Some pointers, So you're thinking of pitching to FanPro Options

[Synner]

Since I've been asked often enough, I thought I might as well post this to the forum. It's something I put together for someone else interested in breaking into freelancing and who asked me for some pointers.

I'll start by admitting my break into "freelancehood" wasn't very typical. I boasted a huge battering ram to knock FanPro's doors open: the EuroSB project, which I coordinated and wrote with a whole bunch of talented folks for a very long time before it ever saw print (more than 5 years from first post on the Deep Resonance Forums to print). That being said, I think the approach I took is ultimately the one everyone takes. I submitted a Proposal exactly as described in the FanPro Writer Guidelines for a full sourcebook. I was surprised when FanPro got back to me and said they were interested… the hitch was the first opening in the development schedule was almost a year down the line and we had to wait. While I waited for Shadows of Europe to come to development, I decided I might as well take a crack at submitting a proposal for Lofwyr when I heard Dragons of the Sixth World was open for submissions (ambitious, me?). Rob seemed to like it and the rest, as they say, is history.

So what can I tell you that’ll help you on your way? First off, I suggest everyone carefully read the official Writer Submission Guidelines, especially the part explaining what actually constitutes a "Proposal” as this is the single biggest flaw I've seen in most submissions.

Let me spell this out: FanPro does not want a finished draft (manuscript). What we want is a Proposal — which the SR Developer will study, take apart and finally (if approved) ask you if you're interested in doing it his way, or in freelancer parlance, "to spec".

Keep in mind the Developer has a vision and plans for both the setting and future products. As the guidelines state: “We have a specific development vision for Shadowrun's future. Many ideas, concepts and the directions of our plotlines have not been hinted at in published products. The closer your proposal fits into our plans for story arcs and associated game products, the more likley it is to be accepted. The developer has the final say on whether or not a specific proposal idea fits into the vision FanPro has for Shadowrun.”

Contrary to popular belief, there is a production schedule and it’s mapped out as far out as 2-3 years ahead. Story-wise there is some flexibility, but ultimately the stuff to include/seed has to fit in the context of the books that are planned. Looking back, we managed to pull this off with System Failure, where the setup and tie-ins are spread-out over a number of apparently unrelated books.

You should also consider the “format” of what you’re actually pitching. At this stage FanPro is still working on getting out the advanced rule books for SR4 (Street Magic, Arsenal, Augmentation, Unwired and eventually a Runner’s Companion). Interspersed among these will be some setting and campaign books (Runner Havens, Emergence, Corporate Enclaves, Feral Cities, etc). That makes for a pretty full schedule for the forseeable future…

Many people still don’t realize that traditional adventures in general sell pretty weakly (as compared to sourcebooks), most have an inbuilt limited target audience (GMs) and generally aren’t the most effective products in terms of cost/return. This is one reason FanPro prefers setting/campaign books, track campaigns, and plot development/event books to the one-shot type adventures you saw in first edition. The truth is that format just doesn’t sell that well these days. The same applies to one location setting books. Chalk it up to a peculiarity of the Shadowrun fanbase or the way distribution works for small publishers.

Anyway, established freelancers get an edge in submitting because they receive an "Open Call for Submissions” notice from the Developer for each new book that goes into pre-development and outlines what he envisions for that project (though organization and contents are still very fluid and subject to change) and what he'd like to see in the way of proposals. If you're not an “established” freelancer you send stuff in blind and keep your fingers crossed (everyone I know did). Keeping your ear to the ground about future projects helps significantly (that’s how I heard about DotSW while waiting for SoE to come up). To help prospective submitters out, I’ll review what’s been officially announced regarding the release schedule at the end of this post.

You also need to realize that it is unlikely the Developer will trust an untried newcomer with something as critical as writing an entire book. Consequently, you’re more likely to have more success pitching for a part/a chapter of a book than for the grand multipart epic or ultracool location book you’ve thought out (SoE not withstanding).

Assuming you’ve taken in all of the above and you still want to give it a shot, let’s get back to the submission process.

A Proposal goes far beyond a sample of your writing or a "working draft". Follow the Submission Guidelines as closely as possible. That means including: a detailed outline, a written summary, a pitch, and a writing sample. To those I'll add, if you're pitching for rules, outline your ideas for mechanics and how you'd handle things.

