Finding an Agent

Although I’ve sold 15 novels, several nonfiction books, and countless games, I haven’t worked with an agent for any of those. I’ve considered it a lot over the years–at least for my fiction–but I usually figure that my experience in publishing and negotiating means I don’t especially need one, so I’ve managed to avoid it. (I did sign Christi Cardenas as my agent for an original series of YA fantasy novels a couple years back, but I’ve yet to get around to actually writing the first book. Maybe in 2010.)

Still, people ask me all the time about how to find an agent. For most first-time authors, an agent makes a lot of sense. They serve as middlemen between the author and the editor. They know how to sell your book and how to get the best deal for it, and they can play the bad cop to your good cop. Excellent agents earn every dime of their commission.

The number one rule with agents is this: The money always flows to the author. If an agent asks you for money of any kind, keep your hand on your wallet, back away slowly, and bolt as soon as you get the chance. A good agent collects your money from the publisher, along with a statement, and forwards it on to you, less the agent’s 15%. There should be no other costs to you.

There are a number of fantastic agents out there, but there are plenty of rotten ones too. You’re best to not have an agent at all rather than have a bad one. At worst, a bad agent steals your money, but even at best such an agent wastes your time. If you can’t find a good agent, go without.

To get a good agent, you need to research the field of top agents in your chosen genre. Start at Publisher’s Marketplace and see what comes up. You should also check Preditors & Editors and Writer Beware for warnings about bad agents or other scams. Then send out your queries to the ones that seem like good fits. Aim high and work your way down.

If you can’t find a good agent willing to work with you on your first novel, write your next book and try again. Don’t get stuck on revising that first book forever. Some things aren’t meant to sell, often for reasons beyond your control, and you’re better off trying something fresh rather than stalling out on an earlier effort. Once you sell any of your novels, you can dust the old ones off and try them again.

Keep writing, keep submitting, and be patient and persistent. That’s no guarantee of success, but it will keep you from failing for sure.

Bunch of Characters

My latest column for The Escapist–“A Bunch of Characters”–just went up this morning. In this installment I discuss the process of helping Marty and his friends create their first-ever characters for our new Dungeons & Dragons campaign. I didn’t find this as easy as I thought it should be, but in the end I think Wizards got it right. Read the article to see how.

In other news, Merry Christmas! The kids got us up early this morning to see what Santa had brought, and we’ve been eating all sorts of treats and playing with toys and games ever since. Here’s hoping you have a wonderful holiday too!

Happy Holidays and Free D&D

As a pick-your-holiday gift, I present to you “Inn Peril” (1.5 MB PDF), a Dungeons & Dragons 4E adventure designed for use with five 1st-level adventurers. This originally appeared in issue #114 of Game Trade Magazine this past summer, and a PDF of it was posted on the magazine’s website for free. The magazine has since retired the adventure, but I’m giving it a permanent home here.

I recently used this as the first adventure in the new campaign I started with my son Marty and his friends. I’ve been writing about this in a monthly column for The Escapist magazine, as part of their High Adventure series. If you read those, be sure to check out the adventure so you can see exactly the sort of fun we’ve been having in our game.

The adventure originally appeared without the maps I designed for it, but I’ve included those in this version of the PDF. These are my hand-drawn originals, not the polished pieces you usually see in a published adventure. Look at them, and you’ll see how much a professional cartographer does to earn his keep.

No matter your religion or lack thereof, I wish you and yours the happiest of holidays this season! 2009 was an amazing year in many ways, and here’s hoping for 2010 to be even better.

Amortals Away!

It’s been a long time coming–longer than I thought it would be–but I finally finished Amortals and shipped it off to the fine folks at Angry Robot. It seems like this fall has been a rigorous series of disruptions designed to throw me off track, but the book is done and in the hands of Marc Gascoigne and Lee Harris, where it belongs.

This is a good thing, as the book is due in stores in the UK and Australia in April. Those of us in the rest of the world get to put our hands on it in June.

Next up? Vegas Knights. But first, I think there’s some sort of holiday season coming up fast.

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Pledges for Tu Publishing

Stacy Whitman–formerly one of the editors at Mirrorstone, the YA fiction imprint at Wizards of the Coast–is planning to start Tu Publishing to bring multicultural science-fiction and fantasy stories to kids of all ages. To launch this new effort, she needs some seed money, so she’s put up a page on Kickstarter.com. So far, the effort is about 63% of the way to its goal with just three days left to go–although it seems to have gotten a kick from a Boing Boing note that brought it up from the 40% it was at just yesterday.

