Why I Don't Pay the Contributing Writers for My Retro Gaming Books
Greetings!
I’ve been asked byvarious people online why I don’t pay the contributing writers for my books, myNES and SNES Omnibus volumes in particular. It’s a fair question and one I’malways happy to answer. Since it seems to be an ongoing concern with certainpeople, and in fact some keyboard warriors have been downright hostile aboutit, I’ve provided a longer explanation here.
For those whoaren’t in the writing business, you may not know that there are two kinds ofwriter’s markets: paying and non-paying. It’s always been this way, and you canfind writer’s guidelines for both online and in magazines and books. During the’90s and early 2000s, when I was still learning my craft, I gladly wrote forseveral non-paying markets, including Classic Gamer Magazine, ScaryMonsters Magazine, and a couple of other publications. I did this tosupport the magazines, to get my name out there, and to help hone my writingskills. To get good, writers must write. A lot. It’s hard work, but it can be alot of fun when you are writing about your favorite hobbies.
In recent times,I’ve written for free for a handful of projects, including my memory of meetingWalter Day for the first time for Todd Friedman’s Walter Day's GamingSuperstars: Volume Two. Todd, a good friend of mine, told me up front thatit was a voluntary project, and I happily wrote the story for free—it was funrecalling the time of how I met Walter at the Classic Gaming Expo in Las Vegasand putting it down on paper. For Rob Strangman’s , I was happy to contribute two nostalgic stories free of charge. LikeTodd, Rob is a great dude, and I wanted to help him out and appear in a greatbook at the same time—win-win! There are other retro gaming books out there—somethat have sold more copies than mine—that are non-paying markets forcontributing writers as well. My Omnibus books are hardly alone in this regard.
When it came timeto solicit contributing writers for my first Omnibus book, The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and Its Games, Vol. 1 (A–M), I quickly decided it wouldbe a non-paying market, and of course I told the writers upfront. I was lookingfor authors, YouTubers, programmers, store owners, and others in the industrywho wanted to tell nostalgic stories about some of their favorite and mostmemorable video games for the sheer enjoyment of recalling those great times. Theywere welcome to include critiques with their stories, but I didn’t need them toactually review the games—I primarily wanted them to help capture the cultureof gaming, particularly the SNES during the 1990s (though more recent memoriesregarding the console were certainly welcome).
Of course, therewere pragmatic reasons for making my Omnibus books a non-paying market. With 79contributing writers on The SNES Omnibus Vol. 1 alone, most of whomwrote multiple stories, it would have been cost-prohibitive to make it a payingmarket. As a full-time freelance writer at the time, this made the most senseto me. During the writing of the Omnibus books, it took a ton of time away frommy primary and more profitable job of being a journalist for various magazinesand newspapers, including AntiqueWeek and the Fort WorthStar-Telegram. In short, each book was a passion project. The books havesold very well, thankfully, but all things considered, I made the correct businessdecision.
Regarding thecontributing writers who have done the yeoman’s work of telling all thesestories, they have done an amazing job, and I’m incredibly grateful. And virtuallyall of them I’ve spoken with have been thrilled with how the books have turnedout. For one YouTuber in particular, he called it a “dream come true” to havehis writing appear in a hardcover book that was for sale at Barnes & Nobleand other brick-and-mortar stores. Another writer and friend of mine, Blair Farrell, said it was his first published work in print. Farrell has gone on towrite books of his own, including Avengers in Video Games: A Guide to Solo Adventures and Mighty Marvel Team-Ups, with Creator Interviews.
Without theseInsider Insights in my Omnibus books, they wouldn’t be nearly as interesting orentertaining. Reviews and synopses are fine, but stories are more fun to read.Countless noteworthy gamers, content creators, and industry insiderscontributed amazing anecdotes to the Omnibus tetralogy, including such popularfigures as Kelsey Lewin, John Riggs, Chris Bores, 8-bit Eric, John Hancock, Tim Lapetino, Blake Harris, Tyler Esposito, Shawn Long, Rob McCallum, Adam F. Goldberg, Kurt Kalata, Brittney Brombacher,Benjamin Reeves, Steve Woita, Greg Sewart, Patrick Hickey Jr., and too manyothers to mention. I’m forever grateful for these amazingly talented people—toomany to mention them all!
You may have aproblem with me not paying my writers, but they certainly don’t—they were happyto be involved and help me out! I’m friends with most of my contributingwriters, which makes me incredibly happy. Some of the coolest, most interesting,and most enjoyable people to hang out with I’ve met through my interest inretro gaming. Rather than disrespecting these contributing writers as I’ve beenaccused, I’ve shown a great deal of respect and repaid them in kind by sharinglinks to their books and YouTube channels, writing about them on my websitewith my Writer Spotlights, and more. In fact, I’ve collaborated for free withsome of them on their projects. In short, it’s a win-win for everyone!Occasionally, I might make misstep, such as not recognizing someone at aconvention or being too distracted or busy to chat—apologies all around! It canbe stressful and overwhelming to set up at a show and deal with a bunch ofcustomers, but this is no excuse—I’ll try to do better!
When it came timeto write The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1988–1998, I put the wordout on social media and via email that I was looking for people to write essaysfor many of the games. While I wrote all the essays for the first book in theseries, The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977–1987, I wanted helpfor 1988-1998 from other writers in order to get a diversity of opinions andperspectives, to save time and my sanity (I was juggling an insane amount ofstuff in my personal and professional life), and to write about games that areincredible but that I’m not super passionate about, such as several of the RPGsthat made the cut. I decided to stick with my format of the book not being apaying market since it had worked so well with the Omnibus volumes.
Some writers Iasked to participate in the second 100 Greatest book declined because theessays are much longer than those for the Omnibus books. In fact, one writerwho had contributed to the Omnibus books told me the proposed longer essays forthe 100 Greatest book sounded too much like work—perfectly understandable. Conversely,other writers happily hopped onboard and were super stoked to write full essaysabout some of their favorite games. In my solicitation correspondence, I said Iwould send a free signed book to every contributing writer free of charge, butsome of them supported the Kickstarter anyway—I was beyond moved by sucha gesture. I’ve got an amazing support network of friends, colleagues, andfellow writers—just incredible. Regarding free books in general, my publishersent out a bunch of review copies to many of my contributing writers—over halfof them—since the vast majority have outlets to promote the books. As such, mostof the writers ended up getting a free book anyway.
If you still aren’tconvinced that writers sometimes write for free and do so gladly, or you can’timagine why they would do such a thing, here are some general reasons thatapply across the industry:
Exposure andRecognition: Having one's name appear in print can be a significant draw,offering writers a form of recognition that extends beyond monetarycompensation. For emerging writers, this exposure can be invaluable, serving asa portfolio piece that opens doors to future opportunities.
Passion for theSubject: Many contributors are motivated by a genuine love for the subject anda desire to share their insights and experiences with a like-minded audience.This passion can make the act of writing its own reward.
Community andCollaboration: Projects like these often foster a sense of community amongcontributors, who can form valuable professional networks and friendships. Thecollaborative nature of contributing to a collective work can be fulfilling initself. I’ve seen this first-hand the numerous retro gaming cons I attend eachyear.
ProfessionalDevelopment: Contributing to such projects can also serve as professionaldevelopment, allowing writers to hone their craft, experiment with new writingstyles, and receive feedback from peers and editors.
Building aPortfolio: For writers starting out, contributions to published works can be apowerful addition to their portfolio, demonstrating their ability to writeprofessionally and meet publication standards.
If you’ve made itthis far, thanks for your indulgence!
And, as always,thanks for reading!
~Brett Weiss
