Hey guys,
OK, so I know this question is naive. But I thought this was the place to ask it.
How does one go about getting into the gaming industry? I bet the market is glutted with wannabe rpg writers, but does anybody know how the writers at Wizards, Paizo, White Wolf or whatever got where they are today?
Just curious, and appreciate the feedback!
I've been trying to find out for myself. I've tried very hard to get ahold of some of the publishing companies, but none of them are interested in anything I have to offer.
Well there are a few threads from 3PP's here that seem more than keen to share the wealth of their knowledge, so jump right in and ask them.
I'm pretty certain I'll be having a stab or two at it (setting up third party publishing)next year - more out of 'just wanting to' rather than to really worry about bucks, but you never know.
I guess the main point is to not worry about being rejected, worry about WHY you were rejected and learn from there.
Or self publish.
Hey guys,
OK, so I know this question is naive. But I thought this was the place to ask it.
How does one go about getting into the gaming industry? I bet the market is glutted with wannabe rpg writers, but does anybody know how the writers at Wizards, Paizo, White Wolf or whatever got where they are today?
Just curious, and appreciate the feedback!
I think many of them started small, and probably held day jobs until the "other" job took off. Hopefully within the next year I can get something out.
First making a living writing Tabletop Rpgs is hard, the real money is in video games (sorry this is a fact).
But lets assume you want to get started as a freelancer and make some money, take a look a Mike Mearls early work, he is the ultimate example of ascended fanboy.
Now your not in the middle of the d20 boom you are however in the middle of the Pathfinder Boom.
Submit to Kobold Quarterly
Submit to the Kobold Quarterly Website
Submit to Pathfinder Society Scenerio's
Submit to Wayfinder
Submit to RpgSuperStar.
Join a Open Design patronage project and pitch. If you want a how to guide buy the Kobold's Guide to Game Design (by Wolfgang Baur former editor of dragon magazine and editor of Kobold Quarterly)
If your a 4e guy same thing goes for Dragon e-zine, Dungeon E-zine, and RPGA.
My primary piece of advice, be consistance, be on time and be dependable this will get you more work than genius there are many geniuses I have worked with that I won't work with again because the can't be trusted to complete their assigned work on time.
For example People I have hired.
Clinton J. Boomer (rpg superstar top 4, kobold quarterly, pathfidner scenerio, and wayfinder, wrote for Kobold Ecologies).
Ben McFarland (Streets of Zobeck Open Design, Kobold Quarterly, Ars magica stuff for Atlas, and he has done work for the rpga, he won a silver Ennie for his work on Tales of Zobeck).
Jonathan McAnulty (worked on Sunken Empires, Kobold Quarterly, Wayfinder,
There are many others that follow this list.
Before I started Rite Publishing I worked int the D20 boom writing for d20 Wheel of time fan community then moved on to professional freelancing Bastion Press, E. N. Publishing, Expeditious Retreat Press, and many more.
I got fed up with some industry practices I don't agree with, and started my own publishing company, I have had an ENnie nomiation for my Adventure To Kill or Not to Kill, and our Heroes of the Jade Oath was also nominated
In June of this year we joined a print distribution partnership with Cubicle Seven (Doctor Who Rpg, Starblazer Adventures).
I have been a publisher for 3 years now and was a freelancer for 2 years before that.
I tend to do open calls now and then, or a person who pitches at me via the patronage projects gets noticed.
Steve Russell
Rite Publishing
...as I was saying...
3PP guys are awesome at coming and sharing the wealth of their info, and often do it with little soliciting!
Steve, you are a champion :)
Yeah I really do need to put that in a document and just copy paste it
You get asked all the time but you do wonder if people actually listen.
Yeah I really do need to put that in a document and just copy paste it
You get asked all the time but you do wonder if people actually listen.
Well I know I am.
I personally have no desire to write or publish anything due to a severe lack of talent on my part BUT you have helped me give direction to my buddy who's life long dream is to have his story published and a RPG made out of it.Thanks for the great advice.
Thanks Steve!
I know it must seem a thankless task at times to simply repeat the same advice ad nauseum to an endless host of newcomers, but I really appreciate it. I'm going to follow up on those pointers and start sending stuff out and see where it takes me.
To be honest I'm not looking to make a living at this, but rather would simply like to contribute to something for which I have so much passion. How amazing would it be to have articles and adventures printed for the rpg community to read? Pretty effing amazing, is what.
So yes! Thanks a ton, and if anybody else has any more advice, it would be most welcome.
Phil
I'll second the recommendation of getting involved in organized play. Write adventures, get involved in the administration if you can, etc. Writing adventures is obviously gaming writing practice; you get feedback from the players on what worked or didn't, you get experience with the give-and-take of the adventure editing process, and so on. Doing campaign administration gives you experience in evaluating game balance in a way that no amount of being a home game DM could ever give you and helps build you up some name recognition and street cred among many of the people you'll want to hire you.
Look at the original Living Greyhawk Highfolk region triad (basically, the administators, plot creators, and primary module writers for that region): ten years ago they were gamers with non-gaming day jobs; today one of them works for WotC and the other wrote Pathfinder.
Thanks Steve!
I know it must seem a thankless task at times to simply repeat the same advice ad nauseum to an endless host of newcomers, but I really appreciate it. I'm going to follow up on those pointers and start sending stuff out and see where it takes me.
