Re: Ninja Hero Review At ENWorld
There are a scant handful of places that pay for reviews; fewer even if you only count online sources. (SJGames Pyramid is one. Don't know of any others off the top of my head, but surely there has to be at least one or two others...)
When you read an RPG review online, almost certainly the MOST payment recieved was a free copy of the book. Not a bad way to get paid, as long as you like what you're getting! Speaking just for myself, I like the free books, but mainly I do it because I love the hobby. I can only imagine that that holds true for most others who aren't receiving monetary compensation (and it's probably for most of those folks, too).
So, wince away. I do it to, when I read something I think is poorly written. But cut a bit of slack, while you're at it, please. It'd be great if there were more professional-level writers doing RPG criticism, but since there's no money to be had from it, it doesn't exactly attract the creme de la creme of the writing world... As nice as it'd be to have a Hemingway of gaming criticism, I'm afraid the best we can hope for is a bunch of Dean Koontz-es.
If you have the time, I know a lot of game sites (like my own humble abode, GamingReport) accept fan-submitted reviews. If you'd like to see a better written review of Ninja Hero, write one! It's good for Hero, and it might end up in people giving you free books so it's good for you too!
