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<blockquote data-quote="MoogleEmpMog" data-source="post: 3495494" data-attributes="member: 22882">I hear this (rather bizarre, from my vantage) theory tossed about quite a lot around here.Here's what I don't get: WHY would Wizards not take freelancer submissions, and in fairly large numbers?&nbsp; Unless they intend to drastically cut back on the content they put out (either losing sourcebooks or putting up no more than the current free site), they would certainly end up paying far, far more to salaried employees and regular freelancers.Paizo, for example, paid 5c/word, scaling up with seniority.&nbsp; Wizards could drop that a cent or two and still stay near the top of the pack, even before you consider their prestige.&nbsp; In any case, even the current base rate is small change to a company of Wizard's size.&nbsp; Heck, it practically is to a company of PAIZO's size; I'm sure the other expenses of producing Dragon and Dungeon dwarf the writers' fees.&nbsp; Compare that to the salary (plus benefits, etc.) of even an entry-level designer.&nbsp; It's not even close.&nbsp; Regular freelancers who've worked on sourcebooks are likely to command a higher per word rate, too.The financial incentive would seem to be to use as many inexperienced freelancers as you can to fill up the pages, provided they put out good content.&nbsp; Market with name/staff writers, obviously, but fill up the pages with young, hungry freelancers.&nbsp; With the direct feedback you get on web articles, you even have an easy way to see which ones fly with the audience.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MoogleEmpMog, post: 3495494, member: 22882"] I hear this (rather bizarre, from my vantage) theory tossed about quite a lot around here. Here's what I don't get: WHY would Wizards not take freelancer submissions, and in fairly large numbers? Unless they intend to drastically cut back on the content they put out (either losing sourcebooks or putting up no more than the current free site), they would certainly end up paying far, far more to salaried employees and regular freelancers. Paizo, for example, paid 5c/word, scaling up with seniority. Wizards could drop that a cent or two and still stay near the top of the pack, even before you consider their prestige. In any case, even the current base rate is small change to a company of Wizard's size. Heck, it practically is to a company of PAIZO's size; I'm sure the other expenses of producing Dragon and Dungeon dwarf the writers' fees. Compare that to the salary (plus benefits, etc.) of even an entry-level designer. It's not even close. Regular freelancers who've worked on sourcebooks are likely to command a higher per word rate, too. The financial incentive would seem to be to use as many inexperienced freelancers as you can to fill up the pages, provided they put out good content. Market with name/staff writers, obviously, but fill up the pages with young, hungry freelancers. With the direct feedback you get on web articles, you even have an easy way to see which ones fly with the audience. [/QUOTE]

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