Becoming a RPG Writer

[Red Baron]

Don't listen to what this guy says... He really resides up in the great white north, in a cave and he makes "floaty boots" for a living....

Hee-hee. Howdy, Sushnak!

Frankly, the floaty boots business is booming right now, given that we have about 3 feet of snow on the ground. People are scooping 'em up like... well, like floaty things in the dead of winter. Much less cumbersome than traditional snow-shoes. And much more fashionable.

 

[Henry]

MusedFable, welcome to the boards!

I'm going to move this over to the d20 publishers forum, where you are more likely to get responses. I certainly wish you luck, and hope you can find the break you seek!

 

[MarauderX]

I just finished reading Steven King's On Writing. Though the first 1/3 of the book doesn't really relate to writing too much, I think it's there more for inspiration than anything. Then he delves into the heart of writing. He has some really good advice in it, though sometimes it strays from the original point, and he nails what he thinks are the important subjects one after another. He directs the focus you should have and some methods of writing using some good analogies, but I think the book is more advice on fictional writing than actual game system writing.

Check out some of the other writer's webpages too, like James Wyatt or Monte Cook, and explore how much they write and their other responsibilities.

Thanks for lending me the book Corey!

 

[Steverooo]

My Experience:

I’ve lurked long on this site and have finally found a good reason to post. I have dreams (or delusions, whichever way you look at it) of grandeur, and hope to write, publish, and/or draw/paint for Role-playing books. I know for a fact I will do these things. It will take time.

A Word of Advice: Do your homework, first, but DON'T WAIT! Write right NOW, and then submit! There is absolutely no reason to put it off! "Someday" is TODAY!... (Now stop staring at the screen and go write something!)

I guess my first question is to all those writers/publishers/artists. What kind of “training” have you gone through in order to give yourself the title of writer/publisher/artist?

First I read, extensively. I also went to school, studied harder than most of my peers, and did a whole heap of a lot of hard work. Then I gamed when I could, and did my dead-level best at that, too. I learned what I could from the people I played with... sometimes what to do, sometimes what not to.

Then I started my own Web site, and did a lot of writing on that, including making up some new rules. Eventually, a magazine contacted ME, asking if I would rewrite some of the articles on my site for their mag! (This is, basically, unheard of, as a way to break into the business... Don't wait for it to happen!)

Meanwhile, I had written a few articles and submitted them to The Dragon (now Dragon magazine), who has rejected EVERYTHING I have ever submitted! I kept at it, though. After a while, I was able to get almost anything I submitted published with certain mags (I believe they call that "establishing rapport")! In fact, the last article that I got published was the one Jesse Decker turned down for Dragon just before 3.5e was released!

Currently, I am working on an article, and have just submitted some weapons to one of those Open Calls everyone is talking about...

So how did I "train myself" to be a writer? First, I read, to see how it was done, and find a style that I liked... Then I wrote. While I did take Creative Writing in High School and College (and minored in Writing, at University), that is the only "official" training that I have had. All the rest has been self-tought.

In other words, any well-read, reasonably-well-educated, self-motivated fool can do what I did, if he is willing to do the work, himself.

...and how comfortable do you feel in that role? I’d like any feedback; even if you’ve only gotten one article published in dungeon/dragon.

As a Writer? I feel perfectly comfortable. I have written since I was five, fer cryin' out loud! I never got PAID for it until 15+ years after that, but then, I wasn't very good when I got started, either!

I have more experience, now... And not just in Writing, either. My last article was on Tracking. Most people have never tracked. I have... A firend of mine (who is a Professional Writer - that is to say, that's ALL he does, and makes his living at it) always says "Write what you know!"... So I tend to write about Survival... and Rangers, and gaming!...

I’d also like to know how much control you demand when actual production of your work is printed?

All I demand is that I maintain Copyrights on what I write. With some magazines, this is a problem. With most others, it is not. I tend not to write for the ones with the problems.

I think (and almost know) that I’d need complete control over everything including even the advertisement of my work. I have a feeling I’ll be creating a publishing company just to release my own work (probable been done by others so at least I’m not walking an untamed trail).

That's the only way to go, for you, then. No way you'll have control over all of that, otherwise. Especially advertising. (Can you see WotC handing over control of their Ad campaign to you?)

how long do you think it would take to write a large book (player’s handbook, arcane unearthed sized) all by yourself (that not including anything to increase computer compatibility in pdf form, such as bookmarks or interactives)?

That depnds. Too many variables. I have a book that I have been working on since about 1984... Of course, I haven't had a computer for most of that time, and the game system is long out of print, and the manuscript was boxed (and lost) in the last move, and I am otherwise unmotivated to finish it, except as a Labor of Love for my Web site...

So I guess motivation is the key. You'll finish it if you're driven to (by self-motivation, or a nasty editor) more than you're driven to other things. If you're unmotivated to finish, it may never happen.

Finding a project that you want to do helps. A LOT!

How comfortable do you feel about collaborating on a project with someone?

With someone I don't know? Not very. With a good friend who works as hard as I do? Fine... Also, I would be better off collaborating with someone on a project that I do NOT care much about... If it is "my baby", I would be more worried about "minor" changes.

How can a product be well made if 3 different people write different chapters?

One person has to "ride herd" on all the Writers, and decide when to "ride'm in" and "cut'em out".

Best of luck, and welcome to the boards!

 

[Lizard]

Advice from a marginally successful semi-pro:

Meet deadlines.

Require as little editing as possible. Editors are lazy. If you don't make work for them, they'll find more work for you.

Lose all sense of shame. Sell yourself like a ten dollar coke...er...salesman. The, uhm, person who sells coca-cola to, uhm, convenience stores. Yes. That's it.

 

[Red Baron]

Require as little editing as possible. Editors are lazy. If you don't make work for them, they'll find more work for you.

What editors are you working with...!?!

 

[inkmonkeys]

How can a product be well made if 3 different people write different chapters?

Because it's guided by a developer with a firm vision of what he wants / needs and knows how to make his writers get it.

At least that's how it's been on the Exalted books.

 

[Christina]

. Editors are lazy. If you don't make work for them, they'll find more work for you.

Ouch, Lizard. It's only a nasty rumor that I'm lazy.

Christina

 

[Christina]

I hear this a lot. I'm in the IT field right now and it's growing progressively less rewarding for me (too much hassle to stay on the cutting edge of lots of things that have become, IMO, boring as hell). I'm a technical writer, so I'm more than capable of tackling the crunch side of writing d20 material. I'm also a skilled artist. Here's what I'm wondering: forget getting rich--is it unlikely for a person to just make a living doing this, assuming it takes a minimum of, say, $35,000 a year to constitute "a living"?

I know there are lots of "ifs" and "maybes" here, but I'm just curious if there's really enough demand for product for talented people to make ends meet.

I was in IT, too, once--programmer. I found it boring. I traded in the job for graduate school and freelance writing/editing. I'm not making the big bucks, but I am getting a continuous stream of jobs. I would say that a few folks on the freelance side are making 35K, but there aren't many who are full-time freelancers, so the money numbers get skewed.

Sometimes you gotta follow your Bliss, as Joseph Campbell said. Bliss isn't always lucrative, though.

Christina

 

[Acid_crash]

I am so glad someone asked this question because I was about to and now I don't have to wait to get the answers I was looking for.

I do have a question that wasn't asked. What is the standard going rate for a newbie freelancer in the market?