Do we get compensated for writing?

I could see getting a title, and perhaps a different title or cloak in-game (or a writing desk!) after having a certain number of stories approved for inclusion but an actual quantifiable cash/credit would be opening up a huge can of worms.

$5 a book is pretty significant too. I mean 300-500 words is nothing, plus they're accepting smaller poems and things too. You could easily sit down one weekend and churn out dozens of entries. Just rename the forum to "The Free Pledge Upgrades of Novia"

The reward is seeing your prose existing in the game, without having to use a mod. And knowing that other people are going to see it too. You never know, it may actually become a talked about item in-game, stories get made based off of it.

It's a volunteer task that was clearly indicated as such, for people that write for the love of the writing and want to help create the game in a small, but more concrete way than just donating cash. Ironically, in my opinion asking to be paid for the work would cheapen the entire endeavor.

 

I disagree. That also implies all the work by Bubonic, Hairy Man, or Melchior (or even myself) has also cheapened the request for content?

BTW, We are not talking about someone cashing out a check, as in real money, these are all virtual "rewards".

You get in-game credit, not a fat stack of real money.

And it doesn't even have to be in-game credit for the pledge or store. It could be in-in-game credit, to buy things from vendors perhaps. Or items made by other "content creators", etc...

The point is: The entire "flavor" of this crowd sourcing solution was started, and continues to be around a barter-like setup. Someone asks for work, some level of compensation is agreed, work is submitted for standards check.

Why would books, or anything being asked of the sourced community, be different?

 

I can see this discussion from both sides of the fence (I'd rather not sit on it though).

If a person gives up there time to write something (even only 500 words), then if it is deemed good enough to be placed in the game, then why not give them a small reward that will not cost a significant amount to the developers.

That said, if a reward is given we then have the situation of the developers being inundated with to may pieces of "prose", so they cannot judge them, unless they employ a person to do this.

Hence,m catch 22....we need to keep costs down - so we ask for stories for no recompense - hence only those dedicated to the game will give input, thus not to much to proof read.

If we offer to pay (whatever that is) every one and there dog submits stories so it eats in to the developement budget as athe aforementioned member of staff has to be employed to proof the amount of stories submitted (I'd suggest as a reward offered a significant amount would be rubbish).

Not sure of the answer to this one guys.

 

I like what you're saying, yet I believe you are discounting what should become a more important addition to our game.

http://oev.hilands.com/library-books.html
This is a link to some that have come before into our Online Ultima.

To say that good writing is not worth compensation that costs Portalarium nothing if it is a digital compensation, or that great works of short literary talent are somehow not worth any offer of reward, is like saying that the digital artist's doodles are not worth our Portalarium paying an employee for that work, or to say that our music that is being placed in our game can be easily recorded and also has no value. If this is the case, then we can only expect very low quality works that anyone with a key board could create. "Often times, such uncreative works are called SPAM"... which refers to things written that nobody would want to read, or be disappointed in reading if they were looking for something "truly interesting to read" to be generated over and over again within our game.

"You get what you pay for, or what you would reward someone for". If we are looking for flattering single individuals, then we can achieve that goal by providing literary works that players will pick up, read and then never have a reason to ever read again, unless you or your personal friend was the one that wrote it.

But, if you want to buy the literary works of the Beatles "I want to hold your hand" and think that you could get that for cheap, any person would be very wrong in making such an assumption.

Do not go gentle into that good night, By Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

But if we want to get that quality of a product, something that we would wish to read time and again, then it's best that we therefore attract a much larger base of literary works to choose from that could be placed upon our common ingame bookshelves.

http://oev.hilands.com/library-books.html
Read any of these, or works from my my favorite ingame Ultima writers such as Sherry the Mouse, or Fabio the Poor... and I think we can get better than that if we make our contest more publicly inviting by reward.
But to say that the written word is somehow cheap, is to deny the true history of it... and then cheap is what we will get.
~Time Lord~

 

Hmm..ahh..errrr.. I hate to, but I agree that books submitted to the game should get paid for. *winces*

Music, sound effects, and graphics are all being paid for. To not pay for written/story contribution could be bad. It could give a lot of negative PR to portalarium.. Published authors might feel as if it was a bit of a slap in the face - sort of a statement about that medium of creativity and its value in relationship to gaming.

