Am I hopeless? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Am I hopeless? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
unseenmage
10-06-05, 08:49 PM Just out of morbid curiosity, just how likely is it that some of my hard work on balanced, tractable creatures will be published in some official capacity?

I ask this here because I'm fairly new to the boards and have actually only been playing and DMing D&D for several years. Also, I've seen creatures on the Wizards site that were authored (at least in part) by persons from the boards.

Is my notion a hopeless one, to have my creations see an audience in some mainstream fashion, or should i just break down and post all 300 plus here on the boards? If so, what are the rules on content ownership (probably posted somewhere in here but as I said I'm still perusing); and should I hold off on posting the creatures that I hold close enough to my heart to growl and spit, "MINE!!", when someone gets to near them?

I wouldn't ask but that I just have so much material and get so many new ideas so often and will probably never be able to subject my playgroup to all of it and try so hard to make the content user friendly and balanced and... sorry.

I just want to know if my passtime can help someone else's imaginary player characters triumph over some new challenges via at least a semireliable and trustable source.

Thanks if you can help,

Unseenmage
Grizzled Gryphon
10-07-05, 12:13 AM I am sure if you wanted to post your lovely little critters here, we would all enjoy them greatly. As to your want to get them published, well, honestly, I have no idea. However, it seems to me, that if one or a hundred of your creepy critters fits the bill for whatever the crew at WotC is cooking up next, they very well might use them. Personnely, I am always on the lookout for new and wonderous beasts to reign terror and mayhem upon my poor, unsuspecting players. But that is just me :evillaugh
dok
10-07-05, 01:25 AM just out of morbid curiosity, just how likely is it that some of my hard work on balanced, tractable creatures will be published in some official capacity?

That depends pretty much entirely on you.

This is a community forum. It is not a submission site. While I'm sure folks who work at Wizards do look at this forum, they do not directly recruit from it, nor are they likely to pull material directly from it. They might make contact if they see something they like, but if what you want is to get published, your best approach is to make submissions, rather than post & hope you're noticed.

Alternatively, you could submit your creations to other, 3rd-party publishers. Most of the larger d20 publishers have web-pages, complete with submission guidelines.

Now, a few points of criticism. Obviously, if you have a problem handling negative criticism, you may want to rethink if you want to submit anything at all.

1.) If you're posting in this forum in the hope of getting the attention of a publisher, (WotC or otherwise) you need to improve the quality of your writing. If your posts don't follow the basic rules for captilization, spelling, and grammar, the chance of you getting noticed in the way you want are zero. You will not be taken seriously, no matter how good your ideas are, if you cannot express yourself in an appropriate manner. That means "so" is spelled with two "o"s, not four, sentances must begin with a capital letter, and if you're citing a reason, it's "because" of that, not "cuz" of that.

2.) In a similar spirit, I'd suggest posting only one or two monsters to start. Just as you won't be taken seriously if you can't write well, your monsters won't be taken seriously if they don't follow proper formatting, don't follow the rules, or contain serious errors. This forum provides a lot of eyes to proof-read your work, and review your flavor text, along with providing feedback.

What, exactly, are you hoping for? If you want to offer something for other people to use in their games (assuming they like it), then post away. If you want to have your monsters published in a d20 product, posting them all on-line isn't a good idea. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of someone using something you posted as inspiration (with or without any acknowledgement), again, posting it on-line probably isn't a good idea.

Now, if what you're looking for is an exchange of ideas, where you post a monster and recieve feedback on elements of flavor, design, game mechanics and rules, and balance, then posting here is a good idea.

Understand, I say all of this not just as a spectator in an on-line forum, but as a rules editor for a teeny-tiny start-up d20 company working on its first PDF release. I think you will be better served looking at this as an opportunity to learn, rather than as a chance to "be seen".

I think if getting published is your goal, you should look at the submission guidelines over at other d20 publishers (Green Ronin, Necromancer Games, etc. etc.) and see what they expect, and try writting a submission that meets their guidelines.

I'm not trying to be mean or cruel. I welcome your participation in the forums, and think that good ideas are best when shared, and go to waste when not used. I just think that you should be clear in what you're expecting to get out of doing this.
unseenmage
10-07-05, 04:27 AM Thank you dok. Your reply answered my questions expertly and thoroughly. I appreciate not only the intelligence contained within your reply but your frankness and honesty as well. I particularly appreciate the honesty. I, myself, am a student of a form of what others usually deem 'brutal' honesty that I consider a form of common respect. Understand that I am capable of correct and proper grammer, english, spelling, and that most mistakes in these departments is intentional and used to make a point. I apologize if some other impression was given. In honesty, the lack of proper capitalization, grammer, and spellchecking was simple laziness and lack of practice on my part.