Sometimes the Developer likes the contents of the proposal and the draft you end up being asked to write essentially follows what you would have written anyway, but sometimes he will want huge modifications and an entirely different approach (though he likes your writing style, or your ideas, or some mix of the two). Both happen equally often. Though some people just aren’t comfortable with the latter, you have to remember this is FanPro’s sandbox and they’re letting you play in it.

Eventually, if you are picked to write something, you will be contacted with a proposed fee, some draft deadlines and wordcount targets, and the proposal you submitted with detailed notes by the Developer (for you to incorporate in the writing/drafting phase of development).

Development is broken down into several stages: discussion, primary writing, revision and discussion, rewriting and final drafts. The process is pretty organic and everyone working on the book gets to exchange ideas and comments—though final say on new ideas and changes is still up to the Developer and the writer decides how he writes things up. It goes without saying that you are expected to stick to the wordcount and development directions the developer gives you at the start of the project. Deadlines can be pretty tight, and the revision stage can be a killer since these can mean anything from some minor tweaks to a full rewrite. For example: my original draft for the fiction section of the Lofwyr chapter in DotSW was written entirely as a transcript of a phone conversation between Mina Graff Beloit and Johnny Spinrad. There's still a bit of that left in the printed version, but it was (rightly) decided that a two-person conversation taking up 10000 words was just too boring for the reader. The Developer suggested I change the "Voice" of my piece, but leave a bit of the conversation in for "atmosphere". What that entailed was an almost complete rewrite for my Final Draft.

Here are some things you should keep an eye out for that really make or break a proposal:

• Revise thoroughly – Make sure your proposal and writing samples have no spelling or grammar mistakes and they show off your writing skills. Also try to keep within the wordcount the submission guidelines suggest since this shows that you can write within space constraints and still pull off your concepts.
• Original ideas – By this I don't mean new powers or critters or whatever, but entirely new ideas to the SR Universe both in terms of setting and background as well as rules. I got my SSG gig essentially because I proposed a bunch of crazy offbeat ideas that I felt played up the feel of different countries. Jong made his breakthrough when his Orxploitation concept was picked for SOTA64.
• Separate fact from fiction – A major mistake all newbies make (I know I did) is failing to distinguish what is essentially game mechanics and what is fiction/in character content. Do NOT use game mechanics terms in the fiction (either proposal or draft). See the Magic chapter of SOTA63 as an example. The fiction dodges what are metagame references such as spell power and damage codes for Scorching, but this all appears in the relevant Game Info section.
• Don't try to change the fundamentals– if you're proposing something with rules make sure they are fully compatible with current systems—this entails a familiarity with the systems. All new material should be retroactively compatible.
• Have a thorough knowledge of the SR universe - This means both rules and setting. The Proposal guidelines mention that you should point out what your proposal adds to the game line and how it ties to existing books. This is very important. Sell us how your ideas will add to the setting. This is where "Thorough knowledge" kicks in. It doesn't mean just knowing where all the previous rules and setting references are, but also how they can be integrated with what you are proposing to make your stuff even more interesting.
• Know your stuff - Another major mistake people make is oversimplification and simple lack of research. (ie. writing about a Social Adept means very little, on the other hand a Cornish or Aesir Bard resonates with the setting). When writing SR fiction make sure you research your references, the material should feel as "realistic" as possible. It should feel as if is is grounded in the "real world".
• Take Things One Step at a Time - the developer is not going to hand out the responsibility of writing one of the 5 sourcebooks/adventures that he puts out a year (and which he needs to turn a profit to keep the company going) to an unknown. It's too big a risk. He doesn't know how you write under pressure, how skilled you are, how well you take his demands and suggestions, etc. Prove yourself with smaller stuff and build up to that level. Submit for a section of a book.
• Get the "Voice" right – explained in the Writer Submission Guidelines, but I would like to underline how important the Voice is. It is what makes the writing "credible". The Voice can't know too much (ie. How the frag does a DesertWars merc know what's going on in Wuxing’s R&D department?) or too little (ie. The shadowtalk is doing so much of the work of the main text, that you wonder why Fastjack bothered to ask this "specialist" to write in the first place...). It must contribute to the atmosphere of the piece, etc. You get the idea. With SR4 FanPro has introduced Jackpoint as a replacement to Shadowland. Jackpoint has a select group of members but brings in specialists to speak/write about specialized topics, this complicates chosing voices and makes writing all the more demanding.

