Writers Wanted for Super Nintendo Book

[8bitgamer]

Hey, Super Nintendo fans, I'm looking for brief personal stories from industry folks about specific SNES games. By industry folks, I have a loose definition meaning past or present video game reviewers, authors, bloggers, programmers, retailers, convention exhibitors, YouTubers, etc.

No compensation is involved, but your story or stories with your byline will be published in my forthcoming hardcover coffee table Super Nintendo book, which will be out early next year (I'm Brett Weiss, author of eight books). Review content is fine, but I'm primarily wanting stories with a personal slant: memories playing the game with friends, memories purchasing the game, memories beating the game, special hate for a game, getting the game for Christmas, etc. Below is a list of games that have already been reserved. If you see any U.S. releases for the SNES that are NOT on the list you’d like to write about, let me know via email: brettw105 [AT] sbcglobal.net. Also, in your message let me know what role you play (or played) in the industry, and I will send more info. THANKS!!

Aaaaah Real Monsters
ActRaiser
The Addams Family
Addams Family Values
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Eye of the Beholder
The Adventures of Batman & Robin
Aero Fighters
Aladdin
Alien 3
Alien vs. Predator
Animaniacs
Arkanoid: Doh it Again
Art of Fighting
Axelay
Batman Forever
Batman Returns
Battle Clash
Battletoads/Double Dragon
Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
Beavis and Butthead
Beethoven’s 2nd
Biker Mice from Mars
Bill Laimbeer’s Combat Basketball
Blackthorne
BlaZeon
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Breath of Fire
Breath of Fire II
Bubsy
Bust a Move
Captain America and The Avengers
Captain Commando
Captain Novolin
Castlevania: Dracula X
Championship Pool
Chrono Trigger
Civilization
Clayfighter
Cliffhanger
Congo’s Caper
Contra III
Cool Spot
Cybernator)
Darius Twin
The Death and Return of Superman
Demon’s Crest
Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf
D-Force
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Country 2
Donkey Kong Country 3
DOOM
Doom Troopers
Dragon’s Lair
Drakkhen
Earthbound
Earthworm Jim
Earthworm Jim 2
Fatal Fury
Fatal Fury Special
Fighters Destiny
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Final Fantasy II
Final Fantasy III
Final Fight
Final Fight 3
Final Fight Guy
Firepower 2000
Flashback
F1 Roc
Frogger
F-Zero
Ghoul Patrol
Goof Troop
Gradius III
The Great Circus Mystery Starring Mickey & Minnie
Hagane
HAL’s Hole in One Golf
Harley’s Humungous Adventure
Harvest Moon
Home Alone
Hook
Hyper Zone
The Incredible Hulk
Illusion of Gaia
Indiana Jones's Greatest Adventures
James Bond Jr.
Jim Lee’s Wild C.A.T.S
Judge Dredd
Jungle Strike
Jurassic Park
Justice League Task Force
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
Kendo Rage
Killer Instinct
King of Dragons
Kirby Super Star
Kirby’s Dream Course
Kirby’s Dream Land 3
Knights of the Round
Lagoon
Lawnmower Man
Legend
Legend of the Mystical Ninja
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Lemmings
Lester the Unlikely
Liberty or Death
Lion King
Lufia
Lufia II
Madden NFL ’94
Madden NFL ’95
Madden NFL '96
Magic Sword
Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
Mario Paint
Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems
The Mask
Mega Man 7
Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Mega Man
Mega Man’s Soccer
Metal Warriors
Mickey Mania
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Fighting Edition
Mr. Do!
Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat II
Mortal Kombat III
Mountain Bike Rally
Mountain Bike Rally/Speed Racer
NBA Hangtime
NBA Jam
NBA Jam: Tournament Edition
NCAA Basketball
NHL 95
NHLPA PA Hockey 93
Nobunaga’s Ambition
Ogre Battle
On the Ball
Operation Logic Bomb
Out of This World
Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures
Paperboy 2
PGA Tour Golf
Phantom 2040
Pilotwings
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
Plok
Pocky and Rocky
Pocky and Rocky 2
Populous
Power Rangers Zeo: Battle Racers
Primal Rage
Prince of Persia
P.T.O.: Pacific Theater of Operations II
Pushover
Q*bert 3
Ranma 1/2 Hard Battle
Revolution X
Rise of the Robots
Rival Turf
Rock N Roll Racing
The Rocketeer
Rockey Rodent
Roger Clemens MVP Baseball
Run Saber
Samurai Shodown
Saturday Night Slam Masters
Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana
Shadowrun
Shaq Fu
Side Pocket
Sim City
Sküljagger
Skyblazer
Smartball
Soulblazer
Space Megaforce
Spanky’s Quest
Speedy Gonzalez
Spider-Man
Spider-Man/Venom: Maximum Carnage
Spider-Man/Venom: Separation Anxiety
Street Combat
Street Fighter II Turbo
Star Fox
Star Fox Super Weekend
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Street Combat
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Street Racer
Stunt Race FX
Sunset Riders
Super Adventure Island
Super Baseball Simulator 1.000
Super Baseball 2020
Super Bases Loaded
Super Bomberman
Super Bonk
Super Bowling
Super Castlevania IV
Super Double Dragon
Super Earth Defense Force
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Super Godzilla
Super Mario All-Stars
Super Mario Kart
Super Mario RPG
Super Mario World
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Metroid
Super Off Road
Super Punch-Out
Super R-Type
Super Smash T.V.
Super Soccer
Super Star Wars
Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Super Tennis
Super Turrican
Super Turrican 2
Taz-Mania
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time
Tetris Attack
Tetris 2
Thunder Spirits
The Tick
Timecop
Tin Star
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose
Todd McFarlane’s Spawn
True Lies
Tuff E Nuff
Turn and Burn: No Fly Zone
The Twisted Tales of Spike McFang
T2: The Arcade Game
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
Ultraman
UN Squadron
Uniracers
Vegas Stakes
Wario’s Woods
Warlock
Wild Guns
Wing Commander
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolverine: Adamantium Rage
WWF Royal Rumble
WWF WrestleMania
X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse
Ys III: Wanderers From Ys
Zombies Ate My Neighbors

