By now you should have a pretty good idea about what it takes to become a freelancer for the hobby games industry. Congratulations! I now heap many kudos upon your keyboard and luck upon your dice. May your career flourish and blossom in the way that works best for you. Now what? Before I go, I would like to share with you a parting thought. You may not understand why I’m saying this now, but one day you most assuredly will. If you want to be a freelancer for the hobby games industry, … [Read more...]
You Want These Attributes: Adventure to Dice Castle
28 August 2012 by Leave a Comment
As every author, artist, and game designer knows --- this career is not a static one. There is always something new to learn: settings, systems, writing styles, personality quirks, your likes and dislikes, etc. In fact, one of the most exciting things about being a freelancer is just how much “new” there is. While there are a lot of business-related skills you need to navigate the turbulent freelancing waters, I’d be remiss if I did not mention the social attribute (and complementary … [Read more...]
Sample Freelancing Scenarios: Adventure to Dice Castle
8 June 2012 by 1 Comment
Last month, I talked about the factors that will influence what assignments you decide to take on in For the Love of Money: Adventure to Dice Castle. Now, I’m going to walk you through a couple of scenarios. A company you have never heard of is offering to pay you handsomely for a 10K assignment you can write quickly. When you inquire further, you’re surprised to learn they don’t believe in exchanging contracts. Never (ever) work without a contract! Offers of payment in an e-mail may … [Read more...]
For the Love of Money: Adventure to Dice Castle
1 May 2012 by 1 Comment
By now you should be getting the hang of the skills necessary to write and some of the things you can do to be a professional in the industry. For the next two articles, I’m going to explore the part of freelancing that has to do with your flow of assignments -- what you decide to take on and when you get paid. There are four things that affect your ability to deliver an assignment on time and in the condition that a game company is happy with: how fast you write, how well you know the … [Read more...]
The Village of No-No: Adventure to Dice Castle
13 September 2011 by 1 Comment
You've got your equipment. You've figured out what skills and attributes you have. Now it's time to start out on our quest. First stop? The dreaded Village of No-No. DOM DOM DOM. You adjust your shoulder bag and stroll into a village nestled in a lush valley. The first thing you see is a man and a woman arguing at the top of their lungs. From what you can make out, they're pissed off about coin. The woman turns to you and says: "Don't work for that guy, he'll never pay you." The man, who … [Read more...]
Tools and Equipment: Adventure to Dice Castle
10 August 2011 by 3 Comments
Grab your pencils! Welcome to the second installment of Adventure to Dice Castle, where we'll continue with a focus on tools and equipment. To become a professional freelancer, there are a few tools you'll need (and some I suggest) that you'll benefit from having. If you followed along last time, the hard part of building your character sheet is over. Today, all you have to do is run through this list and assess what you need, how much you'll have to spend, and what equipment you already have … [Read more...]
Calling all Freelancers! Adventure to Dice Castle
12 July 2011 by 5 Comments
If you're reading this column, you may recall Jennifer Brozek's series of articles dubbed "Dice and Deadlines." Jennifer talked a lot about the fundamentals of how to be an RPG freelancer. There's a lot of good material in there so, rather than re-hash what Jennifer has already said, my column is going to talk about the journey. Each month I'm going to help you build your career within the RPG industry. We're going on an adventure, dear readers, because that's what being a creative professional … [Read more...]
Don’t Go It Alone: People You Need To Know As An RPG Publisher
26 May 2011 by 2 Comments
In my first column on RPG publishing, I discussed ten things you need to know before getting into the business. As if knowing things wasn’t enough, you also have to know some people. I’m not talking about specific people (though having industry contacts is definitely a plus – I encourage schmoozing and networking as much as possible), but groups of people with certain skill sets. There’s a lot of work that goes into publishing, and you need quality people to get it all done. No matter … [Read more...]
