Experiences Has anyone ever made their roleplay into a book/story/published it?

[Knudeli]

Has anyone ever made their roleplay into a book/story/published it?​

This question just hit me so I was wondering if anyone had? Since RPs can get quite long, plus the story and characters can be as amazing as you'd read in a book.

I know that some fanfictions started out as a roleplay, because I've read some already. Have you published a fandom RP as a fanfic?
Have you printed and bound a story because it was dear to you?
Do you collect your RP in one document so you can read it like a book? If so did you edit it?
Have you thought about publishing a RP?
Have you done RPs with the intent of publishing it?

 

[Sinnama]

I mean, there have been roleplays posted onto other sites and there are public 1x1 threads that people can read. But, I'm not sure if this counts since you're talking about a physical book. The closest thing to this is a popular comic on webtoons. I forgot the name, but it was originally a group roleplay.

 

[Knudeli]

I mean, there have been roleplays posted onto other sites and there are public 1x1 threads that people can read. But, I'm not sure if this counts since you're talking about a physical book. The closest thing to this is a popular comic on webtoons. I forgot the name, but it was originally a group roleplay.

Oh, that's really cool. I didn't know there was such a comic on webtoons. But I have read some comics on there I can imagine very well as a RP setting

 

[rae2nerdy]

I mean I haven’t done it. But Mercedes Lackey and a few other authors published a roleplay they did (it was from an online roleplay game not necessarily a for based roleplay).

It was decent.

 

[Tove]

Have you published a fandom RP as a fanfic?
*I have not. I don't roleplay fandoms.

Have you printed and bound a story because it was dear to you?
*Once. The writing medium was about to close not to mention I had limited access to a computer during that time. The partner I had was wonderful as was our near complete story albeit cringe worthy it still meant a great deal to me. I still have it around my place somewhere.

Do you collect your RP in one document so you can read it like a book? If so did you edit it?

*No, not really. I wouldn't feel comfortable editing out the writing of my partner.

Have you thought about publishing a RP?
Have you done RPs with the intent of publishing it?

*I haven't given it a whole lot of thought. I mean if I have a plot that I come up, my plot, I could turn it into something if I had the time. That would be cool. As far as doing roleplays with the intent of publishing them no.

 

[Sinnama]

Oh, that's really cool. I didn't know there was such a comic on webtoons. But I have read some comics on there I can imagine very well as a RP setting

Found it. "Where Tangents Meet".

 

[FoolsErin]

I mean, I've had ideas that I've realized would be better off as a book after I made a roleplay based off of them, but I've never sat down and written anything based off of my roleplays or roleplay ideas.

 

[Onmyoji]

Published as a fanfic, yes, with some edits. Or rather, my rp partners did that with my permission.
We also use scenes from rp in fanfics.

I collect my rp in Google documents, but don't edit them. I have a really big one for a specific rp that I had to split into two documents already so that it doesn't glitch XD
I haven't printed it because it's a lot of pages but I might consider it in future. Maybe when this rp comes to a logical conclusion.

I was considering to rewrite one rp as original story at some point, but haven't done it yet. Might do that in future as well if I have time. Or let rp partner do that.

Once I tried to make a rp based on a novel that I was writing and will *maybe* publish one day, but it didn't go well. Rp strayed away too much from the original idea and made it pointless to be based on the novel. It just became an entirely original rp. So I gave up on the idea of roleplaying my own novels. I'd rather write one based on the rp lol

 

[Fletchawk]

Once I tried to make a rp based on a novel that I was writing and will *maybe* publish one day, but it didn't go well...

...So I gave up on the idea of roleplaying my own novels. I'd rather write one based on the rp lol

I also have some written work I thought would make an excellent roleplay, but realized that it would only skew my story, and I don't really have the aptitude to run a roleplay. Still think people would enjoy the world, and making their own stories in it, but not with me at the helm.

 

[KokichiLove]

I am currently writing a book loosely based on a rp I once did a long time ago. I had a partner but I haven’t talked to him in 5 years and it was originally my idea so I moved on without him and just replaced the characters

 

[Knudeli]

I am currently writing a book loosely based on a rp I once did a long time ago. I had a partner but I haven’t talked to him in 5 years and it was originally my idea so I moved on without him and just replaced the characters

That's cool, what is it about if you don't mind me asking?

 

[KokichiLove]

It’s called The Blood Moon Prophecy. It’s about a vampire legend that when pureblood twins are born, the moon will turn red on their 5,000th birthday, and they will be forced to make a choice that will either end the war between humans and vampires or destroy the world. There’s a boarding school where peace seeking vampires and humans can safely (but separately) reside from the war. The “guardians” of the school consist of the twins, a human, and two half blood vampires, and their job is to provide safety and also research the prophecy. If you’ve seen the anime vampire knight it has some similar elements, though I tried to change it a lot and the lore is very different compared to other vampire stories

 

[Macintot]

Are you talking about just posting the RP on another website, or actually selling it? If you want to turn the RP into a book and sell it, you would have a lot of problems.

For one thing, anything posted online is already considered published. Most publishing companies won't touch it with a ten-foot pole, especially since anyone can read you RP for free if they know where to look. (Webcomics are kind of the exception here, as they get published as physical books all the time. I'm not entirely sure why, but I assume that the artwork makes them a good collector's item.)

