PUBLISHERS: Cover Credit?

[mearls]

Writing "the name recognition is worthless" was a little extreme, but it highlights a lesson I've learned in the two years I've been designing RPG material.

The game industry, in terms of publishers, designers, writers, and editors, is a completely different beast from the actual culture of gamers and game buyers. While gamers might recognize me from products where I was given cover credit, the vast majority of publishers have no idea who I am. If they have heard of me, I haven't seen any particular title come up more often than any other. If anything, those who have heard of me tend to have seen books I worked on for larger companies (AEG, White Wolf).

It is cool to see my name on a cover. That's undeniable, and I'm grateful to the publishers who go that route. But on the other hand, many projects I've worked on have been the result of a group effort. I'm not comfortable receiving credit when others have worked just as hard to bring a project to market. Now, I don't think I've ever been in that situation, but I think there are a lot of people behind the scenes (editors, developers) who deserve a lot of credit and don't ever really get it.

The other thing is that it's completely nuts to accept less money for cover credit. If a book is being sold in stores, someone is making money off it. A writer deserves a cut of that, and having your name on a cover isn't worth enough for people to allow publishers to get away with offering them a sub-standard wage.

Now, as far as my own name recognition goes, it's pretty cool. It feels good to see that my work has an effect on people. But remember, it's a double edged sword. When people like your work enough to trust your name in the credits, you owe it to them to give them your best writing each and every time you set fingers to keyboard. There are people out there who trust that my name means a good product, and I owe it to them to deliver on that.

Personally, I really like that challenge. It keeps me on my toes, and I think a creative person needs a constant challenge pushing him on to keep his work fresh and relevant. I think it's too easy in this biz for designers to sink into their own little world and shut off what's going on at gaming tables, conventions, and hobby stores across the world.

 

[d20Dwarf]

In case anyone cares, I was just kidding about cover credit, Erik.

Personally cover credit doesn't really mean that much to me. If I were writing conventional books or mass market, then it would mean much more, but in this industry I don't think it matters much. The only way it would matter is as a function of brand building, if the proposed d20 superstar phenomenon were to start happening. As it is, I don't see any evidence of that. Perhaps I"ll be proven wrong, which will be a good thing, because I think it will weed a lot of the poor writers out of the industry and increase the quality of d20 products across the board.

 

[Steve Conan Trustrum]

Re: Credit on Cover

As a freelancer I can say that name credit on the cover is more important to me than the money. As a co-author or a single author, I feel the name recognition is worth its weight in gold. If the book is by several authors then I can understand not listing them all on the front cover.

It takes a lot of effort and time to write a RPG supplement, a true labor of love. The publisher should honor the writer with a proper credit on the cover...after all, do most freelancers really do this for the money? I think not.

I agree with this 100%. When you're a freelancer trying to make others notice your work, name recognition is more your bread and butter than what money you're currently being paid. I've also wondered about those solo-authored projects that I've seen in print that don't have the author's name on the cover and thought "man, I'd be pissed if that was done to me".

 

[Erik Mona]

>>>
The only way it would matter is as a function of brand building, if the proposed d20 superstar phenomenon were to start happening.
>>>

Wil, with respect, it's going to be pretty difficult to create a "d20 superstar phenomenon" when publishers like yours don't bother to put the author's name on their covers.

--Erik

 

[d20Dwarf]

That may be true, Erik. Does it matter to the publisher, though? Shouldn't a publisher focus on building their own brand, not that of their freelancers?

Also, has it happened in gaming at all? There are plenty of front cover names, and few 'superstars' that I can think of after 20+ years. The names that do come to mind are all system or game creators, not freelance writers for other people's creations. I'm simply not sure it can happen outside of that.

Good discussion.

 

[RangerWickett]

Who's this Mike Mearls guy everyone's talking about?

And yes, I'm being serious. What has he written?

I think that it is good for buyers, writers, and publishers to develop name recognition. It helps companies move products if people recognize and trust the author. It helps gamers find products they'll like and can be safe with. It helps writers by, well, making them famous.

I think most game companies should put author names on the cover, if there are only one or two authors. I plan to ask one of the writers who worked on Tournaments, Fairs, and Taverns to work on another project, in hopes that if he can keep up the same level of quality, people will come to recognize and respect his name.

