This has been a long time coming but I've finally decided to pull most of my hobby-lancing irons out of the fire. I've been regularly published in the d20 biz for the last five years. When I started, it was for two reasons--1) Fun! Who wouldn't want to have their name permanently implanted into their hobby's legacy? My fiction was going no place and game writing turned out to be a damned fine substitute. 2)Money! Doing something I love for dollars? Get out! But it's true. Most of the companies I worked with shoveled their paltry amount of bucks my way for services rendered. And I couldn't have been happier when the checks for my first solo work--Complete Guide to Dragonkin--came in. With that I thought, "Can I really make good money after all with game writing?" Pfft. Right.
The truth is that even though I could bang out full-length sourcebooks if I had to, the time-to-money ratio just isn't there. That's the rub. When an activity goes from "fun" to "obligation", especially one that doesn't give back in equal parts what you put in, then it's time to reexamine that activity. Don't get me wrong--I love roleplaying. I'll be gaming until I die and I'm not going anywhere. You'll still find me at the usual online venues. It's probably a good time to branch out anyway, what with 4th edition "right around the corner." ;) Seriously, since WotC will likely not have their next edition of D&D supported by any kind of OGL, I doubt that any d20 ventures will stay afloat. No use pouring more coffee into a cup that's just about full (strange analogy but I'm having coffee at the moment so it works).
But since I can't not write, here's the deal. I signed up with one of the freelance writer resource websites. You know, give 'em a few bucks and you "gain access to a dizzying amount of resources." Yeah, yeah, just show me your job listings already. I also still plan on keeping one gaming project going--in this case Behind the Spells. And who knows? If I can't really drum up non-gaming freelance gigs, then I'll see what might be left back in the d20 fold.
So stick around Freelancer's Rest. The fun may just be starting. Wish me luck!
3 comments:
Good luck!
Gaming should never feel like work - I look forward to seeing the rest of your BtS series, Temporality, and the new directions for your creative ventures.
Thanks, Steve. If nothing else, I'm hoping to have a bit more free time to read the books that have been stacking up unread over the last few years!
Damn you Bret Boyd....damn you to hell. Suck me into your little world of creativity and mystery and then just drop me like a used up hooker in Vegas. How could you do that you heartless bastard!!!
Im just messing with ya man. Good luck with what you do and I look forward to seeing where you head from here.
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