I say this as an objective perspective as neither I nor any family members have or plan on submitting written assets.

More importantly though? Give them a chance..maybe they plan on doing so. This just started up and im sure there are a lot of things we dont know yet. This may be in the plans.

Edit: Only so far as in reference to stuff that is accepted and used as official lore! With regards to just anything anyone writes in player written books, then um.. no.. you shouldn't see a cent for that

 

Short answer:

When the in game tech is in place, players will be able to use the printing press, for a fee (in-game currency), to publish their own books. Books that are published by us do not have to pay that fee, get placed in the game early, and are also afforded the recognition of quality from both the Team and the Council of Scribes.

We're putting together an official statement on this which will likely be out after R9, and when it is ready, I'll add it to the top of this section just like the one in the music forum.

 

Yes, I agree fully

This is why I declined to head the Council of Scribes: I didn't think the method of essentially sourcing free labour for a commercial release game, and taking advantage of fan enthusiasm to do it, was ethical.

This is not the same as writing something *after* the game is out; this official review process is specifically there to pre-populate the game world and officially enhance the core SotA game.

To me, anything that's player-written, dev-reviewed, LB-approved, and inserted into the game pre-release as a part of the vanilla game consumers will be paying for (or already HAVE paid for), is no longer 'fan-fiction'. It's being published by the developers into the original *commercial* release -- and the developers are the ones getting paid for all the creativity, time and work being done by writers and scribes.

Why is it wrong for writers to ask for the same level of professionalism that others (musicians, asset store contributors...) are getting?

Or do people think that skilled writing is somehow less worthy? Or that writers shouldn't be paid for something they enjoy doing, no matter how talented they are?

How is that fair?

 

There's a difference between player-made books of 300-500 words, poetry, short stories, and even fan fiction, and the involvement of a professional author like Tracy Hickman writing Blade of the Avatar. A huge difference, and it ought to be noted. Writing is a craft, and readers are often merciless with authors who do not sharpen their skill at writing to the maximum. For this sharpening and prolific act, which to most of their loved ones looks insane, some few writers are able to make a living from their works.

I enjoy seeing people collaborate creatively for its own sake, and I feel Portalarium was nice to offer a community of hobbyists the opportunity to make a little cash from musical contributions, instead of just hiring a composer in-house or purchasing completed music from online sources. On the topic of fan-fiction, I am somewhat more reserved. I would like Portalarium to offer an ability for very good writers to contribute works of fan fiction, such as is done in major games these days. But in order to arm them with the lore necessary (perhaps in wiki form) and collaborate editing wise... its a business move that requires a lot of thought and planning lest it be a risky failure and liability.

Shroud of the Avatar has inspired me to write seven short stories around the character 'Holt' and his bardic companions. They're not really that related to New Britannia, specifically, but creativity feeds off itself. I'm very grateful that I was able to produce these stories, as I had not written fantasy in a decade. They may even spur further works and someday be profitable! But to imagine that they are yet 'worth something' without professional editing and whatnot is a bit far fetched.

Is it possible that Tracy Hickman or Richard Garriott reads something they absolutely adore and try to hook its author up with an agent or a deal? I suppose it might be! But lets remember just how good a writer you have to be to be taken seriously by anyone at all.

It may seem a harsh truth, but truth it is!

~Holt

 

Ouch, a thorny topic.

Compensation is a tricky subject, and obviously raises some strong personal opinions. Without disparaging others, I can only share my opinion, which happens to coincide with Gabriel's - I do what I do for the good of the game; I want or expect no monetary or digital reward.

