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What's a Freelance RPG Writer Worth?
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<blockquote data-quote="Scrivener of Doom" data-source="post: 7659462" data-attributes="member: 87576"><p>Coming from Oz where the minimum wage is a living wage - and where real wages have been steadily increasing for 30-odd years including in the middle class - I do agree that, generally speaking, labour has intrinsic value. I also believe there is dignity in all labour, as the saying goes.</p><p></p><p>That said, writing for the RPG hobby is not like that. It's not an industry: it's a hobby. And anyone writing for it shouldn't be thinking of it as an industry where they are going to have a long career. That's reality. It's like graduating from university with a degree in Art History: that piece of paper simply isn't worth much, except in a few niche areas where there is a lot of competition from people who also wasted three or four years of their lives.</p><p></p><p>Of course, this being the internet and with me clearly not being a professional writer, saying these things may come across as being insensitive or, especially for American readers, a statement of a political opinion. Um, no. It's just reality. </p><p></p><p>Think back 100 years. How many jobs that existed then do not exist now? Think back 10 years. How many jobs that existed then do not exist now? </p><p></p><p>I think the real challenge for those who see themselves as RPG writers is working out how they can transfer their same skills to an area or industry where they will be properly rewarded. That's life. I have done it in my fields of expertise and, as a result, I have lived most of my adult life outside my country of birth. </p><p></p><p>And it has nothing to do with politics. Either what you can do has a market value or it does not.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scrivener of Doom, post: 7659462, member: 87576"] Coming from Oz where the minimum wage is a living wage - and where real wages have been steadily increasing for 30-odd years including in the middle class - I do agree that, generally speaking, labour has intrinsic value. I also believe there is dignity in all labour, as the saying goes. That said, writing for the RPG hobby is not like that. It's not an industry: it's a hobby. And anyone writing for it shouldn't be thinking of it as an industry where they are going to have a long career. That's reality. It's like graduating from university with a degree in Art History: that piece of paper simply isn't worth much, except in a few niche areas where there is a lot of competition from people who also wasted three or four years of their lives. Of course, this being the internet and with me clearly not being a professional writer, saying these things may come across as being insensitive or, especially for American readers, a statement of a political opinion. Um, no. It's just reality. Think back 100 years. How many jobs that existed then do not exist now? Think back 10 years. How many jobs that existed then do not exist now? I think the real challenge for those who see themselves as RPG writers is working out how they can transfer their same skills to an area or industry where they will be properly rewarded. That's life. I have done it in my fields of expertise and, as a result, I have lived most of my adult life outside my country of birth. And it has nothing to do with politics. Either what you can do has a market value or it does not. [/QUOTE]
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