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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nathal" data-source="post: 184209" data-attributes="member: 1809">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.</blockquote>

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