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TheOOB
2007-08-01, 05:36 PM
A few of my friends and I where looking to do some freelance work writing adventures for Green Ronin for a little extra cash and a chance to get our name out there in the gaming industry. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience doing freelance work for Green Ronin or any other gaming company and would be willing to share some of that experience and perhaps give some advice to those new to the freelance adventure writing scene.

Thank you in advanced.

Fax Celestis
2007-08-01, 05:40 PM
Be prepared to alter anything and everything, regardless of your attachment to it.

Bassetking
2007-08-01, 05:43 PM
First: Congrats. Once you're clear of the NDA's, let us know. I'd love to help support your break-through opportunity.

Second: I've got no experience writing adventures, so I can't lend you any help other than moral Support, and an offer to PEACH for free if you need it.

Zherog
2007-08-01, 05:52 PM
Be prepared to alter anything and everything, regardless of your attachment to it.

This is good advice, and it also has a related rule. Be prepared for your finished product to look nothing like what you submitted, due to development and editing.

Some other things to consider:

Spelling and grammar count. A lot. Even if you're only sending a proposal (I'm not familiar with how Green Ronin handles things), check and re-check these. Some tips on checking these:
Read your document out loud. You'll be amazed how many things you find this way.
Print it out and edit with a pen.
When you think you're done with it, set it aside for a week, then read it again. Fresh eyes will find new problems.
Give it to a friend you trust for proofreading.

Be familiar with the products already produced by the company for whom you are working. This allows you to know their "balance level" and what sort of things they like.
Don't re-invent the wheel. Lots of folks who start off think they have to make up whole new rules systems for things, when really all they're doing is tweaking an existing rule. This seems to be especially true for new monsters, for some reason.
Read the company's submission guidelines and follow them. Some companies want a query; others want your finished manuscript, likely in a certain format. Some companies want a certain font, or a font size, or black text only, and so on. If you don't follow the rules, you'll end up in the recycle bin.
Especially for adventures, playtest. More than once. Ideally, arrange for somebody other than the writer(s) to run it, because you'll see things you didn't expect.
Be mindful of the OGL. Remember, for example, that all the HTML SRDs out there are not official, and most of them have differences from WotC's SRD.
On a similar note, be clear what level of OGL material from other companies you can include. Some publishers don't want you to use anybody's material; others don't care what you use as long as you cite it properly. Know up front what Green Ronin's policy is before you start.
Don't get down about a rejection. Everybody in the industry has had something rejected somewhere along the way. It's a fact of life as a freelancer. You can either send it out to other companies (which might require reformatting and such), or you can just push it aside and go on to something else. Whatever.
If you are rejected, don't expect too much feedback. Sadly, that's also a fact of freelancing.


That's all the generic tips I can think of as I'm getting ready to leave work. I've never worked with Green Ronin (yet) so I don't have any tips specific to them.

Good luck!

Beleriphon
2007-08-01, 06:14 PM
A few of my friends and I where looking to do some freelance work writing adventures for Green Ronin for a little extra cash and a chance to get our name out there in the gaming industry. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience doing freelance work for Green Ronin or any other gaming company and would be willing to share some of that experience and perhaps give some advice to those new to the freelance adventure writing scene.

Thank you in advanced.

Tip 1: Check the associate Green Ronin message boards, they'll help you decide what type of adventure to write.
Tip 2: Check http://www.greenronin.com/submissions.php for the proper procedures.

BardicDuelist
2007-08-01, 06:43 PM
As far as proofreading goes: Have it done by somone who might not care about the information inside. While this sounds strange, they won't get caught up in what you are writing and your ideas, so they will only see the errors.

Jimbob
2007-08-03, 02:45 AM
Does any one know of any other publishers like Green Robin???? any in the UK maybe?? dont mind either way though :smallamused:

Swooper
2007-08-03, 05:17 AM
Oh dear. Thread necromancy again. :smallannoyed:

Matthew
2007-08-03, 06:05 AM
I don't think it is Thread Necromancy after only one day!

Swooper
2007-08-03, 07:13 AM
...Damn. I'm used to European dates, where 08.01.2007 means January 8th, 2007. Ignore me.

Raum
2007-08-03, 07:17 AM
Does any one know of any other publishers like Green Robin???? any in the UK maybe?? dont mind either way though :smallamused:I believe Mongoose is in the UK. Their biggest IP is Rune Quest though, not sure how much d20 (if any) the publish.

Swooper
2007-08-03, 07:22 AM
I believe Mongoose is in the UK. Their biggest IP is Rune Quest though, not sure how much d20 (if any) the publish.
Mongoose make some quality stuff. Some of it is rubbish, admittedly, but some of it is quite good. They did a whole line of like 20+ books of Quintessential Fighter, Quintessential Elf, Quintessential Barbarian etc., much like the old Complete X's Handbook from 2nd Edition. The covers even look similar. No colour photos though.

Just confirming that they make d20 stuff, I don't have a clue wheather they recruit freelancers to write for them.