[8bitgamer]

Super Nintendo book update—contributors still needed.

My publisher wants to divide my forthcoming SNES book into two volumes, the first of which will cover games beginning with the letter A-M. This means more information, more personal stories, more full color images, etc., and of course it means coverage of the SNES library will be spread over two books instead of one--this is a good thing, IMHO.
I still need personal stories from industry people about specific games (the list of available games is below). By industry people, I have a loose definition meaning past or present video game reviewers, authors, bloggers, programmers, store employees or owners, Facebook group moderators, convention exhibitors, YouTubers, etc.

No compensation is involved, but your story or stories (250-350 words each) with your byline will be published in the book, which will release next year. Stories can be about a game that has special meaning to you, particular hate for a game, a rare find in the wild, memories playing the game with friends or family, beating a high score, and more--these are just some examples. If you are in the video game industry (however loosely), or you used to be, and you are interested in contributing one or more stories about specific Super Nintendo games, send me a PM, and I will give you more information. If you know someone who might be interested, please let them know. Thanks!

Here’s a list of games that STILL NEED STORIES:

A.S.P.: Air Strike Patrol
AAAHH!!! Real Monsters
ABC Monday Night Football
ACME Animation Factory
ActRaiser 2
Adventures of Dr. Franken, The
Adventures of Kid Kleets
Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends, The
Adventures of Yogi Bear
Aero the Acro-Bat 2
Aerobiz
Aerobiz Supersonic
Air Cavalry
Al Unser Jr.'s Road to the Top
Alfred Chicken
American Gladiators
American Tail, An: Fievel Goes West
Andre Agassi Tennis
Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1
Arcana
Ardy Lightfoot
B.O.B.
Ballz 3D
Barbie Super Model
Barkley Shut Up and Jam!
Bass Masters Classic
Bass Masters Classic Pro Edition
Bassin's Black Bass with Hank Parker
Battle Blaze
Battle Cars
Battle Grand Prix
Bazooka Blitzkrieg
Bebe's Kids
Best of the Best: Championship Karate
Big Sky Trooper
Bill Walsh College Football
Biometal
Blues Brothers, The
Bonkers
Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure
Boxing Legends of the Ring
Brainies, The
Brandish
Brawl Brothers
BreakThru
Brett Hull Hockey
Brett Hull Hockey '95
Bronkie the Bronchiasaurus
Brunswick World: Tournament of Champions
Brutal: Paws Of Fury
Bubsy II
Bugs Bunny in Rabbit Rampage
Bulls vs Blazers and the NBA Playoffs
C2: Judgment Clay
Cacoma Knight in Bizyland
Cal Ripken Jr. Baseball
California Games II
Capcom's MVP Football
Capcom's Soccer Shootout
Carrier Aces
Casper
Champions World Class Soccer
Championship Soccer '94
Chessmaster, The
Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool
Chester Cheetah: Wild Wild Quest
Choplifter III
Chuck Rock
Clay Fighter: Tournament Edition
Claymates
Clue
College Football USA '97: The Road to New Orleans
College Slam
Combatribes, The
Cool World
Cutthroat Island
Cyber Spin
Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions
David Crane's Amazing Tennis
Demolition Man
Dennis the Menace
Dig & Spike Volleyball
DinoCity
Dirt Trax FX
Disney's Beauty and the Beast
Doomsday Warrior
Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls
Dragon View
Dream TV
Duel, The: Test Drive II
Dungeon Master
E.V.O.: Search for Eden
Eek! The Cat
Elite Soccer
Emmitt Smith Football
Equinox
ESPN Baseball Tonight
ESPN National Hockey Night
ESPN Speed World
ESPN Sunday Night NFL
Extra Innings
F1 Pole Position
F1 ROC II: Race Of Champions
Faceball 2000
Family Dog
Family Feud
Fatal Fury: King of Fighters
Fatal Fury Special
FIFA International Soccer
FIFA Soccer '96
FIFA 97: Gold Edition
Fighter's History
Fire Striker
First Samurai
Flintstones: The Movie
Flintstones, The: The Treasure of Sierra Madrock
Football Fury
Foreman For Real
Frank Thomas' Big Hurt Baseball
Frantic Flea
Frogger
Full Throttle: All-American Racing
Gemfire
Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Grey Wolf
George Foreman's KO Boxing
Goal!
Gods
GP-1
GP-1: Part II
Great Circus Mystery, The: Starring Mickey and Minnie
Great Waldo Search, The
GunForce
HammerLock Wrestling
Hardball 3
Head-On Soccer
Hit the Ice
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
Home Improvement
Humans, The
Hunt for Red October, The
Hurricanes
Hyper V-Ball
Ignition Factor, The
Imperium
Incantation
Incredible Crash Dummies, The
Inindo: Way of the Ninja
Inspector Gadget
International Tennis Tour
Irem Skins Game, The
Itchy & Scratchy Game, The
Izzy's Quest for the Olympic Rings
Jack Nicklaus Golf
Jammit
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! Deluxe Edition
Jeopardy! Sports Edition
Jetsons: The Invasion of the Planet Pirates
Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3-D
Jimmy Connors Pro Tennis Tour
Jimmy Houston's Bass Tournament USA
Joe & Mac 2: Lost in the Tropics
John Madden Football
John Madden Football '93
Jungle Book, The
Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park 2: The Chaos Continues
Ka-Blooey
Kawasaki Caribbean Challenge
Kawasaki Superbike Challenge
Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run
Kid Klown in Crazy Chase
King Arthur & the Knights of Justice
King of the Monsters
King of the Monsters 2
Kirby's Avalanche
Krusty's Super Fun House
Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing
Lamborghini American Challenge
Last Action Hero
Lemmings 2: The Tribes
Lethal Enforcers
Lethal Weapon
Lock On
Lord of the Rings, (J.R.R. Tolkien's) The, Vol. I
Lost Vikings, The
Lost Vikings 2, The
Madden NFL 97
Madden NFL 98
Magic Boy
Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, The
Mario Is Missing!
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters
Mario's Early Years: Fun with Numbers
Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun
Mark Davis: The Fishing Master
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
Math Blaster: Episode 1
Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow
Mecarobot Golf
MechWarrior
MechWarrior 3050
Metal Combat: Falcon's Revenge
Metal Morph
Michael Andretti's Indy Car Challenge
Micro Machines
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra
Miracle Piano
MLBPA Baseball
Mohawk & Headphone Jack
Monopoly
Mr. Nutz
Ms. Pac-Man
Musya

