The secret weapon of the highest earning professionals

Check out the TTRPG Safety Toolkit! (http://bit.ly/ttrpgsafetytoolkit) Or on Twitter. (https://twitter.com/ttrpgsafetykit)

Or the original article by Lu Quade! (https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/blog/stars-and-wishes).

Often players do not feel as though they are able to contribute in a meaningful way once you have established that you are a professional. I advise you present a way you will receive feedback that isn’t simply “good game”. To wrap up a session I leave the door open for feedback with Stars & Wishes.

“Thanks as always for supporting me. This was a fun game. Let me know if you have any feedback in the form of Stars & Wishes. You can DM it to me or post it in the table channel.” -Friday after almost every game.

I include this snippet in my Session 0 for the player to read or for me to announce. This is going to keep your ship sailing in the right direction for as long as possible. If you are not receiving feedback to course correct you might be heading toward a preventable disaster. The rift between you and player expectations only grows larger with time.

This also helps you open up dialogue for what is working and what is not. I make certain to ask for feedback if I do not feel confident in the players’ reactions to something I have prepared.

If I am not confident about something I ask for feedback!

Thanks for reading. If you’d like to support me then you can do so on Patreon. Join nearly 30 other pro GMs who want to work with a small community to improve their business practices to support themselves full-time.

We all need a little help, sometimes

Starting out as a pro GM can be pretty daunting. That’s why you will want to leverage camaraderie with your peers if possible. Few folks know what it’s like to deal with the freelancing grind in your field! Here are my recommendations:

Seat Fill for other pro GMs

This is going to teach you a lot but also develop a positive relationship with a peer. Not only are you able to have a peer that you can bounce ideas off of for your advertisements or community, but you’re able to learn from what they’re doing. My recommendation is that you do this at least once a week with someone whom your brand aligns with and you personally get along with.

• 2-3 hours a week playing in another game helps you learn good seat filler behavior and what you’d expect of folks for your games.

• You can share and collaborate on ideas with your pro GM peer.

• You’ll get a first-hand experience with issues at the table which you can (ideally) help resolve.

• You’re going to improve as a GM through inspiration.

Feedback for ads

Putting together an advertisement can leave you with a lot of unanswered questions. If you’ve built rapport with someone and likewise are providing them with value to their business – you have access to someone who would help you out with their opinion. Not all advice is created equal, but when you’re starting out a different set of eyes for unfiltered opinions can be invaluable.

An Unofficial Channel

It can be lonely “at the top” or in this case: when you run a business. You would be ill-advised to complain about players to other players. That’s an incredibly toxic scenario and highly unprofessional. Instead, I recommend that you confide in your pro GM peers that you trust if you need to get something off your chest. Make certain to ask for permission to have that sort of conversation – but if it’s cool, then it’s a great stress relief. They can also provide you with candid advise if you find yourself in a decision making jam.

You should join isFriday’s Patreon

I have a modest group of 20’ish Patrons who chat about pro GM business in the vein as described above. It’s a moderated space and it can be a great think tank to help run your business.

Join here – $5 a month to support me and help your biz!

Some tips to help you break the ice

It can be difficult to break the ice! Here’s some neutral questions to get conversations going with someone new to your community.

About the game:

• What is your experience with this TTRPG?

• What are you looking for in a game?

  • Roleplay?

  • Combat?

  • Mystery?

  • Puzzles?

• What is your favorite thing about this TTRPG?

• If you’ve played a campaign before – what did you like about it?

• Is your schedule regular for this time?

About the player:

• How has your week been?

• How did you get your start playing TTRPGs?

• What do you do for work?

• Where are you from?

Once you’ve asked a question, you need to focus on listening to them. Your next question or follow-on comment will stem from any of the questions you might ask. If they answer “I have played Storm King’s Thunder”, then guess what: You talk about Storm King’s Thunder, even if only briefly.

You can pivot to another topic as it feels natural. That’s just how you get the ball rolling. Good luck!

If you’d like to support me then you can do so on my Patreon. Check it out here! (https://www.patreon.com/isfriday)

Dollars & Dragons Podcast

Jasper William Cartwright is a professional theater actor, host, producer, director, voice over artist, dancer and much more. We chat about the business, building a platform, and his personal experiences.

Links:
https://www.jasperwcartwright.com/

https://twitter.com/JW_Cartwright 

https://twitter.com/3blackhalflings 

Check out this episode of me playing TSL with 3BH!

Let’s keep the player you just gained!

It’s simple. Let’s follow the steps:

1. Welcome them on the platform!

2. Give them the link.

3. Add them to the category once they join.

4. Point them to next steps.

5. Let them know you’re available for questions.

Next Steps –

• Make sure you have your character creation process written out:

  • Safety & Consent checklist

  • VTT setup

  • PC creation rules

This streamlines your process and saves you time/money.

If you find this newsletter useful: Support me on Patreon!

Dollars & Dragons Podcast

Support the show on Patreon!

Today we talked to Chelsea about her origin story, being the Marketing Director of Dad’s Garage, her Twitch channel, Stitch Of Fate, working on Fallout: Winter of Atom, her work with Kobold Press, and other assorted Georgia swamp topics!

