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Recently I have gotten into adventure writing and creating content for 5e. Something that I have found awesome is the DMguild. The ability to write and add content/adventures for the Forgotten Realms (and now Ebberon) is amazing. With such a rich history it is fun to research and add to the world.
The thing is , I actually find Golarion to be my favorite setting. Reading all about PF2 has got me excited, but at the same time, a little frustrated that I would not be able to add to the stories / setting that I love.
Do you think paizo will ever create something similar to the DMguild or open up the world of Golarion to content creators? I think it would be a wise step in the right direction, and seems to be the way the industry is going towards.
Creative Director
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Not at this point. Who knows what the distant future might bring, but unlike Wizards of the Coast and D&D, we have only one official campaign setting for Golarion. We don't have semi-retired campaign settings from the past. For now, Golarion remains a significant focus for us and will be very strongly supported by us going forward for the foreseeable future.
That said, we've had the Community Use option for folks from the start, and will continue to keep it going forward. This is a way for you to share your Golarion content with the public, and it's not one we do oversight or approvals over. As long as you follow the rules of the Community Use license (the big one being that you can't charge money for it), you can do all sorts of Golarion stuff for the public.
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One point worth remembering with the Community Use Policy is that it's for fans but not publishers. If you've got a significant amount of stuff for sale through DM's Guild it'd be worth checking that you still fit the criteria.
I'm in two minds about DM's Guild (in terms of whether I'd like Paizo to eventually move in that direction). On the one hand, it's an undoubted boon to people looking to get a start on publishing with guaranteed exposure to a pretty sizable audience. On the other, the fact publishers sign away their future rights to distribute their material is a really big concession (and I've spoken with people unaware that's what they were agreeing to). I don't think it's unfair per se, but it doesn't really seem to "fit" with Paizo's general approach, plus I have no idea what the staffing requirements are in terms of policing quality/tone of material.
I don't know what your experience is with PFS, but another avenue you might want to explore is reaching out to the organised play people. I'm not sure how one goes about getting commissioned to write an adventure through them, but it seems to me that a number of creative people have made their start there (and it is very much steeped in Golarion, so there might be an opportunity for you to jump right in).
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Of course there is also the possibility to become a freelance author for Paizo. If you already have published works, there are processes by which you can get your work noticed by the appropriate product leaders and they can decide if they would like to work with you on a future product. And wah lah! your product is cannon.
Organized Play Developer
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Of course there is also the possibility to become a freelance author for Paizo. If you already have published works, there are processes by which you can get your work noticed by the appropriate product leaders and they can decide if they would like to work with you on a future product. And wah lah! your product is cannon.
A big thing that can help you out here is attending conventions like GenCon or PaizoCon and (politely) introducing yourself to one of us Paizo folks. Bring a business card, because we'll talk to a lot of people and it'seasy to lose track of even a really strong candidate if we don't have a business card to refer back to.
I actually kind of wish someone had told me this several years ago, as I discovered that I was the only developer at Paizo who hadn't actually written for Paizo before getting hired; I had a significant collection of 3pp handbooks and other options that helped me get my foot in the door, but I'd never quite managed to get in front of the right person at the right time to make that connection.
Writing for Organized Play can be a great way to get published in the world of Golarion, but some tips about how the publishing world works:
1) Generally in org play we already have an idea of what we want you to write and we don't take many pitches; our seasons are planned out pretty far in advance and every adventure usually has some goal related to the ongoing, living story of Golarion and the Pathfinder Society. We want our writers to make a story their own, but within the context of the outlines we send.
2) Know what your specialties and interests are, and have a portfolio or easily referenced body of work we can look at to see what you've done and where your strengths and weaknesses are; that makes it easier for developers to assess whether you're up to the task of writing a Paizo adventure and which adventure might serve as a good entry for you.
3) Always be writing. If you don't have an opportunity with Paizo yet, keep producing content. It will help you establish a name and polish your skills, making it more likely that we'll be able to match you up to an appropriate project.
4) Write for the systems published by the companies you want to write for. A catalog of 5E entries is great and can show us that you know how to put together an adventure, but being familiar with our rules systems is even better.
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Organized Play Developer
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Also, while it won't involve Golarion-specific content, many designers and developers get their start writing for 3pp companies, which is a great way to polish your skills and begin making contacts within the industry. You can check out threads like this Third-Party Publishers Freelancer Open Call to watch for opportunities that might match your interests.
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Thanks for the replys everyone!
Sorry if i was not clear, at this point I have not released anything, ( (though I have done layout/design work in the industry), I am close to finishing my first adventure (Which is based on a campaign I ran for a few years around Absalom, which I have converted for 5e / Forgotten Realms). All the conversions (of both rules and setting) got me thinking if I should be just holding off and converting it for PF2 when it comes out. (It should also be noted that I no longer have interest in PF1, the simplicity of 5e (and now PF2) as drawn me back into the hobby).
I do not plan to sell anything, nor do I have any interest of writing/converting it for generic settings. I do understand how the traditional way one would get into writing for Paizo (PFS, 3rd party , defunct RPG Superstar etc), and in the long run, and after I have some works under my belt, It might be of Interest. I understand that I could produce my own material and upload it to my own blog /website, but it would not have the same impact and interaction of the Dmguild/Paizo/A central community.
I guess to be frank the appeal of DMguild is that anyone can upload content / home brew material. I enjoy downloading other peoples creations (yes quality does vary) and it gives a cool sense of community. It is also nice to be able to interact and communicate with the authors/community. It seems like Paizo's webstore might be set up for these same functions and it would be awesome if they implemented something like this in the future.
I do see from the responses that this might not be in Paizo's business model nor they might not want to put the resources into do so, and also might put more value in their IPs (Aka Campaign Setting) . I respect that, and I guess I was just getting my hopes up.
For now, I will probably stick with the Dmguild, and build up a couple releases. I would like to thank James, Steve and Micheal for there responses. I really do enjoy Golarion as a setting and hope to return to it someday with PF2.
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The next Wayfinder round of submissions won't be for a year though. Wayfinder 19 closed on October 31st. Still there are other options. There are contests and lots of third party publishers. Have you looked at Freelance Forge? It's a friendly community for free lancers -- many of whom freelance for Paizo and other companies.