[Bojay1997]

Are you also not being paid? I mean I can understand wanting community contributions, but you're essentially asking people to provide large amounts of content for a commercial product for no compensation. What about a free copy of the book? Why not conduct interviews and write the stories yourself?

[8bitgamer]

Are you also not being paid? I mean I can understand wanting community contributions, but you're essentially asking people to provide large amounts of content for a commercial product for no compensation. What about a free copy of the book? Why not conduct interviews and write the stories yourself?

I can understand anyone not wanting to contribute based on the points you've raised, but I've got lots of stories from many gamers/industry people, including some programmers and popular YouTubers. People passionate about video games are having fun relating their stories, and they are excitedat the prospect of having their work appear in print.

[Bojay1997]

I can understand anyone not wanting to contribute based on the points you've raised, but I've got lots of stories from many gamers/industry people, including some programmers and popular YouTubers. People passionate about video games are having fun relating their stories, and they are excitedat the prospect of having their work appear in print.

I'm sorry, but as someone that has worked in the entertainment industry for many years, my perspective is that if you are deriving a commercial benefit from someone else's hard work, you should compensate them for it. I'm frankly shocked your publisher would think creating a huge swath of the content of a book using other people's uncompensated contributions is acceptable. I also don't know many authors who go around asking for 350 word contributions for literally hundreds of games like you are trying to do here. A foreword or a cover endorsement, sure. Tens of thousands of words comprising a substantial portion of the book is just way beyond reasonable. Again, if you go out and interview people that's one thing, but you are asking people to write something original and hand it over to you for commercial benefit. That's just offensive and wrong.

[8bitgamer]

I'm sorry, but as someone that has worked in the entertainment industry for many years, my perspective is that if you are deriving a commercial benefit from someone else's hard work, you should compensate them for it. I'm frankly shocked your publisher would think creating a huge swath of the content of a book using other people's uncompensated contributions is acceptable. I also don't know many authors who go around asking for 350 word contributions for literally hundreds of games like you are trying to do here. A foreword or a cover endorsement, sure. Tens of thousands of words comprising a substantial portion of the book is just way beyond reasonable. Again, if you go out and interview people that's one thing, but you are asking people to write something original and hand it over to you for commercial benefit. That's just offensive and wrong.

Fortunately, the many contributors feel much differently, are excited to be involved, and are grateful for the opportunity.

[Bratwurst]

I'm sorry, but as someone that has worked in the entertainment industry for many years, my perspective is that if you are deriving a commercial benefit from someone else's hard work, you should compensate them for it. I'm frankly shocked your publisher would think creating a huge swath of the content of a book using other people's uncompensated contributions is acceptable. I also don't know many authors who go around asking for 350 word contributions for literally hundreds of games like you are trying to do here. A foreword or a cover endorsement, sure. Tens of thousands of words comprising a substantial portion of the book is just way beyond reasonable. Again, if you go out and interview people that's one thing, but you are asking people to write something original and hand it over to you for commercial benefit. That's just offensive and wrong.

