It is also a complex business how to make money consistently. TTRPG’s high-end, solid-based books rely on teams of professionals including writers, editors, illustrators, producers, game developers and, yes, the people who can advise you on the business. Once produced, the books are passed on to distributors, which reduces the percentage. And not everyone who plays TTRPGs is a paid client. Of the six or seven people who play as D&D together, it is possible for only one person to purchase certified equipment. Then, of course, there is theft.
“It’s very difficult for publishers to make money, which means it’s very difficult for them to continue to do business and give everyone what they deserve,” says Hal Greenberg, who oversees RPG Producer Support Fund, staff support for TTRPG. “It’s very difficult for everyone to do something good and make a profit.”
With fewer employers, full-time jobs in companies are in demand – and their lack, says sources, encourages people to accept fewer jobs. One employee said that hiring at the Wizards of the Coast seemed like a “lottery win,” but now, having earned less money and working longer, he sees their interest as “nonsense.” Three authors recall Lisa Stevens, CEO and founder of Paizo, say she does not understand why employees complain about inefficiency. Instead, they remember what he said, they should be given the opportunity to work on Pathfinder because there are others out there who can use it for free.
According to sources, Paizo has paid $ 35,000 for full-time employment in the Seattle area of Renton over the past three years, while the monthly rent is $ 1,768. (MIT calculates that living wage for one childless person in King County, Washington, $ 40,705.) One person claims to have recently left the company as a director after seven years and made $ 39,000 a year on an hourly wage. Some people who have spoken to WIRED have also talked about doing the same thing over the past 10 years, with two sources saying that the company’s profits have grown significantly during that time.
Low pay in Paizo led several employees to take over free company jobs, too, just to earn money. “One of the funny things about Paizo is that real profit is the first choice in the whole deal,” says Crystal Frasier, who made less than $ 40,000 when she left 2018 after nine years at the company. “You can’t work there if you don’t go home after work and write 5,000 to 10,000 words each week, to rent.” In his first year at the company, says Jason Tondro, a high-profile programmer in Paizo, “I would not have been able to earn any money without my personal finance.”
Freelancers and contractors form the backbone of the company and are frequently made to write, describe, and produce high-quality publisher products. Workers here in Paizo and Wizards of the Coast say most of their products, if not too much, are written by self-employed people, and then become books in the home of workers or contractors. Their prices, according to more than a dozen sources, are negligible. Freelancer TTRPG writers say that 5 to 12 cents a word is the same, which, depending on the job and the speed of the author, can be $ 10 to $ 50 per hour of work.