Some absolutely excellent advice from Matt Forbeck on his blog.
How to Branch Out from Writing RPGs
A friend of mine who writes roleplaying games (RPGs) asked if I had any advice for someone who wanted to branch out of that and into fiction or comics. Since I get similar questions from others, I thought I’d share my answer here.
I think branching out of gaming work—or at least diversifying into other fields—is a good move for anyone interested in making a living at writing. Sadly, it’s not all that easy. While working in tabletop games gives you lots of skills you can apply to other fields, it doesn’t give you the kind of credits to make editors or publishers in those fields sit up and notice.
Still, there are some things you can do. For novels, approach Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast and express your interest. Unless you’ve completed a novel (published or not), though, they’re not likely to sign you on straight away. Finishing a novel is a monumental task, and not one everyone can manage, no matter how much they might wish.
However, they might be willing to start you out with some short stories and allow for a chance to build some trust between you. GW often has anthologies in the works, and this is a great place to start. At the same time, you could start writing an original novel and then go shopping it around. Even if you never sell it, having a completed manuscript in hand can help open doors for you.
There’s more, if you wish to read the whole article. Good stuff!