As for my intentions and wants... I originally intended to turn the hard work and long hours i spend on my hobby to some sort of profit. Though that is still a dream I aknowledge it to be just that, a dream. I'm not giving up, mind you, just compromising. I will post some of my material here, on these boards, and I will look into writing for those other D20 companies you mentioned.

Again I thank you for your contribution and agree with your assessments. However, what should I do with the DM helper rules that I and my playgroup have worked up. They aren't simple house rules but they can be quite useful. Also, you mention "making submissions". Is this in reference to WotC and do you or anyone else know how I would go about such an endeavor.

Thanks again and realize before you judge me to be an annoyance for my questions; it only hurts to ask if one cannot accept the answers. Thus I ask many a 'stupid' question in the course of a normal day and today is no different.

Appreciably,

Unseenmage
dok
10-07-05, 01:02 PM I wasn't trying for "brutal" honestly, just regular honesty.

The truth is that how you convey a message is often as important as the message itself. This is true in most situations, not just on-line. It's very difficult to be taken seriously if the nature of your communication is too casual.

Similarly, in an on-line forum, the only thing people have to evaluate you by is the quality of your posts. Bad spelling, poor grammar, a lack of punctuation and generally poor writing could be the result of not being a naitive English speaker, or it could be a function of age & education, or it could just be laziness. Since this is an English-language forum, unless someone says "English is not my naitive language", we're going to assume that it isn't a language problem. Which means a badly-written post leaves the reader with one of two impressions: you're under-educated (possibly because you haven't finished primary education, which is an age issue) or you're a lazy writer. (which doesn't matter much in the informal web community, but it is a strike against you if you're trying to get the attention of professionals)

what should I do with the DM helper rules that I and my playgroup have worked up.

That depends both on what you want, but also on exactly what these rules are and how they're used. If we're talking about a collection of various and sundry rules with no common element, that's going to be a tough sell to a publisher. Unearthed Arcana was a book of nothing but variant rules, and frankly I don't think the market is overly interested in another "grab bag" book.

If they do have a common theme, or if you can break them up into groups of common themes, then you may have something marketable. Look at the question from the side of "what would I want to buy?" Would you want a book of random rules? What about a book of rules on using non-combat skills like Craft and Profession? What about a book of rules on surviving in the desert, or in extreme cold?

Also, you mention "making submissions". Is this in reference to WotC and do you or anyone else know how I would go about such an endeavor.

This is in reference to WotC, but also to every other company that publishes d20 games. Take a look at some of the other d20 publishers out there. For example:
Necromancer Games (http://www.necromancergames.com/)
Goodman Games (http://www.goodman-games.com/)
Mongoose Publishing (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/)
AEG publishing (http://www.alderac.com/d20/)
Green Ronin (http://www.greenronin.com/)

You'll have to do some searching around on their web-pages, but most have a section titled "Submissions", where they describe the kinds of products they're looking to publish, and how to submit an idea. Be aware that not every publisher is going to be looking for submissions at this time.

Thanks again and realize before you judge me to be an annoyance for my questions; it only hurts to ask if one cannot accept the answers. Thus I ask many a 'stupid' question in the course of a normal day and today is no different.

I'm not judging you at all. All I can judge and respond to is what you've posted. I'm not annoyed at questions, and I don't think annoyance is an appropriate response to questions asked in an open web-forum. (at least not for the first time the question is asked...) Asking questions is the best way to get answers.