I am now helping to read some of the player created works on the Caverns; if anyone feels aggrieved or short-changed I will happily donate to them my entire salary from that source

I think Sir Stile makes a good point; assets that form a part of the game - whatever medium they happen to be - may reasonably attract compensation in some form. But yes, give them a chance - they're probably still working it all out. If we are saying that writers of ordinary fan fiction should get paid, then I should get paid for reading it - and that's just ridiculous! I do it for love of the game, and for fun. And then it becomes a slippery slope - the DJs on Avatars Radio should be paid, and anyone who maintains a fan-based website should be paid for the thousands of hours that they put in to help make this game great!

At some point we have to step back, draw a breath, and say that we do some things simply because we want to.

 

"Attracting Deeper Community Involvement"

"Through the Free and Digital Reward", is a great way to attract more talent as well as to better effect through impact the rich heritage of community involvement that Our Game has displayed and come to be known by.
Yet deeper still and more to the point, our game in it's graphics is very similar to every other game out there and our sound effects are also very similar so as to be thought of as common...
(please notice the switch to a bold script for the impact that brought out our issue that seemed in hiding from most eyes)

"Our Game's most deep and well known attraction!"
Our Game's most deep and well known attraction within it is that it is a thought provoking game, a mental game and as such has been so throughout it's very long successful history. This can be seen from the very first of Richard Garriott's works as a teenage superstar and all the way through to his present game, (aka) "Our Game" and Our New Britannia deserves to be the crown jewel of all that has come before it! But the one thread that ties every piece of the Ultima and Richard Garriott's works all together as no other binding thread dose, is it's "rich heritage and well known hallmark of being the most mentally stimulating game on the planet" (and some could say off the planet, as he has been there too).

"To Pass Up a Chance to Liven Up Our Community's Deeper Involvement, is to Do Our Great Game No Justice it Deserves!"
To pass up such an opportunity to become but a foot note within our forums is to pass up a great opportunity to attract more players and thus more revenues for our game's better prosperity. By offering all of our arts "substantial digital rewards" (which costs our Portalarium Company no real money to create) is like buying free advertizement because these things do attract more players to become involved with our game.

"We Have Not Given Away a Player Town Yet as a Reward!"
If there is such a writer out there that would be attracted by such an offer, then that town which was delivered as reward would surely become well known by it's author and also become an attraction for other great writers to gather round it for deeper in-game writings to come from it, which would only deepen and enrich our more grand community in-game.

"My head is always one step away from the gallows or hangman's noose, so what's new about that?"
I am not the only one that brings bravery to the breach or passion to the flame. We would offer all our heart's boldness to our game's PvP Arena, we offer our hearts to the hopes of having other gaming styles within our game such as farming, crafts and other ways of playing, so what is so different here within our forums that we should cower to meet any challenge? This challenge is for the deepening and betterment of our game's mental challenges which would enhance us all through it's offerings... yet would encourage so many more subjects to have passion lead to their breach.

I may seem as the most avid and harsh supporter of this issue, yet if deeper attention is not brought to bare to this subject, then this grand idea of Portalarium Supported In-Game Books becomes but a trivial thing, with trivial works coming from it. Yet further, it is also a lost opportunity for Our Portalarium to have displayed it's attention of it's "inviting commitment" to have every player feel as though "they too helped add to our world", by lending their heart's works into the offerings and the best of those were rewarded which we all can later be proud of. "It costs our company nothing to offer such things as digital rewards which would enhance not only it's commitment to public involvement but to the betterment of our greatest historic asset which is the mental qualities within our game"... Nay I Say! "Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night!"... Blaze like meteors and be gay within it! Happy are we that meet in the breach and wish not one coward on the field be left standing to bring about any deepening to our game's hallmark of mental and artistic challenges...