I’ve kicked in a few bucks myself. If you’re interested in helped a fledgling publisher find its wings and bring some exciting new stories to kids, be sure to check it out. Consider it your holiday gift to the world.

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Holiday Music in Beloit

We’re about to get slammed with snow here in Beloit, so I spent some time this morning putting up the Christmas lights, trading out bicycles for sleds, and making sure the snowthrower is in working order. I also ordered tickets for the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra‘s “Home for the Holidays Family Spectacular.” The concert is held December 20 at 2 PM, although we’ll start with a pre-show brunch with Santa at noon.

You can order tickets through the website, but if you call the ticket office instead (608-313-1200), the price for the concert and brunch together drops from $38 to $20 for adults and from $14 to $7 for kids. Come out and join us if you can.

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Games as Art

As we hurtle toward the monster consumer frenzy that is Black Friday, I thought I’d take a step back and mention three different efforts to create tabletop games that qualify as art.

At TAGIE last week, I met a USC graduate student named James A. Taylor. He’s creating a board game as part of his studies at the School of Cinematic Arts. It’s called The Gentlemen of the South Sandwiche Islands. One of James’s professors is Henry Jenkins, the former director of the MIT Comparative Studies Media Program. Jenkins gives James space on his blog to explain the game and the great deal of thought that’s gone into it.

While James is creating the game as art, he also wants his art to be played and enjoyed. To that end, he’s started a Kickstarter page devoted to raising money to allow him to self-publish a short run of 500 copies. I don’t normally recommend starting a company to push a single game, but since James is essentially selling the game directly to those who pre-order it via Kickstarter, it makes sense in this case. However, if there are any publishers out there who might be interested in helping bring such a game to the wider market, I’d guess that James might be willing to chat.

James’s efforts remind me of those of Lincoln Stoller and his games. Lincoln uses games to explore ideas rather than to entertain. Often these come in the form of one-off installations that couldn’t be commercially produced, but they’re fascinating to play with either way.

(Lincoln also interviewed me for The Learning Project a couple years back, which I’d forgotten about. If you want to read what it’s like to hold a very personal conversation with me when I’m exhausted but running on adrenaline in the middle of a show, be sure to give it a read.)

For a game that pushes the boundaries of game design but was always created with publication in mind, take a good look at Project Donut, from Jared Sorensen and Luke Crane, two rockstars of the indy RPG scene. If you hurry, you can still get in on the beta program and grab a free copy of the PDF. The actual game will go on sale in March, 2010.

Novels for 2010

The fine people at Angry Robot have announced the release dates for both Amortals and Vegas Knights, my first two original novels. Amortals should be out in the UK and Australia in April 2010 and in the US and the rest of the world in June 2010. Vegas Knights is slated to hit the UK and Australia in June 2010 too, with the US/rest of the world release in July. Combine that with the release of my upcoming Guild Wars novel sometime next year, and it’s shaping up to be an amazing summer.

Now I just have to finish writing them.

Games On Demand

One bit of advice I gave people at TAGIE was to limit their risk with new games, especially when starting out. Rather than blow five figures on a short run of games through a traditional printer, try a POD (print on demand) service first. You’ll learn more about what you’re doing, and you won’t be out nearly so much money.

Even if you’re just coming up with a prototype for your games–for playtesting or for pitching to a publisher–POD makes a lot of sense. You can create a fairly professional-looking product for a small total cost. Large runs are better for when you go into full production and can be confident you’ll sell thousands of copies. Otherwise, print only as many as you need and keep the numbers as low as you can.

I’ve mentioned TheGamecrafter.com before. They had some space in a booth at ChiTAG, and the materials looked good. This isn’t top-quality material, but it’s just fine for limited runs. TheGamecrafter.com people have been courteous and speedy about answering any of my questions every time too, which is always a good sign.

If you’re looking for better quality, although without the slick, web-based interface, check out Superior POD instead. They can produce standard wargaming chits and chipboard game boards, for instance, and their boxes come in full-color, unlike the white corrugated materials that TheGamecrafter.com uses. They don’t offer game components like pawns, but I’m told they’re hoping to do so soon. My old pal Jeff Valent runs Superior POD. He’s been involved with games forever and understands the hobby as well as anyone.

I’ve not tried either of these services personally, but I will the next time I get the chance.