I think that about covers it. Any questions you may think off post them and I’ll answer within the limits of my abilities. As to the release schedule, here’s what’s been officially announced:

Street Magic (out)
Emergence (in post-development)
Arsenal (in post-development)
Augmentation (in writing)
Corp Enclaves (in writing)
Unwired (in pre-development)

Further down the line (tentative titles and in no particular order):
Running Wild
Runner’s Companion
Feral Cities
Awakened Haunts
Cities of Intrigue
Corp Guide 2070.

-- Peter Taylor (aka Synner)

[Kyoto Kid]

...Thank you very much.

Very informative. The pointers near the end are especially helpful.

Since I am still running in the "Pre-Crash" era, would it be possible to get a copy of the unused Balkans chapter material? Would be interesting to compare notes.

One question, I know that other game systems sometimes allow for licensing of third party material (eg. "for use with Shadowrun 3rd ed."). Is this something that Fanpro might do?

BTW, SoE is one of my more favourite sourcebooks. It was a big help for my last campaign along with the cultural sections form the old London Sourcebook.

[FrankTrollman]

[TheRedRightHand]

I think what Kyoto Kid meant was not an "open licence", but rather a joint licenced product. Probably along the lines where he purchased a limited licence for the one specific product using the Shadowrun setting/rules that he would self-publish, advertise and sell, and, I assume, give FanPro a royalty or percentage of the sales.

I know some other publishers do this. Hero Games for one. It allows them to expand their universe (in a controled way) without any of the risks, costs or headaches trying to produce books that they know will have a limited appeal to their general audience, but might still be of intrest. They still have final say and control over what gets published, but without having to pay for the costs (but in turn they also get less of the profit if it gets major sales).

For example, I agree to pay FanPro $500 and 10% of sales, and they let me self-publish a setting book detailing the incredibly dangerous and wild life of professional dog sled racers in 2070. It is then up to me to write, publish (in book or most likley PDF form) and advertise this book for sale. If I am able to sell 10 copies at $20 each I have to give FanPro $20. (and I'm still in the hole $420) :)

[Fortune]

[Synner]

[lorechaser]

[JongWK]

[Wakshaani]

Please do. :)

[FrankTrollman]

This seems like a better place for this than the other thread, so I moved it here.

My Street Magic Proposal:

----

This is a proposal for writing a portion of Street Magic, or a subsequent manuscript, in order to include rules and background text to incorporate magical traditions from previous editions of the Shadowrun game. In keeping with the 4th edition design specification of tradition simplicity, all previous traditions (Wu Jen, Voodoo, Insect Shamanism, Blood Magic, Toxic Magic, Paths of the Wheel Magic, Fairy Magic, Druidism, Manitou Shamanic Hermiticism, Wicca, etc.) are to be collectively handled with the minimum of new spirits and the minimum of new rules. The design intent is for the feel of traditions previously available in the Sahdowrun universe to come through without forcing anyone to learn many new rules or wade through pages of new spirit types.

Outline (I am prepared to write any or all of the following sections):

Different Paths, Different Ways - New Spirits and Conjuring Styles:
The Impact of Five Yellow
Getting Helped
A Report on the Blending of Auras in Damballah Worshipers
New Rules:
Possession
New Spirit Powers
New Spirit Types
The World is Dangerous - Magical Threats:
I Do What Must Be Done
A Retrospective of the Bug-Related Events of Chicago
Taking Your Life in Their Hands
New Rules:
Magic Threats
Specific Threat Traditions
In a Nutshell - New Traditions

---
That's the section of the Table of Contents as you'd see it in MitS, but here's the breakdown of what that all means in a bit more detail:

Different Paths, Different Ways:
1. The Impact of Five Yellow
-A first person story from the perspective of a Wu Jen, who describes the tradition's perspective. Most especially centering on the uses of Spirits of Wood (Plant Spirits). Can be expanded into a Shadowlands-style matrix discussion.

2. Getting Helped
-A story from the perspective of an onlooker who watches a Leyak medicine man from Bali calling forth aid from Ancestor, Worker, and Warrior spirits through the power of his own Sakti. Can be expanded into a Shadowlands-style matrix discussion.

3. A Report on the Blending of Auras in Damballah Worshipers
-A Thaumaturgical Scientific report about Houngans in the Carribean League. A description of how Possession Traditions look to physical and astral examination. Can be expanded into into a Shadowlands-style matrix discussion.