"We all play a part here for such pursuits as to the promotion of our game"
Such pursuits as that of our Bear Tavern Brawl enjoy some reward in the form of the Portalarium Special Guests that keep showing up which rewards all with their added fun and excitement. Yet here, of most special added note and note worthy efforts, was the "great efforts" of our finest quality of heart and true Knight, "blaquerogue", who pushed ever forward through great adversity to have brought light to the subject of Great Arena Fighting Events! He demonstrated to all what deep heart and bravery through passionate opinion within the forums to have brought such interests that our greater community stood up and took great notice of our PvP. He is truly our bravest for having tempted the tempest of banishment within his great heart of commitment to our game.
I am still waiting, as everyone is for a true "Hero of the Farmer" to rise, that would bring more light and incite deeper ideas for it's better creation. This goes as well for the blacksmith, the tinker, the cook, the hair stylist and every other sort of passion that can add a better light as to bring our community's attention to their causes and bring about our ever deeper Ultima!

"Nay!, Do Not Go Gentle Into Any of These Good Nights. Our Time is to Rally that Within Us All to Plunge Our Whole Hearten Spirits to those Breach!"
By utilizing such free to our company's digital rewards in such things as our in-game books, we help bind our creative and imaginative community that goes on into inspiring other forms of inventive thought to not only better our game, but to better bind our community to it. "It is not the candle that creates the fire, it is the inspiration that is drawn to the fire that makes it into the flame that attracts us to it!"

Now is not the time to go gently, nay...
~Time Lord~

 

Yeah...Hickman did get paid.

Seriously though, this has nothing to do with Hickman. It's about treating writers as fairly as other artists who are getting paid. It's not like every person who writes for computer games is, or has ever been, a published novelist. I don't believe you are suggesting that people who craft dialogue, storylines and in-game books for computer games are less worthy of being paid for their time and skill as an acclaimed novelist, or even that their writing can't be as good (or better!) but that's how it comes across.

Indeed. But Portalarium isn't accepting just any writing to be officially inserted into the game. They go goes through their creative control channels and an official approval phase. If it meets their quality criteria and is deemed good enough to go into the release version of the game by the devs' own hand, how is that different from listening to a piece of music and adding that as the ambient tune to the ruins of Opalis?

Do I think it's nice that they want to include the community in the game? Absolutely. But why would skilled writers not be considered worthy of compensation when other artists are?

 

I know that hits close to home for you. The dialogue for Ultima V: Lazarus (U5 being my favourite of all Origin's games), was tremendous, as was the soundtrack. That entire project deserved to be 'paid'. Yet it was not...

So I don't want you to spin my words into 'Holt is suggesting that people who craft dialogue, storylines and in-game books for computer games are less worthy of being paid for their time'. That's a very cruel thing to do to someone who is simply telling the truth about how the business of writing is handled.

Do they DESERVE and are they WORTHY of being paid? Yes!!!!

Is there a business model that will suddenly exist that will pay everyone who writes? Never, ever, ever? Maybe never? Maybe ever?


RE: Money for Music.

I wrote a 13 or 14 page strategic assessment document for Portalarium in April 2014 suggesting all sorts of things about how they could handle music, and licensing. I treated that interaction as a business proposal for the sake of everyone who would be involved in music, because I perceived that it wasn't really being paid the attention that was critical to producing a soundtrack. I wanted to make sure that Shroud had a competitive soundtrack by the time the game was launched, as appropriate music does not, in fact, appear out of thin air .

I mailed back and forth with Richard Garriott and (mainly) Dallas Snell for a couple weeks until we hammered something out that was affordable to Portalarium and was sure to inspire the hobby musicians amongst our community to produce some work and maybe cover the cost of their time and equipment in so doing. The rates offered, compared to some of the talent are not industry standard, and nowhere near unionized film/TV fees. You could argue that they aren't fair. But they serve a purpose. Port did what they could. My belief is that the fairly 'low' flat fees protect tracks from being snapped up by freelance professionals (who would be attracted to better jobs, and can't afford to work for that little), making it sure that music tracks are primarily contributions from a dedicated fanbase in the community of SotA supporters. The easy thing would have been to hire a composer. Portalarium wanted to cleverly live up to their crowdsourcing ambitions with regards to the sound of the game.


