Today a Facebook memory popped up for March 31st, 2015. It said:

“I got asked to pitch an RPG adventure for a well known RPG company. It turns out it is really difficult to sum up the complexities of a mystery, especially one with historical intrigue, some magic, and a dash of Lovecraftian Mythos in 2 paragraphs.

I got it done though. Now I just have to see if it fits into their game line enough to give it a green light. Fingers crossed.”

This particular project was going to be paid out of Kickstarter funds. Their funding goal was around $7500 US. They ended up pulling in almost $60,000 total. Once it was finished they knew how many adventures they could fit in the book, yet still they pulled the “Everyone write their adventures and we’ll see what we see in a few months” bullshit. They had room for 6 or 7 adventures. They asked far more than 6 or 7 authors to submit adventures.

I ended up writing 2 pitches and an outline and all I ever heard back was praise. I gladly made the few changes they asked for. They were responsive with communications, giving quick replies with solid info. And then they ended up going silent when I politely asked if I had made the cut because I wasn’t writing the entire adventure for free on the off chance that it **might** get chosen for publication.

This next bit will sounds elitist, but It’s not meant that way, it’s part of my point. And this isn’t just me, this also comes from conversations I’ve had with RPG publishers:

Everyone thinks they can write a publishable adventure. They can’t.

I’ve seen submissions that would make you cry such are the atrocities they’ve committed: Literal gibberish. No spellcheck. Two paragraphs that take up a page and a half. Not maintaining coherent thought. Assuming we understand the background of their world, etc… And publishers don’t have time for that. If something is that bad, they will reject it out of hand as the time it would take to make it publishable would likely outstrip any potential profits.

Writing adventures is a blackhole of time and brain power. I don’t mean that in a bad way, I love doing it. But I don’t do it for free. Time spent in front of they keyboard is time spent away from my family and other pursuits. I deserve to be paid for that time and effort. That doesn’t always mean money, it could be simple gratitude, a handshake, a hug, a nice email, but in this case it means money as payment for the work done.

And it’s not because I love money, although I do. Writing fulfills some needs for me. I write on this website and don’t expect to get paid. I didn’t expect payment for my pitches and outline. But when I’m at the point where I am going to create 15-25 or more pages of content for you, as work, as a job, because you asked me to, I deserve to be paid. I will never let anyone tell me different. In the RPG business, I (and you too) deserve to get paid, in cash, for services rendered. Send me a contract with the statement of work, my word count, and my pay rate, we’ll both sign it and get to creating. It seems simple, doesn’t it?

I still have my outline though. Once I finish what I’m working on now and a few other unannounced things, it’s next on my plate. And then I’m gonna get paid.