There are better things to get indignant about.

[Aussie2B]

I get where Bojay is coming from. In the world of games journalism, getting someone to pay you decently for your work is hard enough as it is, and then there are all the people who won't pay at all, and all the kids on YouTube and such who will happily snap at the "opportunity" to write for free just because it gets them in print or *~exposure~*, which only devalues our work, making it that much harder to get decent compensation. But I don't really blame these kids (or the older folks who do it just for a lark) nor the people who profit off of them (because, let's be real, most are making a sub-minimum wage profit; if they were making a good profit, then they probably would compensate their writers). I mean, I was in my 20s once, writing for free for a print magazine, just because I enjoyed it and loved seeing my name and work in print. And I was able to use that work as leverage to land better gigs. But would I take an unpaid job now? Hell no. Seeing my work and name in print is hardly a novel thing anymore, now that I have more mags containing my work kicking around than I know what to do with, and if people want to reap the benefits of the 15+ years that I've developed my writing ability and racked up professional experience, that comes at a price.

[Bojay1997]

Fortunately, the many contributors feel much differently, are excited to be involved, and are grateful for the opportunity.

Let me guess, was your prior career as a sales rep for "Who's Who in ________"? That's basically the same business model. Submitting your name is free, but if you want to see your name in print, you've gotta buy the book. I would imagine you don't have that many people eager to do this for free or you wouldn't be advertising for your lengthy list of contributions still needed.

[Bojay1997]

There are better things to get indignant about.

Perhaps, but this strikes me as extremely offensive. This author and publisher are essentially taking a substantial amount of original work and using it to create a wholly commercial product for which they are the only beneficiaries. I mean not even an offer of a copy of the finished product? That's just low.

[8bitgamer]

Perhaps, but this strikes me as extremely offensive. This author and publisher are essentially taking a substantial amount of original work and using it to create a wholly commercial product for which they are the only beneficiaries. I mean not even an offer of a copy of the finished product? That's just low.

No one is forcing the contributors to write stories for the book. They are doing it to share their stories, and they're having a lot of fun doing so. Their stories of gaming in the 90s will live in print for decades, and they're pretty darned excited about that. BTW, I'm doing a complete write-up for every game. The contributors are adding anecdotes and the like, which are fun and don't take long at all. If someone doesn't want to contribute because they want to get paid, I certainly understand that. No harm, no foul, just a fun book about a niche subject, the SNES. Trust me, I won't get rich off of this. In fact, I won't even make minimum wage when you consider the time involved.

[Bojay1997]

No one is forcing the contributors to write stories for the book. They are doing it to share their stories, and they're having a lot of fun doing so. Their stories of gaming in the 90s will live in print for decades, and they're pretty darned excited about that. BTW, I'm doing a complete write-up for every game. The contributors are adding anecdotes and the like, which are fun and don't take long at all. If someone doesn't want to contribute because they want to get paid, I certainly understand that. No harm, no foul, just a fun book about a niche subject, the SNES. Trust me, I won't get rich off of this.

Why not release the book digitally for free then? I mean if it's just for fun, surely you don't expect to be paid either, right? I think you need to take a step back and think about the double standard you are practicing here. What you're saying is that the hundreds of pieces you are asking people to contribute have no value but your contributions should be rewarded with some form of compensation. I'm not saying somebody writing 350 words is equivalent to all of the writing you will be doing, but it's also not completely without value. How about stepping up and taking your profits and plowing that into providing copies of the book for free to the contributors?

[8bitgamer]

Why not release the book digitally for free then? I mean if it's just for fun, surely you don't expect to be paid either, right? I think you need to take a step back and think about the double standard you are practicing here. What you're saying is that the hundreds of pieces you are asking people to contribute have no value but your contributions should be rewarded with some form of compensation. I'm not saying somebody writing 350 words is equivalent to all of the writing you will be doing, but it's also not completely without value. How about stepping up and taking your profits and plowing that into providing copies of the book for free to the contributors?

What I mean by "fun" is that the book is intended to entertain. It's work to write it. Fun work, but work nevertheless. There are many contributors. If I paid them it would reduce my royalties to almost nothing, and I can't afford to do that. I can't give away digital copies either, because the publisher is in charge of digital copies. People are writing entries because they want to, and in return, instead of money, they are getting exposure, publication credits, satisfaction, their name in print, something to show their family, something to be proud of, their stories written for future generations. And they are gladly doing so. People have contributed to anthologies, reference books and the like forever without compensation, so there's no precedent here. If that's not to your liking, so be it.

[Bojay1997]

What I mean by "fun" is that the book is intended to entertain. It's work to write it. Fun work, but work nevertheless. There are many contributors. If I paid them it would reduce my royalties to almost nothing, and I can't afford to do that. I can't give away digital copies either, because the publisher is in charge of digital copies. People are writing entries because they want to, and in return, instead of money, they are getting exposure, publication credits, satisfaction, their name in print, something to show their family, something to be proud of, their stories written for future generations. And they are gladly doing so. People have contributed to anthologies, reference books and the like forever without compensation, so there's no precedent here. If that's not to your liking, so be it.