Also, understand that sometimes you'll get more of an answer than you asked for. This isn't because of annoyance or anger or an implied insult, but because other people are going to read this exchange, and sometimes the extra information is written for other readers who may not have as clear a sense of the subject that you do.
Grizzled Gryphon
10-08-05, 03:27 PM Yeah, what he said. LOL
Grizzled Gryphon
10-08-05, 03:31 PM By the way, I personally think that the Golden Rule about questions is the only stupid questions are those that go un-asked. If someone gives you grief about any question, such as "you are stupid for asking it", or anything akin to that, then they are only showing their own stupidity. Dok has probably given the most impressive answer I have seen on these forums. I can only hope when I have a question, someone like Dok is one of the people kind enough to answer it.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
unseenmage 10-06-05, 08:49 PM	Just out of morbid curiosity, just how likely is it that some of my hard work on balanced, tractable creatures will be published in some official capacity? I ask this here because I'm fairly new to the boards and have actually only been playing and DMing D&D for several years. Also, I've seen creatures on the Wizards site that were authored (at least in part) by persons from the boards. Is my notion a hopeless one, to have my creations see an audience in some mainstream fashion, or should i just break down and post all 300 plus here on the boards? If so, what are the rules on content ownership (probably posted somewhere in here but as I said I'm still perusing); and should I hold off on posting the creatures that I hold close enough to my heart to growl and spit, "MINE!!", when someone gets to near them? I wouldn't ask but that I just have so much material and get so many new ideas so often and will probably never be able to subject my playgroup to all of it and try so hard to make the content user friendly and balanced and... sorry. I just want to know if my passtime can help someone else's imaginary player characters triumph over some new challenges via at least a semireliable and trustable source. Thanks if you can help, Unseenmage
Grizzled Gryphon 10-07-05, 12:13 AM	I am sure if you wanted to post your lovely little critters here, we would all enjoy them greatly. As to your want to get them published, well, honestly, I have no idea. However, it seems to me, that if one or a hundred of your creepy critters fits the bill for whatever the crew at WotC is cooking up next, they very well might use them. Personnely, I am always on the lookout for new and wonderous beasts to reign terror and mayhem upon my poor, unsuspecting players. But that is just me :evillaugh
dok 10-07-05, 01:25 AM	just out of morbid curiosity, just how likely is it that some of my hard work on balanced, tractable creatures will be published in some official capacity? That depends pretty much entirely on you. This is a community forum. It is not a submission site. While I'm sure folks who work at Wizards do look at this forum, they do not directly recruit from it, nor are they likely to pull material directly from it. They might make contact if they see something they like, but if what you want is to get published, your best approach is to make submissions, rather than post & hope you're noticed. Alternatively, you could submit your creations to other, 3rd-party publishers. Most of the larger d20 publishers have web-pages, complete with submission guidelines. Now, a few points of criticism. Obviously, if you have a problem handling negative criticism, you may want to rethink if you want to submit anything at all. 1.) If you're posting in this forum in the hope of getting the attention of a publisher, (WotC or otherwise) you need to improve the quality of your writing. If your posts don't follow the basic rules for captilization, spelling, and grammar, the chance of you getting noticed in the way you want are zero. You will not be taken seriously, no matter how good your ideas are, if you cannot express yourself in an appropriate manner. That means "so" is spelled with two "o"s, not four, sentances must begin with a capital letter, and if you're citing a reason, it's "because" of that, not "cuz" of that. 2.) In a similar spirit, I'd suggest posting only one or two monsters to start. Just as you won't be taken seriously if you can't write well, your monsters won't be taken seriously if they don't follow proper formatting, don't follow the rules, or contain serious errors. This forum provides a lot of eyes to proof-read your work, and review your flavor text, along with providing feedback. What, exactly, are you hoping for? If you want to offer something for other people to use in their games (assuming they like it), then post away. If you want to have your monsters published in a d20 product, posting them all on-line isn't a good idea. If you're uncomfortable with the idea of someone using something you posted as inspiration (with or without any acknowledgement), again, posting it on-line probably isn't a good idea. Now, if what you're looking for is an exchange of ideas, where you post a monster and recieve feedback on elements of flavor, design, game mechanics and rules, and balance, then posting here is a good idea. Understand, I say all of this not just as a spectator in an on-line forum, but as a rules editor for a teeny-tiny start-up d20 company working on its first PDF release. I think you will be better served looking at this as an opportunity to learn, rather than as a chance to "be seen". I think if getting published is your goal, you should look at the submission guidelines over at other d20 publishers (Green Ronin, Necromancer Games, etc. etc.) and see what they expect, and try writting a submission that meets their guidelines. I'm not trying to be mean or cruel. I welcome your participation in the forums, and think that good ideas are best when shared, and go to waste when not used. I just think that you should be clear in what you're expecting to get out of doing this.
