[Kromm]

Originally Posted by Alden Loveshade

I can tell you that the first draft is far from the first step. I first wrote and sent in a query. When that was accepted, I wrote and sent in a formal proposal. When that was accepted, I wrote and sent in an outline (with writing samples for the proposed book, as it is my first for SJGames), which I then revised based on suggestions. Then the outline was incorporated into the contract--then I began the first draft.

This is an important point.

An outline can make or break a project. Writing well without an outline is absolutely possible, and can be a fast way to create a breezy supplement, but it's something that very few writers can do . . . and the ability to do it is unrelated to general skill as a writer. We're comparing symphony orchestra members working from sheet music to jazz men jamming at 3 a.m.: Both can be amazing artists, and each is engaging in a valid form of expression, but there's a reason why cities and large institutions fund symphony orchestras, not jazz clubs, even though the former are a lot more costly.

Originally Posted by whswhs

Doing the mathematical modeling and analysis takes extra time; for example, in GURPS Furries, I spent some time on working out suitable scaling rules based on the way anthropomorphic characters are usually portrayed, and then revising them after playtester discussion.

This offers a fine example of my "It depends on what you're writing (pure description, research, stats generated with existing rules, entirely new rules, etc.)." SJ Games will never, ever insist that a GURPS writer research a ton of science and engineering, and then do a bunch of mathematical modeling. That isn't something inherent to GURPS at all, despite claims to the contrary found on the Internet. But if you, the author, choose that approach . . . well, yes, you had better plan for some extra time!

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

GURPS publishing has a "pinch point" issue in that Sean Punch is, no matter how amazing he is as an editor, a person, and a mixologist, only one person. So your role as a prospective author is to make it easy on him and any others who come into contact with your proposal.

This is something I wish more people understood:

In the sense that more than one staff member works on GURPS – mainly, Steven Marsh handling contracts and scheduling; Nikki Vrtis laying out manuscripts, indexing, and sometimes editing; and me reviewing outlines and drafts, coaching writers, checking rules, editing, and proofing – there is a "GURPS team."

But in the sense of staff members who have read and understood every GURPS rule for decades, can spot rules or stats problems when reading at full speed, and can recall all the places where there are related ideas to be consistent with, refer to, or quote . . . well, there is no "GURPS team." There's me. That's it. Nobody else at SJ Games can do that even a little. So there's a serious "key person problem" that writers just have to live with.

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

They really, really don't want new folks to show up with an already-written manuscript and a query of "do you want it or not?" Their answer is "no we don't" at that point, because willingness to take and act on editorial feedback is a key performance indicator of a successful working relationship between publisher and author(s).

We really dislike already-written manuscripts mostly because they exist outside of the processes discussed down to this point.

I've talked about "consistency" several times. We absolutely insist that GURPS materials fit into the line, the library. That's an issue of voice and presentation as much as of rules. Working alongside me and the rest of the "GURPS team" is the only way to get that right, so we insist on inserting ourselves into the process at the query, outline, and first-draft level. Something that arrives already written won't fit in the way we need it to.

Writers working on GURPS need to accept that they are hacks doing work for hire for somebody else. They aren't working on vanity projects. They have a line to toe.

Originally Posted by DouglasCole

USE THESE STYLES.

Yes!!!

I hate to be a Microsoft shill, but: Buy a legal copy of Word. Ideally, buy the most recent version. Learn to use it. Specifically, learn to use what it calls "styles" – learn how to view them, how to keep Word from automatically applying or altering them, and how to use SJ Games' styles in that context.

Many writers over the years have assumed they could submit a .txt file and expect SJ Games to format it. Many have tried submitting .rtf files or other funky file formats. A few have tried to cheat their way around Word by using various free emulators, or by writing in other word processors and exporting as .doc or .docx.

Do not do this.

Buy Word. Master Word. Then master using Word our way. Anything else is shooting yourself in the foot . . . with a Minigun.

Originally Posted by johndallman

I'd recommend taking part in a playtest before taking up writing for GURPS.

This is excellent advice.

A little-discussed step in our process is that after a writer submits their first draft, I review it in exhausting detail and send back comments with the expectation that the writer will submit a second (not final!) draft for use in the playtest. Thus, all "playtest drafts" have in a sense been cleaned up, meaning that playtesters get a rare glimpse at something close(r) to what SJ Games is expecting. If you write your first draft to this standard, you'll be ahead of the curve.

Of course, learning what playtesters expect is learning what gamers expect. That's important. But I consider what I said in the previous paragraph to be even more important.

Originally Posted by Refplace

Speaking of editing... Remember SJG is basically your customer and boss. All authors have their own vision and writing style. You can see different styles in the GURPS books but SJG is successful in part because of an overarching stance on the house style and that consistency helps reduce their costs and makes reading and referencing the material easier.

Yep. As I said earlier, freelancers working for us are hacks. It's great that writers have their own visions and voices, but they need to accept that they're part of that symphony orchestra I mentioned: they aren't jazz men jamming.

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Well, mostly timeless advice. I don't know that I'd recommend trying to find an Iomega Zip drive these days :)

I'm all about the Samsung T7 these days. It has impressed the heck out of me. When my new computer goes boom someday, I know that I'll have a bulletproof way to get my work and settings back.

Originally Posted by Dalin

I had no idea that this was the case! I'm now much more likely to throw my name into the hat for future playtests. I've always held back because I didn't think I could log enough campaign hours to do it justice.

In case any of our playtesters are reading: We never expect you to integrate our stuff into a game and literally test it in play. That said, though, we love it when people do. Both peer review and actual play are important to making a project great.