So, my suggestion surrounding writing for SotA is, if anything: talk to Portalarium in a professional way and draft up a business proposal that benefits everyone while fulfilling the objectives of the project. Money does change the way things are handled. Maybe Portalarium does not wish the complications (fyi, they did not desire to do royalties on the soundtrack to contributing artists because of the accounting involved and the low expected profit).


Whatever is done, I support writers being paid for excellent writing.I also recognize the requirement of a realistic business model that meets the specific objectives of the project. Sometimes that realistic model has a grand total budget of zero dollars, and it's not a moral issue at all, certainly not an opinion of mine, as you say, "about treating writers as fairly as other artists who are getting paid". A handful of talent in the music sphere of things did not find Portalarium's licensing of music fair, and backed out. I am personally very sad for their loss of beautiful music. But I understand both sides of this issue.

So this fairness you speak of is quite a relative thing, and what you consider fair may in fact by an opinion of yours that is not reflected by Portalarium as a company that must produce a profit. And 'fairness' and 'reality' in the business of publishing may in fact not really intersect that often. Find a way to make them a buck and cut you in though, and watch the tune change. That's how it is.

Anyway, I'm just chiming in on this topic because I also write, I am published (ie I make money from book sales), and I feel as if I understand a bit of the business (its good and bad sides). I'm not suggesting that I like it anymore than you, Shadow of Light, nor am I suggesting what I think is fair. I don't think an appeal to 'fairness' is the way to approach the issue at all. I think that once you involve money you have to think in terms of the bottom line, which is 'how will Portalarium profit or break even in dollar value if they spend money on developing this particular asset of the game'. If you can solve that puzzle, then you'll get paid. If you can't...an appeal to morality or fairness in the business of writing will fall upon the deaf ears of publishing-business-as-usual.

 

I like the SotA community for that: kindly, helpful, supporting Players "only" to make a fantastic new Game and a big adventure for all of us.

...and there are many, many players spending lots of time for all of us without asking for money, thank you guys, you are great and that is what our community can be proud of

 

Unmasked, you dastard! I'm sure Firelotus would love having me as an alter ego. Yikes.

 

FireLotus' point about players publishing books in game is worthy of repeating. After this mechanic is in place, players will essentially work to make books without compensation. I don't see much difference doing it now, and a benefit in that it gets some sort of official sanction. Fan fiction, if you read about it on line, has very ambiguous feelings about compensation. Compensation always changes the dynamics. This conversation is a good reflection of a variety of perspectives and how complex it gets.

To Holt's point, if they were to compensate anyone, the quality would have to be high. Most of the current submissions, and I include myself in this, wouldn't survive a professional editor. I think the result of offering compensation would be that few if any actually meet the bar. Whether it would raise the quality and encourage some new submissions is unclear.

I enjoy writing, enjoy the practice here, had no expectations of receiving anything in return. It's not that uncommon. People are contributing left and right on things like SotaWiki, walkthrough videos, etc. If this conversation leads to less opportunities to participate in terms of writing, I will be disappointed.

 

No, but as a remake based on an existing IP it never *could* accept payment without being sued into oblivion. Absolutely everyone on the team knew that when they signed on, and while it's very flattering when people say they thought it was good enough they'd have been willing to pay for it, it's neither a realistic nor legal expectation. Lazarus was not a commercial product, and it was completely fair that it be treated as such.

But Shroud of the Avatar is a commercial product.

(Incidentally, anyone who seriously thinks Lazarus was worth paying for can donate to Child's Play. Thanks!)

While that's how it came across to me, I flat out said I didn't believe that's what you were intending to say since I know you value the written word. I apologise if I phrased it poorly. I can do that just as well as anyone else, obviously

[snips rest]

Thanks, I appreciate the breadth of your reply. You've definitely given me some things to ponder, but too much to reply to at this time of night. ~.~

At the end of the day, yes, I know they're a business. Unfortunately I have this naive expectation that appealing to fairness and ethics in people working on a game founded on the concept of Virtue has a chance of impact. I suppose that's like expecting GLEE not to rip off musicians just because it's about musicians.