Chelsea is one of our writers on The Vineyard RPG, too!

Please note that Dot was promoted to Marketing Director at Kobold Press after the recording of this podcast!

Links:

https://twitter.com/little_red_dot

https://www.twitch.tv/little_red_dot

https://podbynight.libsyn.com/

https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Winter_of_Atom

https://koboldpress.com/

My takeaways from GMing 3 Black Halflings

I had the great privilege of GMing for 3 Black Halflings and I wanted to share some ways they made the process wonderful for me as a newcomer to their table.

I love performing. Going into a call with these highly professional folx caused my heart to swell 3x its normal size. I laughed for 3 hours. I felt so much joy just to be invited to the table, but then when I got there… it was amazing.

What Jeremy, Liv, and Jasper did to make me feel welcome:

• The atmosphere in the call was really warm and open to my guidance.

• Leading up to the game each of the players expressed their excitement and enthusiasm with the handouts I’d given them in the lead-up.

• They each filled out a safety/consent checklist and explained to me what sort of story they were interested in telling.

• Jeremy reassured me that I was a great GM and that I didn’t get to where I was by being mediocre. (He’d never played with me, he’d made the judgment call on my reputation, I believe.)

  • Reassurances for GMs or players who are self-conscious are sometimes really needed.

• Liv & Jasper let me know during my break time check-ins that I was doing really well and then asked how I felt about the show thus far.

  • Opening themselves up to hearing me voice insecurities meant a lot to me in those moments.

• Jeremy shot me a message post-game telling me that he thinks people are gonna really like the episode.

Sometimes I mention my imposter syndrome. I’d had an epiphany when I literally said to my therapist “I can’t have imposter syndrome, I haven’t done enough yet.”

What I’d done in 2022:

• Worked as a content manager as a side gig

• Founded my LLC and led my business to:

  • 51k revenue in my first year

  • Projecting 90-110k for 2023

  • Ranked in the top 3 pro GMs on StartPlaying Games year-round

• Was a panelist & GM for Kobold Press at GenCon

• Started a podcast & mailing list

• Built and developed The Vineyard RPG with my co-creator M Ebel

Yet still I have these brain goblins telling me that I haven’t done enough. Every day I finish work I look at my to-do list and guilt trip myself for not doing more. It’s wild!

So if I’m gonna give y’all any advice out there, it is: Be cool like 3 Black Halflings. Be kind. Make great entertainment.

Check out 3 Black Halflings on Patreon for ad free content, YouTube, Twitter, and follow Jeremy, Liv, and Jasper on Twitter!

I’ll be releasing the Dollars & Dragons interview with Jasper William Cartwright on the same day that our game of Thirsty Sword Lesbians premieres on 3BH. Stay tuned!

Dollars & Dragons Podcast

In this chat with VJ Harris we discuss casting, shows, tokenism, and other elements of production. We address some topics: What is building an inclusive production? What can you do as a white person to make your environment safe?

Check out VJ’s design work! (https://www.vjhcreations.com/)

VJ Harris is also one of the designers on The Vineyard RPG!

Resources for you to make a great thumbnail for low cost or free

Thanks to my Patrons who helped me formulate this resource. You all are an endless source of motivation for me to continue my work. If you are interested to join this group of 25 superstars and help us get to 50 patrons – then you’ll have my undying loyalty in the class war of 2040. Also I’ll release 6 Dollars & Dragons episodes a month once I get 50 patrons. Check it out here! (https://www.patreon.com/isfriday)

Free:

Pexels

Unsplash

Morguefile (10 free images with a trial)

StartPlaying Games

Images licensed by SPG are free for you to use and manipulate, so take advantage of that. Remember: the highest paid GM on the website used nothing but SPG licensed images for most of 2022.

Paid:

iStock ($10 per image)

Dean Spencer art – Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/deanspencerart)

I would be careful about looking over “stock art” as there is a smattering of AI art available on DriveThruRPG nowadays. I don’t know if DTRPG will be regulating that or not, so for the time being try to mitigate that by doing some basic research. Reach out to the artist if you are uncertain.

That’s it for today! I just wanted to get this out there because of all the discussion on AI art lately. Cheers, y’all.

Check out this advertising article to learn how to use stock art more effectively!

You wanna work with someone? Here’s how to get your foot in the door.

I’m asked often how I built one of the biggest freelance teams in the tabletop industry for The Vineyard RPG. I’m as immensely proud of where we are today as I am bamboozled by that fact. I’ve poured over my pitch emails and messages to find the common themes to my successes in communication.

This advice is for anyone seeking to collaborate or work with anyone else, not just in the tabletop industry – it’s just where I happen to work.

The email:

• Be kind

• Value up front

• Be interested in people

• Be interested in their work

• Give clear next steps

You want it to be readable on a phone so that a freelancer who gets your email can respond with a “yes, let’s talk!” and you are scheduling a meeting to discuss details from there. Don’t over complicate things – freelancers are busy enough.