unseenmage 10-07-05, 04:27 AM	Thank you dok. Your reply answered my questions expertly and thoroughly. I appreciate not only the intelligence contained within your reply but your frankness and honesty as well. I particularly appreciate the honesty. I, myself, am a student of a form of what others usually deem 'brutal' honesty that I consider a form of common respect. Understand that I am capable of correct and proper grammer, english, spelling, and that most mistakes in these departments is intentional and used to make a point. I apologize if some other impression was given. In honesty, the lack of proper capitalization, grammer, and spellchecking was simple laziness and lack of practice on my part. As for my intentions and wants... I originally intended to turn the hard work and long hours i spend on my hobby to some sort of profit. Though that is still a dream I aknowledge it to be just that, a dream. I'm not giving up, mind you, just compromising. I will post some of my material here, on these boards, and I will look into writing for those other D20 companies you mentioned. Again I thank you for your contribution and agree with your assessments. However, what should I do with the DM helper rules that I and my playgroup have worked up. They aren't simple house rules but they can be quite useful. Also, you mention "making submissions". Is this in reference to WotC and do you or anyone else know how I would go about such an endeavor. Thanks again and realize before you judge me to be an annoyance for my questions; it only hurts to ask if one cannot accept the answers. Thus I ask many a 'stupid' question in the course of a normal day and today is no different. Appreciably, Unseenmage
dok 10-07-05, 01:02 PM	I wasn't trying for "brutal" honestly, just regular honesty. The truth is that how you convey a message is often as important as the message itself. This is true in most situations, not just on-line. It's very difficult to be taken seriously if the nature of your communication is too casual. Similarly, in an on-line forum, the only thing people have to evaluate you by is the quality of your posts. Bad spelling, poor grammar, a lack of punctuation and generally poor writing could be the result of not being a naitive English speaker, or it could be a function of age & education, or it could just be laziness. Since this is an English-language forum, unless someone says "English is not my naitive language", we're going to assume that it isn't a language problem. Which means a badly-written post leaves the reader with one of two impressions: you're under-educated (possibly because you haven't finished primary education, which is an age issue) or you're a lazy writer. (which doesn't matter much in the informal web community, but it is a strike against you if you're trying to get the attention of professionals) what should I do with the DM helper rules that I and my playgroup have worked up. That depends both on what you want, but also on exactly what these rules are and how they're used. If we're talking about a collection of various and sundry rules with no common element, that's going to be a tough sell to a publisher. Unearthed Arcana was a book of nothing but variant rules, and frankly I don't think the market is overly interested in another "grab bag" book. If they do have a common theme, or if you can break them up into groups of common themes, then you may have something marketable. Look at the question from the side of "what would I want to buy?" Would you want a book of random rules? What about a book of rules on using non-combat skills like Craft and Profession? What about a book of rules on surviving in the desert, or in extreme cold? Also, you mention "making submissions". Is this in reference to WotC and do you or anyone else know how I would go about such an endeavor. This is in reference to WotC, but also to every other company that publishes d20 games. Take a look at some of the other d20 publishers out there. For example: Necromancer Games (http://www.necromancergames.com/) Goodman Games (http://www.goodman-games.com/) Mongoose Publishing (http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/) AEG publishing (http://www.alderac.com/d20/) Green Ronin (http://www.greenronin.com/) You'll have to do some searching around on their web-pages, but most have a section titled "Submissions", where they describe the kinds of products they're looking to publish, and how to submit an idea. Be aware that not every publisher is going to be looking for submissions at this time. Thanks again and realize before you judge me to be an annoyance for my questions; it only hurts to ask if one cannot accept the answers. Thus I ask many a 'stupid' question in the course of a normal day and today is no different. I'm not judging you at all. All I can judge and respond to is what you've posted. I'm not annoyed at questions, and I don't think annoyance is an appropriate response to questions asked in an open web-forum. (at least not for the first time the question is asked...) Asking questions is the best way to get answers. Also, understand that sometimes you'll get more of an answer than you asked for. This isn't because of annoyance or anger or an implied insult, but because other people are going to read this exchange, and sometimes the extra information is written for other readers who may not have as clear a sense of the subject that you do.
Grizzled Gryphon 10-08-05, 03:27 PM	Yeah, what he said. LOL
Grizzled Gryphon 10-08-05, 03:31 PM	By the way, I personally think that the Golden Rule about questions is the only stupid questions are those that go un-asked. If someone gives you grief about any question, such as "you are stupid for asking it", or anything akin to that, then they are only showing their own stupidity. Dok has probably given the most impressive answer I have seen on these forums. I can only hope when I have a question, someone like Dok is one of the people kind enough to answer it.