Suggested Rules:
0. Run or play in a weekly RPG using the system you wish to work with. If you can't do this, forget about even getting started. I, and most other professionals, can spot game rules produced by someone who doesn't actually play the game from a mile away.
1. Run games with strangers. It's the best way to avoid falling into a rut and lets you see how other people expect the game to work. Volunteer to run events at local cons. I've learned more about how d20 works at RPGA events than anywhere else.
2. Learn to write every day. And when I say every day, I mean it. I don't care if you're sick, your kid is sick, you have to work late, or whatever. Excuses are easy. Work is hard.
3. Pay attention to who you want to work with. Look at a company's release schedule. Avoid publishers that are always late with projects, that seem to produce more press releases than actual product, and that offer you less than three cents a word. Flakey publishers are a writer's bane. They suck down your time and then don't pay you for it.
4. Never settle for a deal that's less than what you want. If you're good and dedicated to the craft, you can afford to wait a bit and find a job that fits what you want out of a publishing deal. Don't be a doormat. Women don't like 'em, and publishers walk all over them.
5. OTOH, keep in mind that this is not high art. If an editor asks you to change something, just do it. If I'm developing a product and a writer whines about changes I request or ignores my input, I get annoyed. As I don't like being annoyed, I never use such writers again. You are not a perfect snowflake. You will make mistakes. You will fix them, or you will have the burden of fixing them removed from you by way of never being hired again.
6. Find a company you want to work with. Go to their website. Find their submission guidelines. Follow them religiously. They are the first s***filter a company uses to screen out idiots.
7. It IS about the money. Despite what people may say ("We do this for love of games!") if they really didn't care about the money, they wouldn't spend it to publish a book and then turn around and sell it into the distribution system. If you really want to do this because you love gaming, build a website, post your ideas, and save yourself a ton of money. You have to love games to get into the biz and stay here, but money is what makes the business go 'round. A publisher will very happily pocket the extra cash from YOUR work if you love gaming enough to take 1 or 2 cents a word.
8. Meet people at cons. Don't just walk up to the booth and start babbling. Contact a company via email first, and send proposals using their guidelines. Offer to demo some product, or offer to buy an editor lunch. Walk into the meeting with three or four topics for conversation already in mind. That way, the you can avoid the dreaded "dead silence between two strangers" syndrome. People feel more comfortable working with someone, especially on big projects, if they've had a chance to meet you.
Things I've Done - d20
(An Incomplete List)
(Or, yes, I kinda know what I'm talking about.)
The Monster's Handbook - FFG (Due out in Fall 02, a big book on modifying existing monsters and building new ones from scratch)
The Quintessential Wizard - Mongoose
The Quintessential Rogue - Mongoose
In the Belly of the Beast - Atlas Games
To Stand on Hallowed Ground - Fiery Dragon
Nature's Fury - Fiery Dragon
Psionics Toolkit - Fiery Dragon
Siege of Durgam's Folly - Necromancer
A few mini-modules from FFG and AEG
Godlike (OLG portions) - Hobgoblynn
Aerial Adventure Guides Volumes 1 - 3 - Goodman Games
Contributions
Villain's Handbook - Kenzer & Co.
Relics & Rituals - Sword & Sorcery
Creature Collection II - Sword & Sorcery
Scarred Lands Campaign Book - Sword & Sorcery
Everquest GM's Guide - Sword & Sorcery
Touched by the Gods - Atlas Games
Dungeons - AEG
Evil - AEG
Dragons - AEG
War - AEG
Undead - AEG
Mercenaries - AEG
Gods - AEG
Monster - AEG
7th Sea d20 - AEG
Magic - AEG (developer)
Good - AEG (developer)
Seafarer's Handbook - FFG
Mythic Races - FFG
I've also worked on the Lord of the Rings RPG (Moria boxed set, plus contributions to Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic), Warhammer FRP (Fear the Worst, an upcoming adventure that as Nemmerle can tell you is pretty sick and twisted), Vampire, Hunter, Unknown Armies, and Feng Shui. I have articles coming up in Dungeon, Polyhedron, and Dragon. There's another 12 or so books I've done I'm not sure I can talk about, so they remain off the list.
I write and design games for a living. At GenCon, I bought one meal for myself during the show. The rest of them time I was in lunch/dinner meetings. I'm in a position now where I have work scheduled for the next 12 months (though I'm always looking for more...) and the one, most important lesson I can tell you is this:
WRITE EVERY DAY.
You are what you do. If you want to be a writer, then write. You can overcome shortcomings in education (the last English course I took was in 1993, and I was a geography/computer science major in college), in grammar (I didn't know the difference between which and that until Wil Upchurch explained it at GenCon), and talent (I had a teacher in high school tell me point blank that I'd never amount to anything in life) with sheer, dogged determination.
If you want to write, be prepared to work for it. There's a reason why so many people want to be writers but few actually do it: it's hard. Damn hard.
I am not a special, unique snowflake. I do not have amazing writing skills. I am not a superconnected, industry insider, social butterfly. I just work hard, turn my projects in on time, spellcheck and read my material for grammatical mistakes, and treat other people with respect and courtesy. So far, that's all I've needed. You don't need supercool ideas or a PhD in English to design games.
So, any questions?
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