Actually, publishers (real publishers, not self-publishing companies or vanity publishers) pay contributors to anthologies and reference books. Sometimes it's a small amount, but there are legal reasons why they do so. At a minimum, they offer them a copy of the work they are contributing to and other tangible consideration. Your argument that they will have something to show their family is moot because you are refusing to provide them with a free copy and frankly, the value of having 350 words in print in a book few outside of the contributors will ever read doesn't have much value. My issue with what you are doing is that this is not a small amount of the work of others you are including in your book. It appears that for every game on the SNES released in the US (over 700 I believe), you are going to use a 250-350 word contribution which is a massive amount of third party contribution for which you somehow believe it's ok not to compensate these contributors. You have also in this thread essentially downplayed the value of their contributions while placing a heavy emphasis on the fact that you need to be paid. I agree that you need to be paid, but if you can't make the economics work to compensate the people whose work you want to include in the book, you need to either do that work yourself or exclude it altogether. Just like you wouldn't want to work for free, you shouldn't expect hundreds of other people to do so in an effort to create something that only you and your publisher will benefit from.

[8bitgamer]

Actually, publishers (real publishers, not self-publishing companies or vanity publishers) pay contributors to anthologies and reference books. Sometimes it's a small amount, but there are legal reasons why they do so. At a minimum, they offer them a copy of the work they are contributing to and other tangible consideration. Your argument that they will have something to show their family is moot because you are refusing to provide them with a free copy and frankly, the value of having 350 words in print in a book few outside of the contributors will ever read doesn't have much value. My issue with what you are doing is that this is not a small amount of the work of others you are including in your book. It appears that for every game on the SNES released in the US (over 700 I believe), you are going to use a 250-350 word contribution which is a massive amount of third party contribution for which you somehow believe it's ok not to compensate these contributors. You have also in this thread essentially downplayed the value of their contributions while placing a heavy emphasis on the fact that you need to be paid. I agree that you need to be paid, but if you can't make the economics work to compensate the people whose work you want to include in the book, you need to either do that work yourself or exclude it altogether. Just like you wouldn't want to work for free, you shouldn't expect hundreds of other people to do so in an effort to create something that only you and your publisher will benefit from.

Again, all the contributors are happy with the arrangement, and no one is holding a gun to their head. People who didn't want to participate politely declined. If it makes you feel any better, many of the contributors are reviewers, website hosts, YouTubers, etc. and will receive a review copy of the book anyway. Signing off now, gotta get back to work. Regardless, despite the disagreement, civil discourse is always appreciated. Peace out.

[RPG_Fanatic]

This is one book I will not be buying thanks to Bojay1997. Why should Brett Weiss get all the profits and no one else...It's all about the money I guess.

[Cav]

Again, all the contributors are happy with the arrangement, and no one is holding a gun to their head. People who didn't want to participate politely declined. If it makes you feel any better, many of the contributors are reviewers, website hosts, YouTubers, etc. and will receive a review copy of the book anyway. Signing off now, gotta get back to work. Regardless, despite the disagreement, civil discourse is always appreciated. Peace out.

As a contributor, I'm perfectly happy with the arrangement. We all have our reasons. In my case, Brett did me many favors in the past with his writing contributions and I'm way more than happy to help him out in return. In fact, I owe him a lot more than this. Don't be so hard on the guy. Brett's a good dude, and is one of the hardest working guys out there promoting this hobby even when he was making zero dollars for it. He's hardly running a pyramid scam here where at the end of this project he's sitting like Scrooge McDuck on a pile of gold coins. Good luck with the project, Brett.

[jperryss]

As a contributor, I'm perfectly happy with the arrangement. We all have our reasons. In my case, Brett did me many favors in the past with his writing contributions and I'm way more than happy to help him out in return. In fact, I owe him a lot more than this. Don't be so hard on the guy. Brett's a good dude, and is one of the hardest working guys out there promoting this hobby even when he was making zero dollars for it. He's hardly running a pyramid scam here where at the end of this project he's sitting like Scrooge McDuck on a pile of gold coins. Good luck with the project, Brett.

That's great, but whatever you feel you owe him has no relevance to this discussion and I don't think anyone is being hard on him.

Again, why not offer a free digital copy to anyone who contributes?

[8bitgamer]

[QUOTE=Again, why not offer a free digital copy to anyone who contributes?[/QUOTE]

I have no access to digital copies as it's not a self-published book, so I can't give them away.

[Cav]

That's great, but whatever you feel you owe him has no relevance to this discussion and I don't think anyone is being hard on him.

Again, why not offer a free digital copy to anyone who contributes?

As a contributor, what I feel has no relevance to this discussion? HUH?

[Cav]

That's great, but whatever you feel you owe him has no relevance to this discussion and I don't think anyone is being hard on him.

Again, why not offer a free digital copy to anyone who contributes?


He already explained that.