To be honest I'm not looking to make a living at this, but rather would simply like to contribute to something for which I have so much passion. How amazing would it be to have articles and adventures printed for the rpg community to read? Pretty effing amazing, is what.
So yes! Thanks a ton, and if anybody else has any more advice, it would be most welcome.
Phil
Well, I started out by spamming the internet with a giant amount of fiction and two campaign storyhours. A few years into that I started pitching stuff to Dragon and then Dungeon, and the Paizo guys by that point appear to have known who I was based on all of that stuff posted online with my name on it (for better or for worse ;) ) They must have liked what they got from me for the magazines, because they snagged me for Pathfinder material eventually, and now here I am. :)
I'd heavily suggest Kobold Quarterly as others have also suggested.
Don't quit your day job, but I'll agree that it bizarre and awesome to walk into your local comic shop or FLGS and find something with your name on the cover sitting on the shelf. :D
What's crazy is that I hadn't even heard of Kobold Quarterly until you guys mentioned it here. I used to subscribe to both Dungeon and Dragon magazines back in the day, and when they went belly up and 4e came out I sort of retreated into my own home brew campaign and stopped looking at what was going on in the industry.
So these recommendations you guys are giving me not only provide a potential outlet for me to share my creativity, but are also helping me integrate back into the d&d community.
So double thanks on that score ;)
Come play with some of us HERE. The chatbeast may eat you, but we don't bite. :D
Lilith, I'd be thrilled to contribute to Wayfinder 4.
I spent a few months back in 2003 doing some sociological research in the Amazon basin (in a hard to reach part of the state of Para called 'Terra do Meio' which translates into 'Middle Earth', believe it or not) and consequently have plenty of ideas to contribute to the Mwangi Expanse section. Here's the book my research contributed to.
Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?
Thanks for the heads up!
- Phil
Lilith, I'd be thrilled to contribute to Wayfinder 4.
I spent a few months back in 2003 doing some sociological research in the Amazon basin (in a hard to reach part of the state of Para called 'Terra do Meio' which translates into 'Middle Earth', believe it or not) and consequently have plenty of ideas to contribute to the Mwangi Expanse section. Here's the book my research contributed to.
Is there anything in particular that you're looking for?
Thanks for the heads up!
- Phil
Click HERE please.
Ah, thanks Black Fang! Much appreciated.
Chief Technical Officer
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To be honest I'm not looking to make a living at this, but rather would simply like to contribute to something for which I have so much passion.
That's an important distinction, and that's *much* more attainable than writing for a living. The number of people in the entire world who are able to make a living doing literally nothing but writing content for RPGs is probably not even a dozen. (If you're generous with that definition, Paizo has two, maybe three of those.) Even if you expand that to people who make their living developing or editing RPG content mostly written by others, we're probably still talking a few dozen at best (where Paizo has about ten—again, depending on your definitions). But if you include writers with day jobs, you might hit low triple digits.
That's an important distinction, and that's *much* more attainable than writing for a living. The number of people in the entire world who are able to make a living doing literally nothing but writing content for RPGs is probably not even a dozen. (If you're generous with that definition, Paizo has two, maybe three of those.) Even if you expand that to people who make their living developing or editing RPG content mostly written by others, we're probably still talking a few dozen at best (where Paizo has about ten—again, depending on your definitions). But if you include writers with day jobs, you might hit low triple digits.
Huh. I wouldn't have expected that, just because the RPG industry people I've personally met seem to be people that, if not exactly writing RPG content full time, are at least doing RPG stuff full time.
I think there's about one good module's worth of content in me every year or two, if that, but not much more. It's something I think is interesting but I actually like my non-game-related career. If part time RPG-contenting isn't all that ridiculous maybe I'll take a crack at Superstar this year.
Thanks to this thread I've already submitted my first sidetrek to Lilith's Wayfinder #4, and plan to pick up steam and continue sending my stuff from hereon out.
So thanks everybody for the reality checks, advice and motivation ;)
Hey guys,
OK, so I know this question is naive. But I thought this was the place to ask it.
How does one go about getting into the gaming industry? I bet the market is glutted with wannabe rpg writers, but does anybody know how the writers at Wizards, Paizo, White Wolf or whatever got where they are today?
Just curious, and appreciate the feedback!
Quite simply, you do it. You write something and you put it out there. Whether it's a submission to a publisher or a forum post.
I wound up self-publishing because my project seemed a little too niche to shop around. The upside of self-publishing is that you get all the rewards for your efforts. The downside is that you also take all the risks.
Thanks to this thread I've already submitted my first sidetrek to Lilith's Wayfinder #4, and plan to pick up steam and continue sending my stuff from hereon out.
So thanks everybody for the reality checks, advice and motivation ;)
Knights of the Dinner Table is one outlet that will give you a good shot. Without great chops, I shot them a few unsolicited NPC write-ups for several different game systems, which they printed (for decent pay, all things considered). Open calls, though they don't pop up every day, are probably the best way to get started, because your stuff gets a fair reading. Of course the odds are slim, but your chops aren't considered and it usually doesn't matter who you know. If you can produce good stuff you have a good shot.
Thanks for the heads up, jocundthejolly. I'll check them out!