Your second problem would be copywrite law. Since anything on the internet is considered published, all copywrite and intellectual property laws apply. Anything created by a player (individual posts, characters, locations, etc.) automatocally belong to them, even if they don't register any of it with a copyright office. Anything you collaborated on to create belongs to both of you. Before you published the RP anywhere - even just another website - you would need the written permission of everyone involved, just like posting someone's artwork. A lot of people (but not everyone) won't care if you're just posting it on a fan fiction site, but if you're recieving any sort of profit from, things get a lot more serrious. Especially since everyone is going to want a share of the money, and if you're going to use their intellectual property, you kind of have to comply.

You could get around this by changing the parts of the story the other people contributed, but that won't be nearly as easy as it sounds. Not only do you have to change any characters and locations yoir partner made as well as the wording of their posts, but you'll also have to alter the story beats as well. Simply changing the character's name to John won't work either; if one of your old partners tries to file a copyright lawsuit, your changes have to be significant enough to prove that y'all's two characters, plot twists, etc. are actually different. The end result would likely be pretty different than the RP you fell in love with.

 

[KokichiLove]

Are you talking about just posting the RP on another website, or actually selling it? If you want to turn the RP into a book and sell it, you would have a lot of problems.

For one thing, anything posted online is already considered published. Most publishing companies won't touch it with a ten-foot pole, especially since anyone can read you RP for free if they know where to look. (Webcomics are kind of the exception here, as they get published as physical books all the time. I'm not entirely sure why, but I assume that the artwork makes them a good collector's item.)

Your second problem would be copywrite law. Since anything on the internet is considered published, all copywrite and intellectual property laws apply. Anything created by a player (individual posts, characters, locations, etc.) automatocally belong to them, even if they don't register any of it with a copyright office. Anything you collaborated on to create belongs to both of you. Before you published the RP anywhere - even just another website - you would need the written permission of everyone involved, just like posting someone's artwork. A lot of people (but not everyone) won't care if you're just posting it on a fan fiction site, but if you're recieving any sort of profit from, things get a lot more serrious. Especially since everyone is going to want a share of the money, and if you're going to use their intellectual property, you kind of have to comply.

You could get around this by changing the parts of the story the other people contributed, but that won't be nearly as easy as it sounds. Not only do you have to change any characters and locations yoir partner made as well as the wording of their posts, but you'll also have to alter the story beats as well. Simply changing the character's name to John won't work either; if one of your old partners tries to file a copyright lawsuit, your changes have to be significant enough to prove that y'all's two characters, plot twists, etc. are actually different. The end result would likely be pretty different than the RP you fell in love with.

You raise some good points. In my case I just write mostly for fun and will probably post on wattpad. As I said in an early post I have changed most everything completely. The only thing that’s stayed remotely the same is that the main characters are twins, however that’s something vague enough that I don’t feel I needed to change it. I still haven’t come up with a new name for the setting but that will be a change too and there is a completely new plot that was never brought up in the previous roleplay. At this point the only similarity is the name of the school and that will change before it’s published.

 

[Macintot]

You raise some good points. In my case I just write mostly for fun and will probably post on wattpad. As I said in an early post I have changed most everything completely. The only thing that’s stayed remotely the same is that the main characters are twins, however that’s something vague enough that I don’t feel I needed to change it. I still haven’t come up with a new name for the setting but that will be a change too and there is a completely new plot that was never brought up in the previous roleplay. At this point the only similarity is the name of the school and that will change before it’s published.

I don't think you'd have a problem with that. I'd meant my post more as a general answer to the question, not anything against your story specifically. I'm sorry about the confusion. (On a side note, that sounds like a really interesting idea! I'd love to read it when it comes out.)

 

[kevintheradioguy]

I published one when I was younger and had time and money for it. And, well, the fact I worked at a publishing house at the time, and managed to strike a deal. It was bad. We do not speak about it, albeit the book looked beautiful. I mostly blame my inability for writing fantasy without dwelling in metaphysics for the faliture... and also me trying to make it dark and humorous at the same tine.

I am currently reworking a plot of a RP into a comic, though. Slowly. It's too good to be scrapped, imo, and I won't lie: it hits a lot of fetishes so I might just get internet points for it. I'm building an audience, and am pretty open about it.

 

[KokichiLove]

I published one when I was younger and had time and money for it. And, well, the fact I worked at a publishing house at the time, and managed to strike a deal. It was bad. We do not speak about it, albeit the book looked beautiful. I mostly blame my inability for writing fantasy without dwelling in metaphysics for the faliture... and also me trying to make it dark and humorous at the same tine.

I am currently reworking a plot of a RP into a comic, though. Slowly. It's too good to be scrapped, imo, and I won't lie: it hits a lot of fetishes so I might just get internet points for it. I'm building an audience, and am pretty open about it.

Making something dark and humorous can be possible. That's my main style of the writing. The key is to know what parts are appropriate to be made into humor and what parts need to stay serious. Also, keeping the two elements separate in the same book can also be a good idea. It also can keep a dark book from becoming terribly depressing. An example of this could be from my book not based on a rp I'm writing. One of the princes was kidnapped and tormented by the king, which is a dark element. The main character investigating this has a very quirky relationship with one of the love interests, an element or humor. They don't blend directly together, but they work in harmony to create a balanced atmosphere.

 

[kevintheradioguy]

An example of this could be from my book not based on a rp I'm writing

Modesty XD

 

[KokichiLove]

Modesty XD

Haha sorry, I just was giving an example from personal experience