[8bitgamer]

I'll try to make it easy to understand with bullet points:

*I have no way to give out digital copies since the publisher creates those
*If I paid contributors (of which there are many) cash or with a free book, I would make little to money on years of hard work
*Contributor stories take a few minutes each since they are personal stories and not research-based. They aren't doing it for money and it takes very little of their time. Regardless, I highly appreciate their efforts.
*I heavily edit most of the stories that come in since many of the contributors aren't writers by trade
*Many of the contributors who are writers by trade are getting a free copy (from the publisher) anyway since they have a platform for reviewing the book
*YouTubers with a reasonably large base are getting a free copy as well (from the publisher, which has a budget for sending out review copies, but not contributor copies)
*Writing about classic video games doesn't pay much; it's not like this is a political or weight loss book, or even an Xbox One book
*Contributors are volunteering their efforts to help support my project, to have fun, to see their work in print, and to preserve their legacy of retro gaming
*Every contributor is happy with the arrangement and is happy to help me chronicle gaming history
*I've contributed to magazines (Classic Gamer Magazine, Scary Monsters) and books (Memoirs of a Caveman) free of charge because I was passionate about the project. I have turned down these types of things as well.
*Remember, it's all voluntary--no one is being forced to write anything. Volunteers typically do things for reasons other than financial gain

[jperryss]

As a contributor, what I feel has no relevance to this discussion? HUH?

Actually, I said "whatever you feel you owe him has no relevance to this discussion" because he's done favors for you. Nobody else owes him anything.

I don't know him outside of this thread and I'm glad you think highly of him. The point is, he's still asking people to work for free.

[8bitgamer]

[QUOTE=The point is, he's still asking people to work for free.[/QUOTE]

The key word here is "asking." I guess you'd be surprised how many people jumped at the chance to participate in such a project, including some fairly well known gamers/industry people.

[Cav]

Actually, I said "whatever you feel you owe him has no relevance to this discussion" because he's done favors for you. Nobody else owes him anything.

I don't know him outside of this thread and I'm glad you think highly of him. The point is, he's still asking people to work for free.

And I understood what you said. My feeling is not only do I felt I owed him, but I also wanted to do it. I also said, we all have our own reasons for contributing. If I felt he was out to scam writers or crap on the hobby then I wouldn't participate. Maybe others DO feel they owe him. Maybe they don't. Maybe they want to because they want to help someone who has promoted this hobby for a long time and this is a way of saying thanks. But for someone to say he's just in it for the money is wrong. I mean I know that jackpot from writing about classic gaming is just around the corner, but until then I'm happy to help a friend.

The bottom line is if you don't want to do it then don't do it. He can ask people to work for free and those people can say no. I'm just not understanding the need to call him out on it like he's some noob to the hobby. This is not Ms. Herz we're talking about or the other numbnuts who have paraded through these and Atari Age forums taking advantage of the hobby. Brett is right up there with Leonard Herman and Earl Green, and Michael Thomasson working their asses off for not a lot of dough to keep these games and systems in a positive light with the general masses. Brett's not trying shake anyone down and laugh his way to the bank. It's 250 words. It was hardly taxing work. Maybe you should get to know to him outside of this thread. We all used to do things like that around here.

[Aussie2B]

If the contributors truly are only spending a few minutes to crank out 250-350 words, then the caliber of writing really doesn't deserve to be in a published book, even after editing. Nobody wants to read a book that's had the time and effort of a message board post put into the writing. Writing something that deserves to be published takes care and time. Even if research and fact-checking is totally unnecessary, it's not uncalled for to take notes, arrange your thoughts, and work to make every sentence engaging and flow pleasantly. I often write 250-word sidebars for articles, and trust me, I spend a hell of a lot more time on them than a few minutes. Were this paid work, I'd say it deserves at least $0.10 a word, so you'd be looking at 25-35 bucks. The average American works at least an hour to make that kind of money.

I also gotta say that none of this reflects well on McFarland. It's questionable enough that a publisher would think it okay for a book under its label to be filled with a significant amount of unpaid work, and it's even worse that they can't even arrange to provide free digital copies. I've worked with everything from people doing things on their own, to the point that what they're putting out is basically a fanzine, to big-time publishers. Even the people doing things on their own, who couldn't pay, could provide free copies, and even the small, independent publishers could both pay and provide comp copies. I really can't fathom why McFarland can provide absolutely nothing.

[8bitgamer]

If the contributors truly are only spending a few minutes to crank out 250-350 words, then the caliber of writing really doesn't deserve to be in a published book, even after editing. Nobody wants to read a book that's had the time and effort of a message board post put into the writing. Writing something that deserves to be published takes care and time. Even if research and fact-checking is totally unnecessary, it's not uncalled for to take notes, arrange your thoughts, and work to make every sentence engaging and flow pleasantly. I often write 250-word sidebars for articles, and trust me, I spend a hell of a lot more time on them than a few minutes. Were this paid work, I'd say it deserves at least $0.10 a word, so you'd be looking at 25-35 bucks. The average American works at least an hour to make that kind of money.

I also gotta say that none of this reflects well on McFarland. It's questionable enough that a publisher would think it okay for a book under its label to be filled with a significant amount of unpaid work, and it's even worse that they can't even arrange to provide free digital copies. I've worked with everything from people doing things on their own, to the point that what they're putting out is basically a fanzine, to big-time publishers. Even the people doing things on their own, who couldn't pay, could provide free copies, and even the small, independent publishers could both pay and provide comp copies. I really can't fathom why McFarland can provide absolutely nothing.