In a Nutshell:
1. Tradition Writeups.
-Using the rules presented here in MitS and SR4, all previous traditions can be constructed without any special cases or special rules. Samples will give a couple of paragraphs of descriptions and full rules write-ups for the following:
Berserkers*, Druids, Houngans, Leyak*, Manitou Hermits, Mythos Cultists*, Path Followers, Psychics, Wiccans.
*These traditions were not actually written up in the previous editions with playable game mechanics, only mentioned in passing or in part. They are being rotated into a full description because they fill a niche - Berserkers use Possession with pretty standard spirits, and the Leyak use mostly new spirits with the standard conjuring techniques. Or just because they were mentioned in Awakenings without any rules and are really easy to generate rules for in SR4. Since the SR4 tradition writeups take 2 paragraphs instead of 5+ pages, the SR4 Magic Book can afford to contain a much more comprehensive list than previous editions.

1.1 New Rules: Possession.
-Rules for Possession Traditions (Voodoo, Insect Totems, Bearserkers, etcetera.), all of these traditions work exactly the same in 4th edition, and the possession option replaces the "Materialization" power on all spirits conjured. This makes a Houngan or Wasp Shaman able to have their signature ability (the ability to put a spirit into a human), without making them overpowered and without having to write up a lot of extra spirit types.

2. Spirits
2.1 New Spirit Types
-Creature Write-ups for four new spirits: Ancestor Spirits, Plant Spirits, Warrior Spirits, Worker Spirits (sufficient for all previous traditions under SR4 rules). The 9 Great Loa and Work Loa collectively become: Ancestor Spirits, Warrior Spirits, Worker Spirits, Man Spirits, and Water Spirits.

Ancestor Spirits:
B F+3 A F-1 R Fx2 S F+1 C F I F L F W EDG F ESS F M Init Fx3 IP 2
Astral Init/IP: F x 2, 3
Movement: 10/25
Skills: Assensing, Astral Combat, Counterspelling, Dodge, Perception, Ritual Spellcasting, Unarmed Combat.
Powers: Accident, Astral Form, Confusion, Divination, Guard, Magical Guard, Materialization, Sapience, Search
Optional Powers: Animal Control, Concealment, Enhanced Senses (pick two: Hearing, Low-Light vision, Thermographic vision, or Smell), Fear, Influence, Mind Link.

Plant Spirits:
B F+3 A F-2 R Fx2 S F+4 C F I F L F W EDG F ESS F M Init Fx3 IP 2
Astral Init/IP: F x 2, 3
Movement: 5/15
Skills: Assensing, Astral Combat, Counterspelling, Dodge, Exotic Ranged Weapon, Perception, Unarmed Combat.
Powers: Accident, Astral Form, Concealment, Engulf, Fear, Guard, Magical Guard, Materialization, Sapience
Optional Powers: Confusion, Movement, Noxious Breath, Search, Venom

Warrior Spirits:
B F+1 A F+2 R Fx3 S F+2 C F I F L F W EDG F ESS F M Init Fx4 IP 2
Astral Init/IP: F x 2, 3
Movement: 15/40
Skills: Assensing, Astral Combat, Blades, Clubs, Dodge, Exotic Ranged Weapon, Perception, Unarmed Combat.
Powers: Accident, Astral Form, Fear, Guard, Materialization, Pain Resistance, Sapience
Optional Powers: Confusion, Elemental Attack, Flight, Movement, Natural Weaponry (DV = Force), Skill a Warrior Spirit may be given an additional Combat Skill instead of an optional power, Venom

Worker Spirits:
B F A F R Fx2 S F+2 C F I F L F W EDG F ESS F M Init Fx3 IP 2
Astral Init/IP: F x 2, 3
Movement: 10/25
Skills: Artisan, Assensing, Astral Combat, Dodge, Perception, Unarmed Combat.
Powers: Accident, Astral Form, Materialization, Movement, Psychokinesis, Sapience, Search.
Optional Powers: Binding, Concealment, Flight, Influence, Enhanced Senses (pick two: Hearing, Low-Light Vision, Thermographic Vision, or Smell), Skill a Worker Spirit may be given an additional Technical or Physical Skill instead of an optional power.


2.2. New Spirit Powers
-Rules for new spirit powers: Divination, Engulf (for plant spirits), Magical Guard, Mind Link, and Possession.

