How would one join a 3PP company?

[Vinland Forever]

I need some game writing cred for when I get out of college, and I figure 3PP is a good way to get it. However, I have no clue how these groups are formed or how an industry outsider finds one willing to take on people. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Oceanshieldwolf]

Send them something to look at, or make a query based on what you want to write. Right now Jon Brazer Enterprises has an open call for Magic Items and Raging Swan Press is looking for encounters - look to their respective websites - sorry can't do it now, on phone and going to bed.

Check Kobold Press submission guidelines on their website too.

[Matt Thomason]

Another option, if you have the skills to do the whole thing yourself, is to do just that (or to work with friends if you have the skills between you).

There's some really good (old, but still good) guides on starting up your own PDF 3PP on DriveThruRPG, covering everything from recruiting and paying freelancers to finding affordable artwork to application suggestions for getting your word processor doc into a nicely formatted PDF. Best of all - they're free.

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/index.php?filters=0_2892_0_0_0&manufactur ers_id=432

EDIT: Link fixed

[Orthos]

Here is the Raging Swan thread OSW mentioned.

Yggdrasil FanMagazine for Kobold Press is also in Open Call.

[Epic Meepo]

If you're comfortable with fairly basic website design (using the Google sites page editor), you can also contact the folks at d20pfsrd and ask to set up a custom creations page.

That's how I went about setting up my Epic Meepo Presents page. That gave me plenty of writing practice, and opened up several freelance opportunities once I'd posted a hundred or so monsters.

[LazarX]

Keep in mind that if you're looking for a career that will pay the rent, the odds that you'll find it in this field get seriously smaller each year.

If you're looking just to get published, the thing is to work from the ground up. Contribute to publications like Wayfinder, participate in Paizo's own competition right here.

But at best, you're not going to be getting a 9to5 from even Paizo, at least not off the bat. What you can realistically shoot for is to develop a recognised body of work that can land you some freelance assignments.

The key thing in doing any creative discipline is to not listen to any of the thousand excuses you'll get or come up with yourself for not working. You have to keep working and keep in practise, whether its in gaming design or in illustration. And always, always, have paper in hand for when an idea strikes you.

There was a man who lived around the turn of the 19th century. He like many others of his ilk, kept paper around him in case something moved him to write. One morning after a terrfic battle during the war of 1812, he saw the American flag standing unbowed among the wreckage of battle. He took out one of those sheets of paper.... and the rest is history.

Keep in mind also that many 3PP "companies" are just one person and a post order box.

[Vinland Forever]

LazarX wrote:

Keep in mind that if you're looking for a career that will pay the rent, the odds that you'll find it in this field get seriously smaller each year.

But at best, you're not going to be getting a 9to5 from even Paizo, at least not off the bat. What you can realistically shoot for is to develop a recognised body of work that can land you some freelance assignments.

It's not my intention to pay the bills with this. I'm anticipating I'll make just a bit above nothing, even after several years. My goal is to have stuff with my name on it that I can point to as evidence of the fact that I can write for a gaming audience. The money will come from the Computer Science degree I'm working on right now.

Quote:

The key thing in doing any creative discipline is to not listen to any of the thousand excuses you'll get or come up with yourself for not working. You have to keep working and keep in practise, whether its in gaming design or in illustration.

This is the part I really need to work on. I have too many aborted projects.

[Vinland Forever]

Epic Meepo wrote:

If you're comfortable with fairly basic website design (using the Google sites page editor), you can also contact the folks at d20pfsrd and ask to set up a custom creations page.

That's how I went about setting up my Epic Meepo Presents page. That gave me plenty of writing practice, and opened up several freelance opportunities once I'd posted a hundred or so monsters.

It's been seven years, it was Dreamweaver, and I don't have the software or remember what I learned :(

[Vinland Forever]

Danke for all the links. I'll go through them as soon as possible.

[zylphryx]

I'll second the Wayfinder submission suggestion ... but I'm biased. ;)