#and this is traditional fiction not IF wich is way more obscured

[anathemafiction]

I won’t lie, I wish you would publish the game in some way that had nothing to do with Hosted or Choice games, because they take the part of the popsicle that breaks off with the top of the other one. You deserve all the money you can get from this, but I respect your decision to publish with them since it’s your first work. I can’t wait. :)

Hello, anon! Thank you, first of all, for your words, and I do understand that you're coming from a well-meaning place, so this isn't in any way or form to address you personally but more of me taking the chance to address something that has been brought to my attention for a while now.

I've gotten some messages - all of them coming, like you, from a well-meaning place! - about Hosted Games and, particularly, about the cut they take from its authors. And I do understand, upon first hearing that number, the 25% revenue that the author gets, how it may shock you. It seems too low a number for one who essentially writes and codes the entire game.

However, 25% to 30% is, for better or worse, the standard royalty that any publishing company offers its authors. Whether it's traditional fiction or interactive, publishers take about a 70% cut of every book sold. Do I think this is fair? That's a different story altogether, but the reality is this, and it's something I was aware of when I first started the Rose, as it is something any writer is aware of when they seek their work to be published by a company and not by themselves.

Hoste Games exists in a competitive market, one that itself takes its cuts at every corner. From that 75% that the company gets, Google takes a piece, Apple takes another, Steam and Amazon and so forth. This is the price COG pays to have their games on their platforms, and this is the price I choose to pay to have the Rose on HG. It's a pyramid, one where I am on the bottom, and this is the sad reality of capitalism.

Do famous authors get a better cut? Of course, they do. But, as you said, this is my first work, the first time I'm seeking to be published. At this point, I have nothing to my creative name. Just the fact that I can publish, that I can get a writing "curriculum" in any way is already a big chance for me. If and when the Rose is published, I can approach others and say "that was made by me, that was born from my labor."

I can't now.

Ultimately, each author has to decide what they're willing to sacrifice. And the right answer is true only for each individual. Obviously, I want the Rose to do well monetarily. I'd be lying if I said that all the hours I poured into it didn't earn me at least a nice bonus at the end of the month. But what I really want, anon, is for it to be read by as many people as possible. I want it to go on Steam and the Play Store, and the App Store. I want it to be emailed to COG's substantial subscriber list, I want to be featured on their website. I wouldn't be able to get the game on those platforms otherwise.

Is that worth the 25%? Absolutely.

That is true for me. It may not be true for other authors, and neither of us is wrong or right. It's a choice.

And on a more personal side... COG and HG are what got me into interactive fiction. I don't have a visual novel background, I've never heard of itchio or Choices before. It was Choice of the Dragon and Tin Star and Zombie Exodus that opened my eyes to this form of storytelling. And I fell in love with it. Imagine my delight when I found that there's a way for amateurs to publish with this company!

So I tried my hand at it, all the while watching all these amazing WIPs grow and eventually get published and wishing that one day, I could be too. So thank you for your concern, and your words of support, but publishing with Hosted Games is literally a dream come true for me.

There's really no other place I can see the Rose in.