Submitting an article for a publication.

[Ace]

If I write something cool that I think is worth publishing I will first try to send it to D20 Weekly.

If its just something small like a couple of monsters or a PRC, it depends

For a print book I might do it for the credit alone (though I would prefer a contributor copy or a couple of bucks) or to build good will so I can hit the company up with a big project

for a PDF I think I would want a free copy upon acceptance

And yes I would contribute to a free fan work if I had anything worthwhile

 

[mearls]

It depends on several factors, the most important of which is probably the company that's behind the publication. If they plan on selling the book in any form, then you really should be paid for your work. They're profiting from it, so there's no reason why you shouldn't. At the level of contribution we're talking about here (one or a small number of monsters or prestige classes) you're not going to get much name recognition or a reputation out of it. Your name is likely to be one of many.

If you're asked to write anything more than 1000 words, you should be paid. There are enough paying outlets in the market that there's no reason to not take the same material that you'd do for free and submit (or propose) it to Dragon, Dungeon, Polyhedron, d20 Weekly, or Campaign. Those magazines all pay reasonable rates, plus you'll have your name attached directly to the article rather than stuck in a block with lots of other names. Best of all, if you do good work you can establish a relationship with the editorial staff. For instance, with Dragon I started off with one comissioned article, did a good job on it, and have done about 10 more since then. There's no better feeling than establishing a steady working relationship with a company.

As far as money up front goes: unproven companies asking you to write more than a week's worth of work or 8,000 words (whichever is less) should pay you half up front. If the company has published a half dozen or more products in the past year, keeps their website up to date, and stays reasonably on time with their releases, you can probably trust them to pay you. Otherwise, ask for half your money up front. If they can't afford to pay you at the start, they probably can't ever afford to pay you.

This is probably the most important lesson I can offer a would-be writer: hold out until you find a job you want to do at terms you are happy with. If you have talent and dedication, it's only a matter of time before you find a situation you're happy with.

It is NOT an honor to be published. It's a job. Hit your deadlines, familiarize yourself with the system and its writing conventions (ie, italicize spells, capitalize feats and skills, and so on), and happily make editorial changes that are asked of you. By the same token, companies should treat you as a business partner. They should be courteous, respectful, friendly, and obey their contracts to the best of their ability.

Remember: if they charge money for your work, someone is making a profit off of it.

 

[King_Stannis]

Congratulations to King Stannis. I myself have resigned to using my rejection letters and marked up manuscripts from Dungeon to start fires in my fireplace. (not really, though I've been tempted) I never give up hope though... I've at least gotten by the place where I actually have to send them a transcript. lol

On the matter at hand though, I think it all depends on circumstance. Getting paid to do something you love is always great, but not necessary in my opinion.

I'd never consider giving away my works to a company that has a firmly-entrenched and profitable position (Dungeon magazine comes to mind). They EXPECT to pay for your work (and probably do just to prevent legal issues in the future). On the other hand, I'm sitting on a couple of fire and frost giant variants right now that have nowhere to live. I'd be happy to give those away to someone making a book. Chances are, they'll end up as a freebie on the DSC website if I don't find someone soon.

Thanks Eric! And don't give up hope - I've been rejected before and after my submission was accepted. One thing I've noticed is that Chris is great at telling you why your submission will not work. Almost unheard of to get that kind of input in a rejection letter. Just keep plugging away - you'll know, just like I did, when you've got something that's pretty darn cool and just might work.

And might I say your company kicks ass. I have bought a few of your counters before and been quite pleased. It's high time I took a looksy to see what's new over there at DSC!

 

[WayneLigon]

I was a bit confused by the choices. I submit things to paying markets, but it's always been 'submit article, article is published, payment comes 6-90 days later'. I've never done anything as part of a published work that would pay royalties or anything, so the '%' on really doesn't apply to me.

The only time I've ever submitted to a non-paying market was for a contest where the prize was practivally a truck-load of stuff Didn't win, but submitted that work to d20 Weekly, and they should be printing it Any Time Now.