D&D 5E DM's Guild: The Advice You Didn't Ask For

[Mark CMG]

Take your time and do it right.

I believe the full adage, and it applies in the game industry in particular, reads something like, "Take your time and do it right; the day is long, the pay is light."

 

[Mark CMG]

(. . .) but chalk full of (. . .)

At least they were outlined.

 

[Sir Brennen]

Are your own typos here to make a point?

What are you, some kind of sarcasm anzi?

 

[Sacrosanct]

Let's see. I proofread about three or four times. Then I print it out, and proof it again (always finding more stuff to fix). Proofing a hard copy is way different than just proofing a digital copy. And then I send it to a buddy of mine who is an engineer and very proficient in grammar as well. So his attention to detail is there.

No matter how many times you've proofed yourself, send it to someone else because they don't have the preconceived notions of how it should sound like you do.

 

[Umbran]

I thought WotC would want to vet fan creations before they're offered to the public, but oh well.

The person-hours required for that are likely prohibitive. Let the buyer beware.

 

[DEFCON 1]

This is precisely why I thought what they had going on previously was actually a pretty good way to go. Those companies who had enough experience working with 3E SRD and could use that to produce 5E products tended to be the kind of companies who had the money to spend on actual editors and quality assurance.

I'll be honest... once all is said and done I wouldn't be surprised if the stuff you'll find in EN World's 5E 'Downloads' section ends up being higher quality on average than most of the stuff you'll find on DMsGuild... simply because the people here uploaded stuff merely for the love of the game and made sure to take their time with it so it'd get noticed. Whereas at least for these first several months some folks will do their best to just push out as much stuff as possible to make as many quick bucks as they can.

 

[Reynard]

Let's see. I proofread about three or four times. Then I print it out, and proof it again (always finding more stuff to fix). Proofing a hard copy is way different than just proofing a digital copy. And then I send it to a buddy of mine who is an engineer and very proficient in grammar as well. So his attention to detail is there.

No matter how many times you've proofed yourself, send it to someone else because they don't have the preconceived notions of how it should sound like you do.

Never underestimate the value of reading aloud as an editing tool. If you stumble over a phrase or sentence, chances are it needs to be reworded.

 

[Reynard]

What are you, some kind of sarcasm anzi?

I LOL'd hard enough to get weird looks from my coworkers.

 

[Mark CMG]

Let's see. I proofread about three or four times. Then I print it out, and proof it again (always finding more stuff to fix). Proofing a hard copy is way different than just proofing a digital copy. And then I send it to a buddy of mine who is an engineer and very proficient in grammar as well. So his attention to detail is there.

No matter how many times you've proofed yourself, send it to someone else because they don't have the preconceived notions of how it should sound like you do.

Indeed. Some other tricks include: changing the font between edits, reading the work backward sentence by sentence, as well as doing the latter aloud.

 

[Miladoon]

You know I like the idea of designers and non-designers dumping stuff on the DMsG. I will reward for a decent effort. Even if there are a few errors.

Instead of looking for a dedicated reviewer to trudge through all the crap, I will probably look for certain logos and effort. Like adding cover art and files ready for print.