New Powers:
Divination: Type: M * Action: 12 hours Magic * Range: Self * Duration: Instant * A critter with the Divination power has a limited ability to gain insight into current and future events concerning a single individual. The procedure is the same as for Ritual Sorcery (SR4, page 174), except that only the critter can participate in the ritual (meaning that if the target is assensable by the critter the ritual fails no spotter can be used). At the end of the Ritual, the critter is able to give answers to questions according to the number of hits the critter gets on a Magic + Ritual Spellcasting test:
Hits Results (For the question “What does the next month hold for me?”):
Zero (or a Glitch) Incorrect Answers or gibberish.
1+ Very Vague (Difficulty at the beginning and sorrow.)
4+ Vague (Your old enemies are rapidly approaching you once again.)
6+ General (The run will hurt you tremendously.)
8+ Specific (Your Mr. Johnson is taking bribes from Yakashima)
10+ Very Specific (Mr. Johnson is picking up his bribe this evening, a hit squad is already on its way.)

Engulf Plant Engulf enwraps the victim in brambles, vines, and thorns. The victim suffers stun damage.

Magical Guard: Type: M * Action: Free * Range: LOS * Duration: Instant * A critter with the Magical Guard power can counterspell spells as a magician can. This power does nothing if a creature does not have the Counterspelling skill. A critter with the Magical Guard power can also attempt to dispel spells.

Mind Link: Type: M * Action: Simple * Range: LOS * Duration: Sustained * A critter with the Mind Link power can open and maintain mental communication with another sapient creature. The critter can maintain a number of Mind Links equal to its Magic attribute. If multiple sapients are engaged in the Mind Link of the same critter, they may communicate freely with each other as well as the original critter.

Possession: A Possessing Spirit is merged with a physical body and is constantly Dual Natured. A spirit merged with a metahuman has Physical Attributes equal to the sum of the spirit's Force and the character's attributes (this uses the augmented caps of the spirit - which is to say no caps). Furthermore, the combined entity has the ability of Immunity to Normal Weapons. The mental attributes of the combined entity are not added together simply use the mental attributes of the dominant entity. The combined entity uses the Edge of the host, and the Magic Attribute of whichever is larger (host or Spirit). The combined entity can use all of the spirit's powers and skills, and all of the skills and abilities of the host. If the Spirit is disrupted, the physical body suffers incapacitating damage, or the spirit is no longer able to stay in the body for any other reason, it vanishes to the metaplanes. A possessed creature has 2 initiative passes unless it is under an effect that would give it more than two (in which case, use that number of initiative passes instead).

3. Threats - The World is Dangerous
3.1. I Do What Must Be Done
-A confessional by a Toxic Avenger, interspersed with a discussion of Toxic Poisoners, and a description of how those traditions work (similarities and differences). This is to be aimed at new players of SR4. Can be made as an Amazonian memo leaked to the Shadowlands discussion.

3.2. A Retrospective of the Bug-Related Events of Chicago.
-A quick historical discussion bringing SR4 players up to speed on the Bug City timeline, as well as an overview of the Insect Spirit Threat and the differences and similarities between different Insect Totems. Can be made into an Ares memo leaked to the Shadowlands discussion.

3.3. Taking Your Life in Their Hands
-A description of Blood Magic, and a discussion of human sacrifice as a power source. Can be made into an Aztechnology memo leaked to Shadowlands discussion. This can have as much or as little tie-in to the "horrors" metaplotline as required.

3.4. Threat Rules
Rules for Threat Magicians generally. Including the powers and limitations that Magical Threats gain for themselves and their spirits. Magical Threats will retain their Threat Rating from previous editions, and that Threat Rating allows Threat Magicians to add extra optional powers to their spirits. Furthermore, each Threat Tradition has a specific list of extra powers they can put on any spirit. And lastly, each Threat Tradition has a flaw that applies to all of their spirits. This way we can represent Toxic Spirits, Ant Spirits, and Blood Spirits without having to give them a whole new five spirit Write-up for every single threat tradition.

3.4.1. Specific Threat Traditions:
-Blood Magic Threats, Insect Threats, Toxic Avenger Threats, Toxic Poisoner Threats.

Why you should go with me for this portion of the product:
I have a really good grasp of game mechanics in general and Shadowrun's in specific. I have an authoritative and compelling writing style that persuades the reader to accept the suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy either the science fiction/fantasy that makes up the game's backstory or the game rules themselves. I've been following Shadowrun avidly since 1st edition, and have a working knowledge of the whole plot line all the way back to when Ghouls were described as being an alternate form of goblinization.