Trust me, the work from the contributors is high caliber, fascinating stories that you had to be there, growing up with the SNES in the 90s, to write. My point was just that one or a few personal reflections don't take nearly as long to write as 700+ description/reviews. I've been a professional freelance writer for 20 years. Most writing opportunities pay, but some don't. This one doesn't. Not really a big deal for those who are willing to participate anyway.

[Aussie2B]

I don't doubt that the stories themselves are interesting and reflective of the era, but whether in writing or spoken, a story's impact hinges on the delivery. That's why some people are good storytellers and some aren't, even if they're telling the same story. You have to choose your words carefully and think about the pacing of it, and I think even the best writers would struggle to do that with much success if they're working for only a few minutes. My hope here is that you're just underestimating the amount of time actually spent on these pieces, and I hope the lack of payment doesn't result in the contributors putting little time and care into their work.

[8bitgamer]

I don't doubt that the stories themselves are interesting and reflective of the era, but whether in writing or spoken, a story's impact hinges on the delivery. That's why some people are good storytellers and some aren't, even if they're telling the same story. You have to choose your words carefully and think about the pacing of it, and I think even the best writers would struggle to do that with much success if they're working for only a few minutes. My hope here is that you're just underestimating the amount of time actually spent on these pieces, and I hope the lack of payment doesn't result in the contributors putting little time and care into their work.

All the contributors are turning in quality work. "Few minutes" was a relative term to cranking out 700+ encyclopedia-style entries. I have no doubt the writers put a lot of care into their work.

Anyhow, it's going to be a great book with tons of cool stories.

Bye, see ya when it's published next year.

[Nz17]

I am in favor of this book/project. I hope it sells many copies.

[Aussie2B]

Bye, see ya when it's published next year.

? I hope you haven't taken offense. I'm just offering some of my perspective as a professional writer/editor/proofreader, and I'm asking questions as a consumer. When you're offering a commercial product, you can't expect total blind faith and positivity from everyone. People are going to have questions about what they're getting and maybe even about the ethics of the production of the product (and that doesn't all rest on your shoulders here; I would see you as akin to an editor in chief here, while it's the publisher who should be compensating all those involved in the project in one form or another. And believe me, I've worked on some publications where I have zero complaints with my editor in chief and my fellow contributors who are all busting their butts to meet deadlines and do good work, but the publisher itself leaves something to be desired.)

This critical discourse may be off-putting to you, but you may also be creating a vicious circle if you run off and only appear here when you want to plug a product or ask for assistance with one. If you engaged with the community for other purposes, you could build up some camaraderie around here, such that people won't scrutinize your projects to such an extent. And then you'd probably also see more takers on your requests for help. As far as unpaid work goes, people are more inclined to do it when they see it as a favor for a friend than just working for some random stranger who offers nothing in return.

[8bitgamer]

? I hope you haven't taken offense. I'm just offering some of my perspective as a professional writer/editor/proofreader, and I'm asking questions as a consumer. When you're offering a commercial product, you can't expect total blind faith and positivity from everyone. People are going to have questions about what they're getting and maybe even about the ethics of the production of the product (and that doesn't all rest on your shoulders here; I would see you as akin to an editor in chief here, while it's the publisher who should be compensating all those involved in the project in one form or another. And believe me, I've worked on some publications where I have zero complaints with my editor in chief and my fellow contributors who are all busting their butts to meet deadlines and do good work, but the publisher itself leaves something to be desired.)

This critical discourse may be off-putting to you, but you may also be creating a vicious circle if you run off and only appear here when you want to plug a product or ask for assistance with one. If you engaged with the community for other purposes, you could build up some camaraderie around here, such that people won't scrutinize your projects to such an extent. And then you'd probably also see more takers on your requests for help. As far as unpaid work goes, people are more inclined to do it when they see it as a favor for a friend than just working for some random stranger who offers nothing in return.

I'm not offended or anything, just a little tired of the topic. I've made my points several times, so I don't have much more to say. I'm not famous or anything, but I'm hardly a "random stranger" in classic gaming circles. However, you do have a point in that I should have introduced myself in the original post. I've been around DP so long (subscribing to the 90s fanzine, CGE, the message boards, the video game museum, writing for recent issues of the fanzine, etc.) that I sorta took it for granted that people would know who I was when I made the post (especially since my signature is there). My bad.

Here ya go:

https://www.amazon.com/Brett-Weiss/e/B001JS0BCO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

http://www.brettweisswords.com/

https://muckrack.com/brett-weiss/articles

[8bitgamer]

I am in favor of this book/project. I hope it sells many copies.

Thanks, me too, and all the contributors hope so as well!

[Aussie2B]

Well, I more meant engaging with the people here one-on-one and just shooting the breeze about games rather than listing and linking to your body of work, but yeah, that can't hurt either. There's a difference between knowing someone and knowing of someone. If someone is, say, a celebrity, I'll know of who they are, but they're still effectively a stranger to me, thus I wouldn't be very inclined to work for free for them, as opposed to someone I consider a friend asking for a favor. If somebody is a fan of somebody else's work, then maybe they'll feel like they owe that creator something, but I'd still give precedence to helping somebody I have a personal connection with.

Just throwing some food for thought out there, for whatever it's worth. I fully understand if you don't have time for this community outside of matters that involve your work, but some may react more critically than they would otherwise as a result.

[RPG_Fanatic]

Thanks, me too, and all the contributors hope so as well!

