So this morning one of the items that’s been hovering in the wings for a couple of weeks now finally went out, which was the announcement of the game writing qualifications. Since there there’s been a lot of stir and some questions about it. So here’s some answers.
Q: Hey, I’m a SFWA member! Why didn’t I know about this earlier?
A: I’m not sure. We publicized the vote before and when it happened, we had a SFWA chat hour devoted to it, and we’ve been talking about it on the discussion forums for over a year, I think, including calls for people to serve on the committee and make recommendations.
Q: Where did these qualifications come from?
A. From the Game Writing Committee, which researched the question first of whether or not we should put the issue to vote and then what form the qualifications might take. We included some game writers on the committee (its members are Jennifer Brozek, Steve Jackson, Richard Dansky, Rosemary Jones, Noah Falstein, and Jim Johnson with Matthew Johnson as the Board Liaison); the SFWA Board used their overall recommendations as the starting point.
Q: What are the qualifications?
A: Here you go. You can find them here too.
Games in any medium may be used for qualification so long as the game has a narrative element, is in English, and in the science fiction, fantasy, horror or related genres.
Prospective members working on games may qualify by showing a sale or income in one of three ways:
By making at least one paid sale of a minimum of 40,000 words to a qualified market, or three paid sales to qualified markets totaling at least 10,000 words. Game publishers may be designated as qualified markets using the already established process and criteria used to qualify fiction markets.
By showing they have earned a net income of at least $3,000 from a game that includes at least 40,000 words of text (not including game mechanics) over the course of a 12-month period since January 1, 2013. Income can be in the form of advance, royalties, or some combination of the three.
If no word count is possible, such as work done for a video game, prospective members can qualify based on one professionally produced full-length game for which they were paid at least $3,000, and with credits to no more than two writers clearly shown on the work.
Note that money from crowd-funding campaigns can be used as part or all of the required income once the game has been delivered to backers, but the amount that can be claimed cannot be more than the net income from the number of games produced and delivered to backers (calculated by the number of backers multiplied by the minimum tier which receives a copy of the game.) Work done for salary is not eligible.For membership questions not answered above, please contact Kate Baker, SFWA Director of Operations, at operations@sfwa.org.
Q: Why don’t game instructions and mechanics count?
A: Because we consider them nonfiction.
Q. Why don’t multi-book contracts count?
A. Actually, they do. They are not considered “salaried” but often given with contracts w/ advances.
Q: Why have you excluded work done for salary?
A: That was built into the original set of requirements and in talking to the committee, it seems to me to be an oversight. Looking back through discussions, the original thinking was in practice salaried writers are unlikely to qualify because of the rule against works by more than two authors.
So are we re-examining this in light of the many people pointing out the issues with it? Yep! The Game Writing Committee, the SFWA board, and a couple of staff members have all been mailing and talking back and forth about it most of the day.
Do I think it will get changed? *shakes magic 8-ball* All signs point to Yes — but I cannot say definitively. We’re discussing things right now, and I’m pushing to tweak that part.
Q: Why did you put this out if it wasn’t perfect?
A: Because this is how we make it perfect, by putting it into action, seeing how it works, and adjusting accordingly. It’s what we did last year when admitting indies and that also remains an ongoing process. If you’re a SFWA member who wants to help with that process or a non-member who wants to provide useful feedback, mail me at president@sfwa.org.
Q: Will there be a gamewriting Nebula Award?
A: Not at the 2017 Award ceremony, but stay tuned for further developments…
Q: Do you, personally, support gamewriters joining?
A. Dude. I’ve been playing D&D since I was 11 and that was the ancient, original set that came out right after Chainmail. I worked in a book/game store for close to ten years. My bachelorette party was a Call of Cthulhu scenario that turned out to be Paranoia by the end. Of course I support this. I love gaming, and a good game is a work of art. I’m really looking forward to what this change brings.
ETA: I tweaked a couple things to make them clearer. I cannot say what the Board discussion will result in, but we are certainly paying attention.
128 Responses
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
@Catrambo “A CoC scenario that turned out to be Paranoia”. You know how to party. Looking forward to seeing the requirements progress.
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh The Computer R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
Mainly sad because I had to leave the “circus” and switch to technical writing in 2012–otherwise I’d finally have qualified to join!
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RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
@Catrambo Yikes! Hope it smooths out quickly, Cat!
@Catrambo Ah! I need to ask about multi-author stuff where it’s 4 authors, 4 sections. Or otherwise clear distinctions. Where’s my laptop…
So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
Cat Rambo answers questions about SFWA’s announcement that game writers are now eligible for membership. https://t.co/WJq8Xkauvf
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
@Catrambo *sheepish* Is there a thread on the forums already discussing this? My eyes are acting up, so I may be literally overlooking it…
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
@TheJamesBJones @sfwa I’ve posted about that here: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv but they are being looked at.
@Catrambo @sfwa I saw that, and I appreciate the clarification. My concern is in respect to the two author limit as pertains to video games.
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RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
@cgingold This might be relevant to your interests: https://t.co/RzwQW2B5oJ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
Great to see game writers admitted! But I’m imagining a lot of writers are taking issue with the number of writers allowed on a particular game- most blockbuster narrative games are going to have a lot of writers- they need it. I’d hate to see Telltale, Bioware, naughty dog, and projekt red (among many others) excluded- especially since those are top tear writers who would be great industry/professional contacts for SFWA writers to make. It’s a bit like excluding anyone who makes the NYT bestselling list. Perhaps a specific game tier exception? Or a list of companies a bit like the publishers list? Curious too see where it goes!