But the really important reason why you should go with me is because I can write a cogent set of rules that is entirely consistent with the rules in the basic book of SR4 that completely represents all of the magical traditions and threats that have been used in Shadowrun over the last 15 years - and do it in five pages. That means that a fourteen year old boy who was born after first edition SR came out could pick up the section of the book I will write for you and understand how Shadowrun Houngans work in less than 10 minutes. And that leaves room for inclusion of story pieces that will make people want to put those extra magical styles into their game, whether as a new player to Shadowrun 4, or an old hat who wants to know what happened to their Wu Jen character after the crash.

And I can do it all without overpowering the "new" traditions. That means that noone is going to resent the people who start Druids and Houngans while they are left playing characters who are "just a hermetic".

- Frank Trollman

----

As you can see, it changed a substantial amount from that point to the final product, for both good and ill. Also you can see segments that ended up appearing in other sections that I did not write, just as you can see the hands of others in the chapter I ended up with. That's collaborative writing for you.

-Frank

[Synner]

I'll repeat what I said elsewhere: Frank's proposal doesn't really follow the guidelines, and didn't really take into account that the Developer normally maps out a rulebook section by section before it is ever open to submissions. But it did cover many of the bases we were interested in for Street Magic, and what's more, I was familiar with his ideas and nudged things along.

To reiterate, under normal circumstances, stick to the submission guidelines. FanPro posts them because that's what we want/need to see.

Also note that different people have different approaches to the "written summary" part of their submissions. Mine tend to be very detailed, to the point that I can use it as a direct blueprint of my draft writing.

Here's my original pitch for Lofwyr in DotSW:

[JongWK]

Here's my pitch for Orxploitation. Back then, I was just trying to seed a few ideas for a future Shadows of Latin America submission, and the inspiration for Orxploitation came up while I was working on my Sports proposal for SOTA:2064. God bless Cleopatra Jones. :D

[ChicagosFinest]

I just wanted to say thanks! These are great examples and an excellent writers guide. Synner, Frank, Jong thank you very much!

When I get questions I'll post them up here

[Ancient History]

Heh. Synner doesn't mention it, but he was also directly responsible for getting me into it.

[lorechaser]

You guys rock. It's really helpful to see successful pitches. THANKS!

[Kyoto Kid]

...I guess why I was interested in the licensing aspect is that I am still pretty much involved with SR3. With 3rd Ed now basically out of print, I understand that Fanpro will not be releasing any more, as I would call them, "Pre Crash 2.0" supplements or expansions.

Since becoming involved with this forum, I also noticed there appears to be a fair percentage of the SR community (such as myself) who have remained with the SR3 ruleset. For myself this is because of the the following reasons:

The heavy investment in SR3 books (some of which were still fairly new when 4th Ed was released)

The familiarity with the SR3 ruleset (including the vehicle design, cyberdeck design, and *gasp* the decking rules)

The "waiting list" for SR4 Supplements

I have played in and even GM'd a number of sessions using SR4, and this is no knock against the new edition. However, other than doing one shots to learn the new system "inside out", I personally have little interest in developing an actual campaign (since mine tend to be fairly involved) until a several of the forthcoming sourcebooks are released (which will be at least another year based on the last schedule I saw)"

As to Web distribution, this is something I need to learn more about. Personally, I have no web page or site of my own at the moment as I do most of my work on a 2 generation old Toshiba laptop without wireless capability (I have an old card, but unable to find a driver that works). With Portland having become a wireless community, I may just pick up another one (they're pretty cheap now anyway).

Again, Synner, Frank, thanks for the assistance.
[edit]
A dozen years ago, it was a lot harder to get access to this kind of information so quickly and easily. Back then it usually relied on going to your FLGS (and then only if someone there was up on SR) and/or going to cons just to keep up on the latest news. There was also that archaic custom of writing messages on paper, putting these sticky things called stamps on them and physically taking them to the outbox on the street corner, then waiting (seemingly forever) for a reply.

Man there are times I do love the technology curve.

[Synner]

[Grinder]

First of all, thanks Synner, Frank, Jong for sharing your experiences :)

While reading the Submission Guidelines, I stumbled across this sentence:

[Synner]

[Grinder]

[Synner]

[Grinder]

That's exactly what I wanted to know, thank you. :)

I guess my english is good enough for submitting a proposal, but writings for a sourcebook would need some editing, that's why I asked.

[Synner]

[Fortune]

[emo samurai]

What about novels? How are they submitted? I'm thinking of writing one.

Then again, it might work really well as an adventure, too.

How well did On the Run sell? I remember it being at the top of the list for a while at DriveThru.