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I am continuing this here since the other thread was really not the place for anything beyond mentioning critters I have been making.
For one thing, thank you for so much input with your previous post, Adam. Excellent thoughts for me to consider. I have since began to create a wondrous item for submission in RPG Superstar. Mind giving my other forum posting a quick review for me? I need a little help with the math for item price (creation & market value), and a clarification on the stipulations of a made-permanent spell not typically included in the SRD permanency spell. Please? ;)
I have my entry composed in a Word doc, and just need to finalize price before I submit it - so wish me luck. ;) I am taking your advice and entering the contest to make my job of getting noticed a little easier.
Merry Christmas, and a wonderful holiday season to you and yours.
-will
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To make it easier on me and anyone trying to piece together a real conversation from all of this, I will add the questions I posted in the Monsters of Golarian thread, as well as Adam's replies (this helps me more than anyone else :P).
* What exactly is the difference between an Open Design patron and a typical author/submitter? Is this a separate formal organization/project that has its own methods? I have to admit that I am completely unfamiliar with it, and still a little confused even after doing a little searching around for more info about it...
* By Sword & Sorcery, would that also mean anything related to Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved Campaign Setting, Serran? Are there copyright issues there? Would something like an ecology of the Litorian be acceptable in this instance?
* In consideration for an Ecology article, would Ecology of the Guardinal be breaking any copyright restrictions, and though I am openly getting input from fans of the Planescape setting on Planewalker.com, is there any specific requirement that these ecologies and related histories be directly linked to known 'canon' events within the planes? I refer to the Ecology of the Inevitables in 'Monster Ecologies', to the "creche forges" named where the Inevitables are created, which in various other 3e and Planescape materials is referred to as Neumannus, the Life Molds (and not in any way a "creche forge")... Are discrepancies like this manageable, and if included purposefully or by accident, would the editors have rights to modify, delete, or otherwise edit the material submitted? If so, if there was some form of rationale involved in the writing, would that also be considered if mentioned in a separate document, such as errata or an explanation of material? (I can't believe I even just asked if it was allowable to write an errata page, but I sure did)
* Would Modrons break any copyright issue? Would these be even remotely acceptable to submit? These might fit into the clockwork/steampunk concept asked for, along with other materials I have on the subject (technology deities, cleric domains, classes, monsters, etc.)... I have even more than that, but in my own tech project I ended up revising a lot of old Modron material left over from pre-3.5 updates (primarily the 'Manual of the Planes' web enhancement which never made it to 3.5, and now with help from Planescapers and old 2e materials). I also gave Primus an update, now that he has been killed by another god (Tenebrous) and learned a few good lessons from that... Would including ways to add these kind of subjects into both 3.5/Pathfinder and 4e D&D campaigns be a good way to approach this, or would focusing on one system to the exclusion of the other be the more preferred approach?
* What is the Pathfinder monster stat block format? Is it in any way like the Forgotten Realms revised 3e stat block that WotC ended up using in later Monster Manuals and other books? Is there a sample somewhere that is open for consideration (since I really can't afford a magazine for comparison right now)?
* What the heck is Zobeck?
* Am I able to negotiate first rights to the material, so that I can keep my material for later publication considerations (since I have a lot of stuff that goes together into my various ideas - tech stuff, prehistoric stuff, and immortality/godhood stuff)? If I choose in the future to release all rights BACK to Paizo (say, if one of my publication ideas goes bust but I still want it to make a difference), could first rights end up being negotiated to being all rights in the future - say, for Best of KQ, if it were to have been published?
* Is there any way to work with an artist to submit sketches or basic concepts of a written idea that might end up having related images or media? I am also an artist, but not comfortable enough to try selling my skills at this point in this regard... But I would love to hand over my sketches to someone who can fully develop them to the level that we have seen in past magazine editions.
* I checked out Werecabbages.com, and requested to become a member - is there anything that will exclude me or else some requirement that I may be unaware of? Does this group only include published freelancers? Are there any post-acceptance requirements to continue membership?
