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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ghostwind" data-source="post: 2769671" data-attributes="member: 3060">It's not so much an oversupply of writers as it is an under supply of smart retailers who choose their purchases wisely and demand that their distributors carry quality products and not everything under the sun that might make them a buck. If the distribution tier had the brains and guts to enact any form of quality control during the early days of d20, there would not have been such a drop in sales across the board. (But that's an argument for another thread.) Pay will never go up until RPGs begin to sell 5000+ copies consistently on a regular basis and not just a couple of times a year with the rest selling less than 500-1000 copies.Good writers are worth their weight. They not only write to spec but hit their deadlines and have a proven track record of quality. Of all of the designers that have leaped into the d20 field since 3rd edition first came out, the number of writers that fit into this criteria is less than two dozen. I would love to make .07/word again from a d20 publisher. But the reality is that sales and development costs do not support that wage, nor are they likely too in the foreseeable future. The facts are that most publishers are paying .03/word to an established name and less to non-established authors. Some publishers are also only paying a flat fee (which is far less than even .01/word) in addition to a royalty percentage of sales (paid after dev. costs are met).This really is a niche hobby and making a career from it is very difficult. The recent round of layoffs should further illustrate to everyone just how fickle sales and success are.</blockquote>

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