 

Remember the OP of this thread? I refreshed it here so that others can better see it's intent

If we become frightened in posting our opinions whether by the fear that Portalarium will somehow become frightened of us or we of them, what then do we have left to discuss on any of our forum's topics? We are always going to have adversity within any gathering of people, yet if properly hallmarked and promoted, then such events of community involvement outshine any adversity that can be seen within our member's postings. "Let the good shine through!"

"Public Recognition"
This isn't about money, "as what we would receive as any cash $ "compensation"(<---<<< the horrible business word within this), which is a very different word than that of "reward". The OP was looking for but a "token" of thanks in recognition. Some here have spoken of the fact that, "the publishing of such is reward and recognition all of it's own rite".

Yet the word "memento" does fit each flavor of what has been discussed here and such things were not unknown as Medals of Merit, such as described in the above example from the medieval time period. You can't ware a book, or music around your neck or display it in any way to become a royal achievement for others to give the continuing public recognition that such achievements truly deserve. "But you can ware a medal with a neck ribbon" for the public remembrance of it". Have any of us achieved a feat that is deserving of such a recognition? and when we do, shouldn't that truly Noble One have a way of showing on their person such recognition as a Noble? "I think so and I dare say that other players here would as well".


"Free Advertizement and Crowd Excitement of Enticement"
(the very missed opportunity we have within our events and contests)

When people first come to check out our game, they have first been lead here by some very enticing advertizement in the forms of such things as our Lord British and Darkstarr making time to make special trips to showcase our game, or the public has learned of our game through some other online media service or advertizement which is all difficult to achieve. Their first stop after being enticed is to our front page advertisement main page.
But where they first enter into our New Britannia's populace is "Our Forums". Here they meet and greet all that have been enjoying our game and it's events, both inside our gaming world and "here in our forums". Thus when we better hallmark and entice the many to participate, it's the best advertizement of all, because they than see a very active community that would seem as "we are already in New Britannia" and the game is afoot everywhere with rich reward of recognition that would transpose into our game in some form by we becoming more involved and encouraging others to join in!

Such recognition in digital form is no more than a "Bit coin that had cost us nothing to make!", Yet goes far in the form of providing a much larger and enticing "Welcoming Mat" for others to feel enticed to purchase our game.
We always are in need of larger welcoming mats for every event and contest we ever venture to present here yo!
And That's what promoting a game to gather others in their multitude is all about...
Don't allow these opportunities to pass us quietly by
~Time Lord~

 

Most topics don't involve compensation. That brings in a whole host of issues, including legal ones. It is not an "apples to apples" comparison as they say.

Plus, I could see this easily affecting an area where I'd like to make a meager contribution. I am not "frightened" of discussing the topic as you assume. I merely want to point out that if the discussion affects the process going forward (and it already has because we need some sort of special announcement from FireLotus) in a way that limits contribution in this area, I will be disappointed. Please don't portray the sharing of my perspective as an attempt to limit forum discussion.

 

Regrettably, the production of fiction, poetry, and other writings is a very social industry. The best writer in the world might never see a dime for his work for it, while dozens of his merely moderately skilled contemporaries wax profitable. This problem is as old as time. The art of selling writing has nothing at all to do with the appeal or quality of that writing (by any standard whatsoever). It has everything to do with convincing people to pay for it.

This isn't a new problem, and it's not one exclusive to writing. It is, however, easier to understand with respect to writing, if only for the fact that most anyone can write. Most forms of art appeal to the senses. Paintings and drawings are seen, and seeing is so easy that anyone can do it. Rhythm and beat are heard, and hearing is also intuitive. Understanding the written word isn't so easy. The meaning of the thing doesn't--can't--jump out at you in the way that an illustration or a track might simply because the significance of the words is encrypted in the text. To decrypt it, you have to sit there, read, criticize, and analyze. That's hard work. Not everyone likes to do that, and not everyone has the time to do that. There is a prevailing barrier where it comes to the quality of writing because it's not in a commercial author's best interest to actually write good literature. People won't buy it if you do because good literature is hard. It's meaty, it's chewy, it's rough and challenging and sometimes complicated. You sure as heck won't get through Moby **** the same way and at the same pace as you get through Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, and neither is the relative difference in quality between them disputed by pretty much anyone. And no one really wants to read Moby **** anyway, exactly because it's meaty and chewy and bloody hell difficult. Mediocre literature is more accessible exactly for the same reasons that make it mediocre.

