Earlier this week, I received a letter from a game design student named Jonathan, asking me questions about how I got my start writing RPGs, and if I had any advice to give to an aspiring game designer. I figure that this advice might be useful to a whole lot of designers out there. If you hope to design D&D (or any other tabletop roleplaying game), I hope that this advice finds you well.
To preface this letter, let me say that I got my start designing D&D material for publication in 2015 with EN Publishing, as the editor for EN World EN5ider. I was a sophomore in undergrad then, and fifth edition D&D was still new on the scene. Working for small publishers like EN Publishing and Kobold Press was an essential starting point for me, as it let me learn the do's and don'ts of RPG writing in a relatively low-risk environment. Trying to jump straight into the big leagues immediately is a fool's proposition. My first entry to the "big-time" was when I worked with Matthew Mercer on the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting while I was an editorial intern at Geek & Sundry.
I got my internship at G&S by noticing a call for interns on their Twitter account. I emailed them, sent a resume (which included my EN5ider work), and got an interview. I didn't know it at the time, but Critical Role was just starting to become a big deal, and they were in search of writers with RPG experience who could feed RPG news to their fanbase. I still carry some of the friendships I made there with me to this day. Do your best to surround yourself with skilled and talented people, like fellow RPG writers who are willing to be supportive and honest with you about your work, your strengths, and your weaknesses. The best way to do this is to be an authentically good person; the kind of person that other people want to be around. Making friends will be good for the quality of your work and the quality of your career, but most importantly, the quality of your own mental health as a creative individual.
You may want to work for Wizards of the Coast (or your favorite company of choice) right out of the gate, but don't underestimate the value of starting small and creating your own network of peers. You'll learn more about yourself, your tastes, the kind of games you'll want to create, and the kind of people you want to make them with. I was fortunate enough to learn that D&D really is the game for me, but the same may not be true for you.
On My Job. My role as lead writer at D&D Beyond is unlike any other RPG job I've had before. Its deadlines are strict and constant, but more significantly, it's consistent, day-to-day work. This is in sharp contrast to RPG freelancing, in which the main thrust of my job is searching for new jobs. Freelancing full-time can be incredibly stressful if you aren't well-supported by parents or a partner with a well-paying job. (While I was freelancing full-time, my partner was working full-time at a tech job. Now that she's freelancing full-time, I'm working at a less lucrative but nevertheless full-time job at D&D Beyond.)
On My Writing Process. Learning about my writing process may be of limited usefulness to you, since it's such a personal thing. I discovered my process through trial and error over the course of my entire career, and I have no doubt that it will continue to evolve as I continue to write. My only advice to you is to write. Experiment with conditions. Do you like to write with music, or silence? At a desk (which I highly recommend) or on your couch or bed? Try writing collaboratively, and then writing independently. Which is the better experience for you? Whenever you finish a project or an assignment, debrief yourself for a few minutes afterward. Really think about what worked and what didn't work about this process, and work on improving the experience for next time.
On Where to Publish Your Work. Publishing on the DMs Guild is an excellent idea. It gives you a lot of free marketing, the invaluable opportunity to use official D&D intellectual property, and a host of royalty-free art right from the start. I strongly believe that publishing on the DMs Guild is worth the 50% royalty you pay (30% to OBS and 20% to Wizards, I imagine) on all sales. This is especially true if you're just getting started. While you're starting out, write short things. Once one thing is written, publish it and start something else. Iterate, iterate, iterate, and keep your projects small and focused. This is like playing your scales over and over again on the piano. It's drilling vital skills into your brain. If you're interested in getting Wizards of the Coast to possibly look at your work, be sure to take full advantage of using their intellectual property. I was hired to work on Dragon Heist in part because of my work on the DMs Guild, and I have it on good authority that they only review products that use Wizards of the Coast intellectual property (like the Forgotten Realms and so forth) when seeing who they should reach out to as a new freelancer.
However, the DMs Guild isn't the only option. Once you've published a few things on DMs Guild (or DriveThruRPG, if you don't want to use D&D IP), start pitching to third-party publishers like Kobold Press. Show them copies of the work you've published on your own. Then, pitch them ideas that you think will please their fans and make them money. Study their catalog and see what sort of things they publish. What's "their brand?" The advantage of working with third-party publishers is that they can provide you with expensive resources like art, graphic design, marketing, and professional editing. You will probably get a lot more eyes on your creations working for someone than working on your own. All of those things are a godsend! But, you will have to work "to spec," and you likely will be working "for-hire," which means that you will be paid up-front and won't make royalties on sales, and you also probably won't maintain the rights to your work. (Though, you also surrender certain rights when publishing on the DMs Guild. Please be sure to read the DMs Guild FAQ so you know all of the legal whys and wherefores!)
On What Software to Use. When it comes to software, I use Microsoft Word 2013, and I'm very happy with it. You will have to use Word if you work for Wizards of the Coast, so I would recommend getting used to it now. Likewise, if you plan on self-publishing, I highly recommend you learn how to create and publish PDF files using Adobe InDesign. It's the industry standard, and it takes some getting used to, so start learning it now! It's also a very transferable skill, if you end up taking a day job outside of RPGs (or work on an RPG that isn't D&D). As you use these programs, know that the most important facet of D&D design and layout is style. D&D has a house Style Guide (which you can find on the DMs Guild), and many other publishers have their own style guide as well. For D&D, their style guide is based on the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. I highly recommend purchasing a copy of this essential reference manual.
