Why I don't write FRP articles any more

[Henry]

...it seems to me a lot of people in this thread are missing what seems to me to be his major point, which is that freelance writing for ...the RPG market in general ...is not a sustainable career choice ...At heart, this is because nobody wants to pay enough for a product in order for the publishers/authors/artists, etc. to make money, and that just can't continue indefinitely.

Actually, at heart, it's an issue of supply and demand, and because there is not enough demand for 3rd party RPG products, the supply of working writers and products is a bit large to sustain at high fees. It's not like there's a need for an "RPG Writer's Guild" because the publishers are stiffing people -- it's because as RangerWickett said there's not a lot of money coming into the publishers in the first place. You've got more writers out there doing it as a labor of love than a high-paying venue; as long as they make enough to justify putting time in for their situation (most do it truly as a hobby) then it's not going to change much.

OTOH, if all of a sudden RPG writers are turning out money hand over fist for 3rd party stuff, you'll see more open calls, higher pay bandied about, and negotiations for first-run instead of work-for-hire, or even outright staff positions.

Supply and demand.

 

[Reynard]

At heart, this is because nobody wants to pay enough for a product in order for the publishers/authors/artists, etc. to make money, and that just can't continue indefinitely.

Not so much. It is more that we don't have enough gamers buying products to drive down costs and drive up profits. I mean, look at the cost difference between Dragon and Maxim: Dragon costs $40 for a year, while Maxim costs $10. Why? because lots more people read Maxim, so their advertising rates are higher, so their profits are higher. And I would hazard a guess and say a feature writer in maxim makes a whole lot more than $.05 a word.

If the industry is on its way out (I don't think it is, but that's besides the point) it is because the economic base -- us -- for it is shrinking, or at least not growing with production costs. We really only have ourselves to balme: not for being willing to pay more, or even for not buying more than we can afford. We are to blame because we aren't bringing gaming out of the gutters and into the open. We aren't making sure our younger siblings, cousins, neices and nephews, godchildren and their friends are playing games and getting hooked. I have one good friend whose six year old I can only describe as a 'future gamer' based upon his personality, and with his permission, I am going to make sure it happens in a couple of years.

I think we can blame WotC a little, too. There needs to be more gateway products. While the D&D basic game is all well and good, how about a board game, a D&D themed deck of cards for War, hell, a CCG with D&D splashed across every card?

/rant

 

[S'mon]

I don't quite get the problem regarding the pay issue. If the pay isn't enough to appeal to him, that's perfectly fair enough. There are millions of people in the world who don't do things because they don't think the reward is worth it. They don't make a song and dance about it - they just do something else.

The guy is basically pricing himself out of the market for RPG writers. The value of a writer's work is based solely on the profit it can generate. In the current market, where no product makes much money, the value of that work is fairly low. No publisher is going to pay for the privilege of publishing someone's wonderful words - they publish to make a profit.

I agree with both Lew & Morrus. It's not worth a good professional writers' while to write d20 products at the rates that are paid to 99% of d20 writers. Ergo I for one don't write d20 products - I write huge amounts of d20 materials, but they're free and they go up on mailing lists, BBSes, my website, ENW etc, all free & available to anyone who wants them. I, and hundreds of others, do this for enjoyment. Of course this free Internet competition further lowers what money you can make out of writing d20 stuff. Most of the stat blocks on the new d20 Wiki fansite are better than those I see in stuff I paid real money for.

 

[JimAde]

Supply and demand is right. The thing is, every GM in the hobby has to do at least SOME writing. If even 1% of them say "Hey, I'm pretty good at this and it's fun. I think I'll publish," that's a lot of product. Also, and I think this is pretty much unique to the RPG market, the target audience are just about ALL writers of the same kind of product you're selling. It's no wonder there's far more demand than supply.

And yet people who produce really good, professional material can and do succeed. I don't know anybody's financials, but there seem to be several people on this board who are doing OK in this business. Because they consistently produce stuff that's far better than what (for example) I write for my home game.

 

[BonesMcCoy]

I think Lew is 100% correct regarding royalties and ownership. Writers of fantasy novels retain full ownership of all characters and worlds they create in their books. They are also paid a royalty for each book sold. That is a million times fairer than the RPG market. I believe it would be to everyone's benefit for the RPG industry to more closely emulate the fantasy fiction market in these aspects at least.

 

[Cergorach]

A real writer...

Oh brother! *sigh*

I just don't like this guy, thinks of himself to much...

 

[Andre]

And yet people who produce really good, professional material can and do succeed. I don't know anybody's financials, but there seem to be several people on this board who are doing OK in this business. Because they consistently produce stuff that's far better than what (for example) I write for my home game.

Depends on one's definition of success. I would guess that less than 1% of those who have tried to sell d20 material professionally are in a position to quit their day jobs and do so. And that doesn't count all the folks producing material for no cost.

The major element to me is that we don't need the extra stuff. We may want it, but there's a big difference between spending money for wants and spending for needs. If money is tight, game materials are the first item I drop from my spending list. Heck, even when money isn't tight, I've come to realize that I get more bang for my buck buying DVD's than a game book. Bottom line: if there were no d20 materials published for the next two years, my game wouldn't suffer for it.

 

[Numion]

I too write for a living - unfortunately in the technical field, as a researcher. There its the norm that the company owns your writings. So I dont understand what the writer is whining about. 95% percent of all people dont own their work. Why should the artiste be any different?

If your work is that exceptional, you'll get to own your work

As for his points about 3e: yadda yadda yadda. Go play cops and robbers.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Tabling my usually bizarre jokes, allow me to say I take some umbrage with the assertions Mr. Pulsipher makes in his article.

My experience is that I have been a reporter, journalist, photographer and am currently working as a PR man for a government agency. I also have some experience with RPG publishing, and have several books pending.

First, the rates of pay he is discussing are somewhat rare, at least outside of large publications and/or magazines. Newspapers rarely pay those kinds of rates. Above and beyond that, in terms of sales, all RGPs work differently than most other kinds of publication. The target audience is terribly small, so they profit (if there is one) is small as well. They rarely carry advertising inside the book to help supplement costs and generate profit.

Further, in my experience excessive wordiness and sloppy mechanics are owing to sloppiness on part of the writer and editor, not a deliberate and calculated attempt at churning out useless material in an effort to earn more money.

 

[TheGM]

I too write for a living - unfortunately in the technical field, as a researcher. There its the norm that the company owns your writings. So I dont understand what the writer is whining about. 95% percent of all people dont own their work. Why should the artiste be any different?

If your work is that exceptional, you'll get to own your work

As for his points about 3e: yadda yadda yadda. Go play cops and robbers.

I too write in the technical world for a living - previously as a freelancer, now as a full time employee. I have only had one gig where I retained the rights.

I do think he's got some valid points though. You have to make enough to survive if you're going to devote your mindshare to it, and that's what he's talking about. $0.01 a word is not going to make enough to survive.

I don't freelance in the space anymore (well, except that one project I'm on...) because faced with technically reviewing a book for a big-name publisher or writing for a game, there is no pay comparison, so RPG freelancing is the first thing to cut.

As to his points about 3E, some are indeed fair. There is a lot more powergaming than there were in previous versions, LG seems to have degraded to who can build the biggest munchkin. I don't think it's as bad as he says, but there is a significant amount of kickback in this area, so I think that blowing him off is a mistake.