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General Tabletop Discussion
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Worlds of Design: The Plight of the New RPG—Quality of Writing
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<blockquote data-quote="Bedrockgames" data-source="post: 8689734" data-attributes="member: 85555"><p>This happens to both the writer and the editor. You reach a point where you've read the same text so many times, you become blind to the errors (it is isn't even about pride in your writing, it is just this weird thing where you can be looking directly at a glaring typo and not see it). I've noticed after a number of passes the same thing tends to happen to editors too.</p><p></p><p>Just my two cents here for people to consider. Every publisher is different in the RPG industry (calling it an industry is probably a bit generous too). Obviously big publishers can afford everything. But margins are tight so editors are probably one of the first things to go or get shuffled to friends and family. You do get what you pay for with edits though (your friend or aunt could be a master of language and writing, but if they are doing it as a favor it isn't going to get the same level of intense scrutiny as a person you hired).</p><p></p><p>I tend to grade books based on what tier in the hobby they are in. More indie publishers, I don't expect as much in terms of editing. But if I see lots of mistakes in a book by a very large RPG publisher then it feels like there wasn't as much care put into things.</p><p></p><p>As an audience if you want to see more editors the best thing you can do is reward publishers who spend less on art and more on edits. This is kind of the bottom line I think (perhaps not applicable to kickstarted RPGs though as their funding is generated in an entirely different way). People have high expectations around art: they want art every 5 pages or so, they want quality art (preferably color art), they want good cover art, they want NPCs and monsters illuminated, etc. Art is very expensive. Publishers largely are responding to that expectation. </p><p></p><p>So if you are dealing with a smaller publisher (and most RPG publishers are small), and they know they can't get by having an image every 15 pages, but that a majority of readers are less concerned about editing issues, then they are going to make books like that. If you see a publisher who does the opposite (say only ordering art every 15 pages, but clearly putting the money into edits) and you like their content, then review them, spread the word, compliment them directly. I think people would be surprised how much impact a positive comment sent to a publisher has, in terms of getting them to continue moving in a trajectory you like. This is especially the case for smaller publishers.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bedrockgames, post: 8689734, member: 85555"] This happens to both the writer and the editor. You reach a point where you've read the same text so many times, you become blind to the errors (it is isn't even about pride in your writing, it is just this weird thing where you can be looking directly at a glaring typo and not see it). I've noticed after a number of passes the same thing tends to happen to editors too. Just my two cents here for people to consider. Every publisher is different in the RPG industry (calling it an industry is probably a bit generous too). Obviously big publishers can afford everything. But margins are tight so editors are probably one of the first things to go or get shuffled to friends and family. You do get what you pay for with edits though (your friend or aunt could be a master of language and writing, but if they are doing it as a favor it isn't going to get the same level of intense scrutiny as a person you hired). I tend to grade books based on what tier in the hobby they are in. More indie publishers, I don't expect as much in terms of editing. But if I see lots of mistakes in a book by a very large RPG publisher then it feels like there wasn't as much care put into things. As an audience if you want to see more editors the best thing you can do is reward publishers who spend less on art and more on edits. This is kind of the bottom line I think (perhaps not applicable to kickstarted RPGs though as their funding is generated in an entirely different way). People have high expectations around art: they want art every 5 pages or so, they want quality art (preferably color art), they want good cover art, they want NPCs and monsters illuminated, etc. Art is very expensive. Publishers largely are responding to that expectation. So if you are dealing with a smaller publisher (and most RPG publishers are small), and they know they can't get by having an image every 15 pages, but that a majority of readers are less concerned about editing issues, then they are going to make books like that. If you see a publisher who does the opposite (say only ordering art every 15 pages, but clearly putting the money into edits) and you like their content, then review them, spread the word, compliment them directly. I think people would be surprised how much impact a positive comment sent to a publisher has, in terms of getting them to continue moving in a trajectory you like. This is especially the case for smaller publishers. [/QUOTE]
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