Parting Thoughts. Finally, I encourage you to take advantage of the fact that you're still in school. You said that you aren't familiar with freelance writing, so take this opportunity to become a better one. Writing for RPGs requires a unique mix of skill with both creative (prose) writing and technical writing. If your school offers classes on either, take as many of those classes as you can. If they have classes on game design, take them too. And if you're in search of skills you haven't found in the classroom, seek them out online. I only took a single game design class in college, but I'm a voracious watcher of Mark Brown's Game Maker's Toolkit YouTube series, which taught me so many lessons about video game design that I've been able to transfer to my RPG design work. And lastly, never stop reading books and watching movies. Read novels, both in the fantasy genre (obviously) and other genres, too. Dragon Heist was, for me, largely inspired by the film The Maltese Falcon and other Humphrey Bogart films. Reading the Dragonlance novels has helped reinvigorate my creative writing skills. And reading D&D books, from sourcebooks to adventures, helped me master writing in fifth edition style.
The world of RPGs is unpredictable. The winds of fortune are constantly changing, and there's no defined path to success. You will be embarking on an adventure that has no map. In order to survive this journey, you will need to find allies who help you improve your craft and support you through your darkest, weariest nights. I entrust you with this wisdom because I believe you will use it well.
Best,
James Haeck
James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and the Critical Role Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, a member of the Guild Adepts, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and other RPG companies. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his fiancée Hannah and their animal companions Mei and Marzipan. You can find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.
A beautiful article that is, as always, completely informativ and very motivational. James, I'd like you to know that I have a habit of refreshing DnDBeyond every few hours hoping that I'll see a new article of yours show up. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do.
This will definitely help in the future. You're the best!
I have to say, James, this article and the upcoming series on adventure design might be what finally gives me the inspiration to make an adventure of my own. Thank you for being such an inspirational and helpful figure to me, and to aspiring creators across the world!
After watching Critical Role's first season I started to buy DnD 5e material. I wanted to create stories. And I began designing material I thought would make a great campaign. But I didnt fully understand the guidelines for DMsguild or RPGDrivethru. I was excited because I uploaded the material and it went live and I SOLD ONE right away. WOOT! But then was flagged for violation. If you have your own World you cant use the copyrighted material only generic SRD rules. I could either transfer my story to the Forgotten Realms and use copyrighted material or figure out a way to make my idea interesting but in, what I feel it would be, a more vanilla version. I began to rewrite the module but always felt it was now lacking colorful details. I have been working on Life since but I keep looking at the possibilities of making extra money I could really use. Even if let say 2000 people bought my material to use or get inspiration from for their game at a mere $2. It would be worth the step forward and I would take any extra money I could get. But yeah, having good friends who can kick around ideas or would do some cover art for dinner and movie would be nice. And editing, spelling and grammar is a weakness of mine but for about a year now as well I have been using Grammarly to check my typing. Doesnt catch everything but it catches quite a bit.
awesome article! :D
thank you for this advice. I am actually working on my first dmsguild adventure and this came just at the right time are you a psychic bard coming here with all this inspiration
As opposed to alien writers? :P
Great article!
I am planning on going into RPG design, engineering and video game programming so this is a great help.
Fantastic and thoughtful piece, James. I'm going to switch my lesson plans around, using this article to introduce my 9th grade English students to rhetoric and to provide them some much needed encouragement as they start analyzing and manipulating multi-genre research. I think this will really hit the hearts of my students who are big D&D nerds (or are RPG-curious), and I'm grateful I stumbled upon it at such a perfect time.
Very well said. Thank you for sharing this.
I wish I had seen something like this 20 years ago. I thank you for the advice and the words of encouragement you have placed here. This will be a help to many, and I pray for your continued success in all your endeavors.
I'm really excited for your encounter-building series, James! I'm looking to become a DM, and the only thing harder than trying to figure out how to build an encounter is pacing the story and taking notes on it, and the only thing harder than that is getting players.
By the way, I see you are another man of culture. Mark Brown's Game Maker's Toolkit is great. If you happen to be interested, I would also recommend Adam Millard - the Architect of Games, as well as Extra Credits (who I've been watching for several years).
Great advice and tips!! I'm going to start formalizing the homebrew story I made for my group to practice writing and design skills
MS Word 13 is the best, hands down.
EXCELLENT Article, James... Your posts have been FANTASTIC and continue to be... Thank you for being one of those "Points of Light" we often hear about...
Good post, James. Thanks.
This is great! I am a senior in high school and I want to eventually work as a writer for Wizards of the Coast. I may start publishing on DMs Guild if I can find out how to. Thanks for the advice!
Thank you so much for the advice! I'm currently studying game design at Savannah College of Art and Design, and I really want to become a mission designer or even more ideally, working with WotC or just the D&D community to enhance the game any way I can. I'm definitely going to bookmark this page and keep it for future reference.
I wondered if you had any advice for how to build an impressive portfolio or the best way to include writing in one.
And I should really be on twitter more to job hunt, I suppose.
Great article and kind letter. I am quite certain the lad will make it!
DnD Beyond always coming with hits after hits! Of all the resources, articles like these from James and others are invaluable! Keep this stuff coming, it separates this website from all the others!