 8,000 words each.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

What, no royalty?

 

[mearls]

What, no royalty?

Nope. Generally, it's not a standard practice. Personally, I much prefer a flat payment. IME, the quality of adventure writing plays a role in how a module sells, but its only one part of the equation. Project development is a sorely underrated portion of game design. Art and marketing have major impacts on how a module sells. My portion of the process has little impact on those factors, and I'd rather that my finances be much clearer from the start of a project, rather than leaving it up to overall sales. Most non-WotC companies do not move enough units to justify a royalty arrangement.

Mind you, that's for d20 adventures. An evergreen soucebook might provide for a viable royalty arrangement. However, modules function much like magazines. They sell heavily for the first 4 or so weeks then taper down to few, if any, sales. In general, though, the d20 market is a bit too volatile at the moment for royalty arrangements to work well. As a freelance contractor, I need stability (ha!) and regular payments (double HA!) to keep myself in the black. Royalties open up a whole new realm of variables in my payment schedule, many of which I cannot control.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

24000 words x .03 = $720.

That makes me a little ill...

I mentioned it with Ryan's commentary running in the back of my mind, that RPG writers don't command enough money for their work.

By the way, I think that in your case, Mike, you're at a point where your by-line has value.

EDIT: I misread your earlier point as, "Most non-WOTC writers don't move enough product... Thinking of Monte, of course, though now we can add Sean and Chris to that roster. Point stands, though-- I think you're worth more than $720 bucks.


Wulf

 

[Lady Dragon]

At the rate of 720 dollars per 32 page module you would have to put out one a week to make and kind of living at writing.

My quick calculation would put that at $37,440 a year and thats only if your really prolific no wonder most writers have day jobs to go to.I guess the only way to make any real money at it is to own the company.

But at last you would love what you do.

 

[DPGTony]

Sad Facts

At the rate of 720 dollars per 32 page module you would have to put out one a week to make and kind of living at writing.

My quick calculation would put that at $37,440 a year and thats only if your really prolific no wonder most writers have day jobs to go to.I guess the only way to make any real money at it is to own the company.

But at last you would love what you do.

The sad fact is there are very few writers who are able to make a living with their craft. Let alone writing for a subset of a niche hobby.

 

[Fiery James]

At the rate of 720 dollars per 32 page module you would have to put out one a week to make and kind of living at writing.

My quick calculation would put that at $37,440 a year and thats only if your really prolific no wonder most writers have day jobs to go to.I guess the only way to make any real money at it is to own the company.

But at last you would love what you do.

Yeah! And if you want to see really low numbers, you should see what the publishers make!

As far as I know, Mearls is probably the only freelancer in the d20 market who could even attempt to turn it into a full-time job. That's 'cause he rocks!

- James

 

[DungeonKeeperUK]

But at last you would love what you do.

Thats the main reason I am doing it just now, gonna be a while before I could even trhink about leaving my "real" job to commit to writing, but its somehting I have wanted to do for a long long time now and love doing it... It does mean I ma sat in front of a PC all day at work and a PC all night adn weekend too, but like I have said I love doing it...

 

[GMSkarka]

As far as I know, Mearls is probably the only freelancer in the d20 market who could even attempt to turn it into a full-time job. That's 'cause he rocks!

Mearls does rock. On toast, even..... but actually, there are several full-time freelancers in the industry: Matt Forbeck, myself, a few others.

The trick is to not limit yourself to JUST d20 work. Yes, it does represent the lion's share of freelance work right now, simply in volume....but there are non-D20 games out there that are *desperate* for good, experienced freelancers.

By juggling 2-3 projects at a time, and writing full-time (averaging 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week), I'm able to pull down a living wage. However, budgeting becomes an issue, because as a freelancer, you're most likely getting your money in payments that arrive 2 months or so between checks.

If you've gotten some name recognition, and you're dealing with a professional company, you can often negotiate an advance on your contract (10-20%, tops), but most often you're looking at payment upon delivery of the final draft (which I prefer), or upon publication (or up to 30 days after, in most cases).

I try to negotiate a contract that spreads the payment out through all of those: for example, a 15% advance (which can double as a kill fee if the project is cancelled), 35% upon delivery, and 50% after publication. It allows me to see payment more quickly, and also avoids the 'lump-sum-three-months-down-the-road' problem, which helps with budgeting....and it can also be attractive to the publisher, because it allows them to space out payment into smaller amounts.

So, given all of this, I'm sure you can see how we react when people tell us how great it must be to "play games for a living."