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
oh no! contain the heck!
I’ve been sharing this news left and right today! Thrilled to see it.
Cat, what’s the rationale behind excluding salaried work? A few folks were scratching their heads over that.
That was, as far as i can tell in looking over the discussion, the unintended result of a tweak.
This is exciting. As a game writer, how to apply?
Ian Christy Apps open on August 1!
It’s possible by 2018, your favorite game writers could be winning Nebula awards. Imagine that! https://t.co/2wUTgYGCA4
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
The Science Fiction Writers of American have opened their membership to Gamewriters! https://t.co/qjmRnPJioo
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RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! https://t.co/KtRxHIM5n2
A 2nd time for folks who missed it earlier: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11
RT @Catrambo: A 2nd time for folks who missed it earlier: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11
RT @Catrambo: A 2nd time for folks who missed it earlier: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11
RT @LAntoniou: Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria! https://t.co/KtRxHIM5n2
Is there a word missing? “Income can be in the form of advance, royalties, or some combination of the three.” That’s only two things. I assume the third thing is salary? -E-
Oh, wait, no, salary is excluded. So yeah, I’m not sure what the third thing is, there. But it sounds like things are still being worked on, so I’m sure it’ll all come out in the end. Glad to see this change! Game narrative writers deserve it! -E-
@catrambo *waves a tiny celebratory pompom*
RT @Catrambo: A 2nd time for folks who missed it earlier: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11
RT @Catrambo: A 2nd time for folks who missed it earlier: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
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This is awesome!
Interesting. The salary thing is interesting too; some colleagues of mine might want to join, but would be excluded by that.
RT @Toughlovemuse: So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
RT @Toughlovemuse: So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
RT @Toughlovemuse: So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
RT @Toughlovemuse: So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
RT @Toughlovemuse: So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
@Catrambo Fantastic!
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I have more game dev pals on Twitter than FB, so I’m sharing this both places. Quick rundown on SFWA & game writers. https://t.co/kh9xk9wIhR
RT @SolForce: It’s possible by 2018, your favorite game writers could be winning Nebula awards. Imagine that! https://t.co/2wUTgYGCA4
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Toughlovemuse: So here’s some more on @sfwa admitting game writers. https://t.co/jcq2D3x9lw
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SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11 https://t.co/YSkIk4Nlau
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
RT @Catrambo: A 2nd time for folks who missed it earlier: https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11
RT @Catrambo: SFWA Admits Gamewriters, All Heck Breaks Loose, Film at 11: https://t.co/kFj2nL5AGQ
@TorgHacker It does. Clarification here: https://t.co/Cfs4vm5aeR
So, part of the problem here is that there is a negligible number of game publishers who publish 10 books a year. I can’t think of any, in fact, outside of Paizo and possibly Steve Jackson (who I think still has Pyramid, so that’s not entirely the same thing). Onyx Path might come close to 10 books a year, but it’s pushing it, and they don’t pay anything like qualifying rates. I’m also concerned about the distinction between “fluff” and “crunch” in RPGs — I understand that you’re primarily a fiction organization, but game writing is equal parts — there are very few opportunities to write just fiction (game fiction by itself doesn’t tend to sell as well to people looking solely to play the game). The best and most accomplished writers write both, sometimes in combination (fiction with rules to back it up) and that’s problematic given the guidelines. I’m also highly uncertain about the rules against multiple authorship — with large books (more than 100k words) you rarely have just one or two authors, simply because the production schedule is too short AND if an author has life issues come up, it’s too easy to throw everything off. It’s much more common to give out as much as 25k to multiple people, all of whom greatly deserve the ability to join. I urge you to have the committee rethink these guidelines and decide how qualifying markets work within tabletop game publishers. Thank you.
@HelloKestrel @sfwa I’ve posted about the qualifications here – https://t.co/WUJ20AE6Bv – they are a work in progress.
@Catrambo @HelloKestrel @sfwa Two writer limit feels really limiting for games. As if a whole season of a tv show required just 2 for credit
@Catrambo @HelloKestrel @sfwa The rules/comments definitely feel tuned for pen-and-paper RPGs, and not the multi-year efforts that are games
hey @Bio_Warner – ready to join @sfwa ? https://t.co/WBWEcUWOWl
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And I’m just like, “Wut?” because my writing for games hit the length and rate requirements for membership a long time ago, because I wrote fiction in games. Does that mean I can no longer qualify? That I was un-qualified and re-qualified?
What’s mechanics compared to fiction? My primary clients are White Wolf/Onyx Path which integrate setting and systems. Does one game mechanics mention spoil thousands of words? Are those mechanics words individually excised? Is somebody actually going to go through the latter picky process?
We’re y’all really thinking of D&D and video games and nothing else when you approved this?
Actually, sorry — that last line was unwarranted. I do appreciate the effort and the difficulties getting qualified for tabletop games mostly says something about tabletop games. But I do find it kind of confusing.
@Catrambo You realize that will allow riff-raff like me in, even if I never actually write my first novel. 😉
@Catrambo talks about game writers joining SFWA. https://t.co/0B3Zfw74Gd . That’s not so new. I got in back in 1989 for Wasteland from EA.