So when we talk about "good literature", we're either talking about literature that's likely to be commercially viable or actual good literature. I think in this case we're talking about the former. Hickman's work falls into the latter category, anyway.

It's largely for these reasons that I tell my "author" friends that they won't ever churn a penny from their careers in authoring. You might write something that people want to buy simply because it's engaging, it's informative, it's cool!, or it's somehow otherwise useful, but you can't sell it to them unless you've got the business skills and professional connections to do. That's a whole other skill set that has no impact or bearing on the ability of the author to spit out something that people want to read. Meyer (Twilight) and James (Fifty Shades of Grey) are adequate proof of this.

I was recently reminded of this, too, when I encountered a book written by Rowling on a shelf at Target. She had written it under a pseudonym mostly because shedoesn't want the successes of Harry Potter to futz up her exploration of other genres. It was ironic--sad, but a little funny--that right on the front cover of that book was a shiny black sticker put there by a Target employee. It read, "From bestselling Harry Potter author JK ROWLING!"

Anyway, in this particular case Portalarium does not face a legal obligation to pay those who submit work if it is clearly understood that accepted work will not earn pay. I don't see what the problem would be with offering those people Addon Store credit, though. Anyway, if people aren't happy with the fact that this work isn't compensated, there's not a lot you can do about it besides choosing not to submit. Portalarium is kind of shooting themselves in the foot here, though. Lore will be a staple to a game like SotA, and you just can't get that volume of high quality work from an open community without offering pay.

 

Hey, I'm not that old, I'm only 56 years young still"

"Reluctance and the Bringing Forth of Deeper Community Involvement"
I am a lover and avid reader of in game books, so I do apologize Good Sir Vyrinor, yet there has been some reluctance in providing open opinion throughout out our forums at times sprouting from many factors and I wanted to insure that this was not a factor within anyone's mind or thoughts here within our discussion

"Logic, Clarity and Refinement for better product and the Encouragement for More Writer's Entrees"
Whenever Lady FireLotus ever does something within her reconsideration of particulars, she only does so because of the logic or needed clarity for the improvement of the event for all to better become informed and well lead to a better outcome for it's intent. There have always been discussions where we gather our community's open mind onto a subject and all have had a more refined outcome all for the better.

"Legal Tender in the Bit Coin Style"
As far as any legal issues of compensation tender, through such a "bit coin styled" in game rare such as a Noble's Medal or medallion, it becomes then a monetarily exchangeable item that will only grow in value because such medals would be rare and thus have literal value because they are then, "the value style that a bit coin has". Which in the case of the bit coin, they are and have been exchanged as an international currency. It is in this light that I promote them as a "compensation, reward or outright currency" that would be recognized as having present and future true value.

"More Books, Better Event = More Players"
I just want better books to come from all this and use the event's more enhanced luster to become a better enticement for others to come join in. I do know that such enhancement would bring in more competition for everyone's writing to have to compete with, but that's what brings better quality to our common in game book shelves.

"The True leadership on the Subject"
It would seem that our Great Bard Holt and our Great Scribe Shadow of Light Dragon have made some points of topic that do need a judgement call, but both these leader's opinions do carry much more weight in my mind than that which I can give to the subject. "When these two speak, I do listen", because they do have a bit more deeper knowledge about the subject to discuss than I do. Our Lady FireLotus is the only referee and true leader here that can bring a better outcome for everyone's concerns after weighing all the issues.

More Players and Better Books is my only interests here...
But I do apologize if I mistook your comment Good Sir Vyrinor!
~Time Lord~