 

[2WS-Steve]

I sometimes have a suspicion that leaving names off the cover and making sure that books are cut up with different parts produced by different writers is a way of keeping attention away from the writers and on the brand-name of the publisher. And that all this may be intentional with some companies.

Whether or not it's intentional, it is adaptive. It's in a publisher's interest to have customers look for their logo on the cover and associate that logo with quality of content. If the quality starts getting associated with the writer or writing crew then the writer can command a bigger per word rate, or take away sales when she goes to work for another company. Moreover, I'll feel okay with a product if I get good use out of 20-40% of it; if other consumers are like me, it's adaptive to have your best writers write one fourth of every book you put out.

 

[Nathal]

Why not make the cadre of freelancers you choose represent your brand to an extent, provide it with part of its strength? For example, I read a few articles in Dragon by Robin Laws and thought he was great. Then I saw that he wrote other RPGs like Dying Earth and Feng Shui but never picked them up. Soon after I bought a 32-page supplement on Game Mastering written by him in the store (Steve Jackson Games). Now if I saw his name on just about anything I'd tend to at least open it up and look at it. Same thing with a good number of the x-Wizards guys (Monte Cook being an obvious case in point).

My intuition tells me (and I could be wrong) that name recognition is a stronger force in buying habits than it seems to many on this thread. Did Ed Greenwood create a role-playing game? How many of the Wizards/TSR employees published succesful games that were unrelated to any other established brands? I ask because I don't know; perhaps you're right. And yet when I am looking at the glut of D20 material I like to know who the author is, because not all freelancers have ideas that would appeal to me. For example, I followed Monte Cooks stuff back when he was working on Planescape because I liked his writing and his ideas. Colin Mccomb as well is a name I'd recognize. Also, I remember well when somebody wrote that Aaron Allston was "biologically engineered" to write game rules (in reference to the D&D Cyclopedia). So, without beating a dead horse, it certainly matters to me and I would be suprised if it mattered to few else.

When I said that the cover recognition is more important than the money it is for several, and admittedly subjective, reasons:

1) I've been writing for two years and got paid only once...the check arrived two days ago. It was nice, I am not ungrateful, but ultimately I would not have spent a over six months co-authoring a book requiring a TON of research for less than a a week's worth of pay at my day job. No, I did it because it was interesting.

2) Yes, I know that my friends will believe me when I say I co-authored or authored a book, and so why do I want my name on the cover? Because I wrote it. And people like me will see my name and be more inclined to remember it when buying material in the future.

I would be interested in real statistics on that issue; simply, do people tend to buy more of an author with greater name credit on his products than others (excluding the writers/owners for companies).

Also, I know for a FACT that those freelancers with greater name recognition make more money. I would be more attracted to publishers that promoted their writers, showcased their best a bit more, which drives up their potential (if of course they really are good). Of course, very few will reach "superstar" status, but each of us should be treated more like creative writers and less like Brand Minions. :-D Okay, that's not fair. The publishers I've worked with are very nice, and are not trying to screw anybody. These are real questions of practical concern and I am following the ideas with great interest.

That may be true, Erik. Does it matter to the publisher, though? Shouldn't a publisher focus on building their own brand, not that of their freelancers?

Also, has it happened in gaming at all? There are plenty of front cover names, and few 'superstars' that I can think of after 20+ years. The names that do come to mind are all system or game creators, not freelance writers for other people's creations. I'm simply not sure it can happen outside of that.

Good discussion.

 

[d20Dwarf]

I would be interested in real statistics on that issue; simply, do people tend to buy more of an author with greater name credit on his products than others (excluding the writers/owners for companies).

I would certainly be interested in such figures too, but I don't think that can be measured with any relevancy.

Also, I know for a FACT that those freelancers with greater name recognition make more money.

Perhaps, but which came first? My decision to hire someone is based on quality, reliability, and professionalism. Whether or not I know them personally or believe they have industry name recognition isn't really a factor. It just so happens that most of the time all of these things fall together; someone who is consistently good will get more gigs, thus his name will be out there more. They make more money because they have more experience.

 

[Erik Mona]

Wil,

If FFG bought a game design from Monte Cook, would you put his name on the cover?

--Erik