You’ve got a bunch of questions and I’ll do what I can to answer them. However, I first want to add, if you are looking into getting into freelancing, now is your best bet. Paizo is runs an annual contest called RPG Superstar that is open to submission for the next couple of weeks. The link and threads associated with it should answer most of your questions about it.
Open Design is run by Wolfgang Baur and is a patronage model for publishing material. It is based on the medieval model where someone would pay an artist to write them an opera, paint a ceiling mural, or whatnot. In a patron project, the group of people paying into the project guide it and even contribute material to the project. There is more information on this on the Kobold Quarterly website and the site I linked earlier. These projects are also a good place to learn about the process, see how other freelancers work, and get some excellent advice on the craft. In addition to Wolfgang’s workings, other excellent publishers like Rite Publishing use the patronage model.
The messageboards at Kobold Quarterly, while there is some overlap of folks there and here, are also a great place to get feedback and questions answered. When you ask about the usage of “sword and sorcery” in the guidelines posted there, it refers to the fantasy gaming genre specifically. Using another publishing company’s Intellectual Property is typically forbidden unless you negotiate certain licenses and other legal stuff I’m not super smart on. I play it safe and only write using OGL stuff (unless I’m writing for a specific publisher, of course, where using or creating their intellectual property is part of the gig.)
Your next two bullet points involve a lot of IP questions. Anything not in the SRD published by WotC is their property, as well as other material that is IP of other companies like Green Ronin’s Freeport material, Wolfgang’s Zobeck, and Paizo’s Golarion. Most of this regards specific setting material and proper nouns, but extends into mechanics as well. There are tons of threads and discussions about what is and what isn’t OGL throughout these messageboards, as well as many other messageboards. If you are interested in freelancing, knowing what is clear and what is not is extremely important, as using closed material can be an insta-kill to a proposal.
I know you mentioned not having the funds to get a lot of material right now, but I have to say, the best way of getting a foot in the door with publishers is by knowing their material. Not only does this let you know what already has been published (so you’re not pitching something that’s already been covered), but it also gives you an idea of the type of material a particular publisher is looking for, not to mention certain styles and format they use. Many publishers provide free material on their websites that can be mined for this information. It just takes a little digging sometimes.
If you clicked on some of the previous links, this question may be already covered, but Zobeck is the setting that many, if not most, of the Open Design adventure and sourcebook material is set in. In addition to any articles appearing in Kobold Quarterly that reference the setting, Wolfgang Baur uses the last page of the publication to let us in on yet another interesting facet of the Free City.
First rights is something some publishers negotiate, but unless it’s a special case, I wouldn’t expect it. I’ve never done anything that I retain first rights to. Part of freelancing is selling your babies. One of my art instructors told me, “Give the piece enough love to make it wonderful, but not too much that you can’t let it go.” The same goes for everything.
Merging into your artist question, most of that depends on the publisher. My first paid freelancing gig I was able to wrangle one of my favorite illustrators looking to break into the biz to do the art, and I have to agree that finding like-minded talent to accompany your craft feels freakin’ awesome. I’ve had great pleasure working alongside my artist friends like James Keegan and Hugo Solis on a number of projects.
Regarding the Werecabbages, our group happens to be locked to a particular membership cap to keep things from becoming unruly. Really, you get too many creative folks in a small space and they get crazy fast. You gotta keep an eye on folks like that. Seriously though, we have reached the size we need to be at the moment, and every now and then bring new members in when determined though internal rules we maintain.
I hope I answered at least some of your questions well enough. I remember (just a couple of years ago) when I was staring down the long road of deciding to become a freelance writer and how strange and scary it seemed. I can’t even start to talk about how invaluable the advice of other freelancers, and everyone in this community really, is to honing your craft. You may come into things with preconceived notions of what gaming is, but having the breadth of experience, and how willing everyone is to share their experiences, this community is excellent for helping things along.