Hoping to make a lot of money off of people working for free.

[8bitgamer]

Hoping to make a lot of money off of people working for free.

Here's a Facebook comment from one of these poor slaves I'm getting rich off of and forcing to work for free:

"This is something that I've wanted to share but I wasn't quite sure when was the best time; I mean, look at the talent on the list--I could've been dumped any day! But anyway: I'm going to be in a book! Maybe even two! Because of magazines like EGM as well as the podcasts and shows of the now defunct 1up.com (moment of silence....), I've dreamed about having something I've worked on be published alongside pieces from people I've admired like Jeremy Parish, Sam Kennedy and Greg Sewart, and Brett Weiss has made that dream a reality.

I'd like to thank Mr. Weiss for giving me this opportunity as I never once thought in a million years that something like this would ever happen to a guy who was born and raised in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. I hope that the pieces I submitted are truly worthy to be collected in the same book as the people I'm going to share pages with. I'm not sure I can ever really express how much it means to me. I'd also like to thank Chris Baker, because without him, I would never have even heard about this in the first place. For someone who I've only known for a few years, his encouragement has helped me keep going when I feel like throwing in the towel, and it blows my mind to flick through old EGMs and say, "I know this guy!" Can't wait for everyone to see all these stories when volume one releases. I'm sure everyone will scream 'I can't wait for volume 2!' when they turn that last page."

[eskobar]

I'm in favor of the original poster. No one is forcing anyone to write something and I am sure that not every entry will be accepted as part of the book.

If you are a professional writer I can understand that you demand payment for your writing work but you know that before professional you did work for free or just wanted something published. Many people contributing are not professionals and I am sure that there are some professional writers that want to contribute something related to gaming if they are novelists or technology writers.

I would like to contribute but I am not very good organizing my free time and I just write in a blog reviewing retro games, no payment involved, of course, and I am more than happy with my contributions.

And for the record, I do take at least 4 or 5 hours polishing the words and grammar. I usually write a review after finishing a game to speed up the investigation process.

[8bitgamer]

I'm in favor of the original poster. No one is forcing anyone to write something and I am sure that not every entry will be accepted as part of the book.

If you are a professional writer I can understand that you demand payment for writing work but you know that before professional you did work for free of just wanted something published. Many people contributing are not professionals and I am sure that there are some professional writers that want to contribute something related to gaming if they are novelist of technology writers.

I would like to contribute but I am not very good organizing my free time and I just write in an blog reviewing retro games, no payment involved, of course, and I am more than happy with my contributions.

And for the record, I do take at least 4 or 5 hours polishing the words and grammar. I usually write a review after finishing it to speed up the investigation process.

Well said.

[gbpxl]

I wonder how many of the critics are against unpaid internships as well since that would be considered "getting rich off slave labor"

[Koa Zo]

I wonder how many of the critics are against unpaid internships as well since that would be considered "getting rich off slave labor"

Unpaid internships are highly abused in the USA. Legally there has to be an educational competent to the internship and the intern can not be doing work that would otherwise be done by a paid employee. Of course interns don't speak-up and complain or take legal action because they are all hoping to have their foot in the door for that supposed chance at a real position.

[Aussie2B]

I wonder how many of the critics are against unpaid internships as well since that would be considered "getting rich off slave labor"

Generally, I am. They can be worthwhile in certain fields, but when it comes to entertainment industries, they're almost entirely predatory. Anything to do with video games, animation, comics, etc. is rife with taking advantage of young eager kids with offers of "exposure" and "experience" that basically equal companies getting free labor or vastly undervaluing those they do pay a pittance. On top of that, consumers suffer too with media that is not at the professional level it should be at, because the companies don't want to pay real professionals real money.

[jb143]

Yeah, I've heard a lot of stories of interns basically being taken advantage of while not really getting any real experience or even a foot-in-the-door out of it. In engineering however, at least when I was in school around 2003 it was the key to landing a job. Everyone I knew who had an internship got a job right away. Everyone who didn't, had a really hard time finding anything. For the people I knew, it seemed more like classwork than work work. They had to write up papers on whatever project they were working on etc.. Pretty much like it was any engineering lab assignment...only it was for some company. Certainly not getting coffee and donuts.

This is probably more along the lines of graphic designers who complain about all the "design our band poster/album cover" contests or whatever. The designers see it as the bands minimizing their work and effort and basically expecting them to work for free. I can defiantly see where they're coming from, but I also know of up and coming artists who got great exposure through such contests.

In this case however, it's collecting stories that otherwise might not have ever been told from people who felt telling their story was reward enough...I suppose.

[YoshiM]

Sounds kind of like the "Lore" sections of the old Digital Press guides.

[eskobar]

Sounds kind of like the "Lore" sections of the old Digital Press guides.

I didn't venture in the LORE section until your message ... GREAT SECTION, I read a few threads and I am sure that will visit this section quite often ;)

[jb143]

I didn't venture in the LORE section until your message ... GREAT SECTION, I read a few threads and I am sure that will visit this section quite often ;)

On the forum? You might want to do it before it merges into classic gaming.
https://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?176020-Merge-Classic-Discussions-LORE-and-The-Otto-Awards-into-Classic-Gaming