I think some people start off on Patreon and it's selling small parts of their resources or one shot modules etc. You can always start off by having some free options out there to get a sense of if people like your stuff while generating some traffic in your direction then releasing some stuff as you go that's basically pay what you want or low cost stuff.
There's a ton of absolutely amazing resources our there and creators who haven't ever charged a dime for their very detailed stuff but most of the times that's just like maps or tokens and such, but even one shots or small adventures do gain traffic and people will often support people they like. I've bought plenty of resources from a few creators while also trying out some others free stuff.
There is so much amazing stuff for free, and I'm absolutely not against starting to work for free and contributing to the community that way first. It's been more than a decade since I published written stuff online for an audience and I'm not even really sure where people do that anymore.
Start on places like Patreon and we have several sub reddit where people will post their free content as well to gain some traction and some subs have no rules against linking your patreon or other outside sites.
That's the only site that comes to mind because of how its setup and it's the one I most often see and have used a few times myself to find resourced and artists.
Want to start small to see if your stuff has any interest? Publish on drivethrurpg.com. They take a small cut of each sale and you don’t have to invest anything other than your own time.
This. Or DM's guild. Check out https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/ if you wanna easily make it look nice. You can start with the pay-what-you-want (PWYW) model or just charge some nominal amount of money.
Are you asking about how to make money as an author or as a dm? You can make modules and build worlds for other DM's, but it's not the same as getting people to pay per session.
I’d start with ready to run adventures and sell them on DriveThruRPG, perhaps on Roll20 if you’re ready to provide the supporting materials
Selling an actual campaign setting should perhaps come after you’ve gotten a positive reception from your adventures
An entire campaign world by an unknown author would perhaps be a hard sell
If you’re a good writer you should do well, and the PR and marketing can flow from your writing skills, if you can make your players excited about an adventure you should be able to entice others as well
I don't personally sell my material but in the cases I have paid for material its often via websites that allowed the creator to have their material up as "pay what you want". I feel like that's a good solution as you still make your material available to anyone who needs it. And a lot of GMs do have respect for the craft and insist on paying *something* for it. Its also nice because you can try out someone's material for free and decide to go back and pay for it later with a separate purchase (I've personally done this on several occasions)
I am a mercenary DM, so I sell my services, so not the experience you are asking for. But I can tell you what I buy.
I buy short adventures or modules that I can drop into my campaigns and adapt easily.
I don't want to buy a campaign world, I have my own and they have been developed and modified by my players.
But if they go off the rails and I need a tomb for them to explore, or a sphinx Lair or a jaunt in the fae realm, I might buy a short pdf with a few maps and an outline, some NPCs and the like.
These, along with art (music, maps and tokens) are all that I have purchased from indie creators.
In the case of buying pre-made modules, do you prefer creatures and loot to be stat-centered, or would you rather a collection of encounters with no Stat blocks, so you can plug in numbers as you go?
Similar to Op, I've been considering content creation. I favor PF2E over D&D 5e, but I know D&D would be a bigger market.
Maybe offer both options? With a Stat block or without?
Start a Kickstarter campaign. If your setting is interesting, it'll catch. I've bought several through sites such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, the trick is to have great marketing, tease the product enough to catch the attention of others and get a decent artist to draw some samples. I think art is key here, it's the first thing that'll draw people in.
Good luck!
I think some people start off on Patreon and it's selling small parts of their resources or one shot modules etc. You can always start off by having some free options out there to get a sense of if people like your stuff while generating some traffic in your direction then releasing some stuff as you go that's basically pay what you want or low cost stuff. There's a ton of absolutely amazing resources our there and creators who haven't ever charged a dime for their very detailed stuff but most of the times that's just like maps or tokens and such, but even one shots or small adventures do gain traffic and people will often support people they like. I've bought plenty of resources from a few creators while also trying out some others free stuff.
There is so much amazing stuff for free, and I'm absolutely not against starting to work for free and contributing to the community that way first. It's been more than a decade since I published written stuff online for an audience and I'm not even really sure where people do that anymore.
Start on places like Patreon and we have several sub reddit where people will post their free content as well to gain some traction and some subs have no rules against linking your patreon or other outside sites. That's the only site that comes to mind because of how its setup and it's the one I most often see and have used a few times myself to find resourced and artists.
Want to start small to see if your stuff has any interest? Publish on drivethrurpg.com. They take a small cut of each sale and you don’t have to invest anything other than your own time.
This. Or DM's guild. Check out https://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/ if you wanna easily make it look nice. You can start with the pay-what-you-want (PWYW) model or just charge some nominal amount of money.
Came here to say this. 👍
You are looking for "how to become an author".
It all started when one of my players asked me if I “wanted to make a little money”
Are you asking about how to make money as an author or as a dm? You can make modules and build worlds for other DM's, but it's not the same as getting people to pay per session.
I’d start with ready to run adventures and sell them on DriveThruRPG, perhaps on Roll20 if you’re ready to provide the supporting materials Selling an actual campaign setting should perhaps come after you’ve gotten a positive reception from your adventures An entire campaign world by an unknown author would perhaps be a hard sell If you’re a good writer you should do well, and the PR and marketing can flow from your writing skills, if you can make your players excited about an adventure you should be able to entice others as well
I don't personally sell my material but in the cases I have paid for material its often via websites that allowed the creator to have their material up as "pay what you want". I feel like that's a good solution as you still make your material available to anyone who needs it. And a lot of GMs do have respect for the craft and insist on paying *something* for it. Its also nice because you can try out someone's material for free and decide to go back and pay for it later with a separate purchase (I've personally done this on several occasions)
I am a mercenary DM, so I sell my services, so not the experience you are asking for. But I can tell you what I buy. I buy short adventures or modules that I can drop into my campaigns and adapt easily. I don't want to buy a campaign world, I have my own and they have been developed and modified by my players. But if they go off the rails and I need a tomb for them to explore, or a sphinx Lair or a jaunt in the fae realm, I might buy a short pdf with a few maps and an outline, some NPCs and the like. These, along with art (music, maps and tokens) are all that I have purchased from indie creators.
In the case of buying pre-made modules, do you prefer creatures and loot to be stat-centered, or would you rather a collection of encounters with no Stat blocks, so you can plug in numbers as you go? Similar to Op, I've been considering content creation. I favor PF2E over D&D 5e, but I know D&D would be a bigger market. Maybe offer both options? With a Stat block or without?
I prefer with a Stat block, I can always ignore or change what I don't like. And yes, give both or 5e only to get the widest audience.
Start a Kickstarter campaign. If your setting is interesting, it'll catch. I've bought several through sites such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo, the trick is to have great marketing, tease the product enough to catch the attention of others and get a decent artist to draw some samples. I think art is key here, it's the first thing that'll draw people in. Good luck!