On another gaming-related forum, Larry Lade of Indie Gamers Minnesota asked the question why do people still freelance if it’s so easy to self-publish?

I thought it was a fair question. After all, I have considered going the route of self-publishing. Friends have asked for my advice (and partnership) in publishing ventures. I have a fair amount of money from the sale of my game store. I’m familiar with the process of starting and running a business. I could do it.

The reason I don’t is that I choose to be a writer. I don’t want to be a publisher (at least, not more than I want to be a writer). However, it is a decision that you should make consciously, not because you hadn’t thought of all the options available to you.

The basic reasons for self-publishing are simple: money and control. As publisher, you have final control over what you publish, how it looks, when you revise it, how much it costs to buy—everything. If you are both writer and publisher, you receive a larger share of your product’s sales.

Immediacy

Once you decide to become a freelancer, you can do your market research, write an article, and possibly submit it all on the same day. I’ve seen a new writer post here on RPGNet and field offers from three publishers within a matter of hours. The writer had no industry experience except as a game player and only weak credits in other fields. By the end of the day, he had multiple contracts. It happens.

While it’s possible for a publisher to also lay out work, find and contract art, and release it for publication in either electronic or print form in a single day, a publisher would be hard-pressed to go from "I’d like to be a publisher" to a finished product within 24 hours unless he already had the writing done to begin with. The publication process takes a bit longer than the writing process.

Your payment for written work is also immediate, assuming you agree to a flat fee rather than a royalty rate. My personal record: a proposal on Tuesday, acceptance on Wednesday, publication on Friday, and a check the next Monday. Six days from query to check. Publishers don’t have the flat-fee option if they sell to customers (technically, they could sell the rights to another publisher, but that’s darn rare). A publisher might have to wait for months before seeing his full investment returned. Sales dribble in incrementally, and they are subject to seasonal fluctuation. Your word rate, whatever that rate is, is the same in January as it is in August.

Commitment

You have no commitment to your work beyond the writing and possibly any follow-up editing the publisher requires. Once you’re done, you’re done. If you write a core book, your sales benefit by helping the manufacturer create supporting works, but you are not obligated to write anything further in that market.

Players expect publishers, on the other hand, to maintain that product throughout its lifespan. They might have to proof galleys, print errata, maintain inventory levels, warehouse the product, and otherwise never forget about it as long as it’s in print. Even afterward, they have to answer mail from fans about why it’s out of print and when it will be reprinted.

Less Risk

You don’t have to wait on anybody else to do a job. If you receive a word rate, your payment from the publisher is not dependent on an artist turning in work on time or a printer who promises work and doesn’t deliver. To a lesser degree, you can even apply the same principle to royalty sales by insisting on a kill fee in your contract.

Even if the publisher does declare bankruptcy or refuses to pay you, you have lost only your time. You don’t have a financial investment to lose. You didn’t sign an account with any web host or make a deal with any printer. Your cash is safe. Your home is safe. Even your work is safe, and you might be able to sell it elsewhere.

Narrow Focus

You don’t have to be an editor, a graphic designer, an art director, and a salesman—in short, a publisher. A publisher must either have these skills or pay someone else who has these skills (which can defeat the whole purpose of publishing in order to get a larger slice of the pie). As a writer, you’ll never have to worry about warehousing, you don’t have to count an inventory at the end of the year, you don’t have to spend as much effort to track receivables, and filing incomes tax is no more difficult than it was before you started freelancing.

Your job is simple: you research what the market wants, you write it, you sell it.

Focus on Your Strengths

Perhaps your strength is in setting design. You can choose to write nothing but setting expansions for all your favorite game systems, never having to worry about stat blocks, adventures, or rules design. If game design is your strength, you can do that. If you love adventures, write those.

A publisher often needs a variety of products to support a game line. Most game lines feature one or two core books, one or more key supplements, and lesser supporting products. While certain publishers operating under the D20 license are able to focus on one particular type of product a publisher supporting his own game system must provide the mix of products his diverse player group demands.

Exclusive Markets

Some publishers work with freelancers but don’t license their work out to other publishers. If you want to write for a game system that they own, you have two routes to go: seek permanent employment with them, or freelance. Perhaps you really like the Conan RPG from Mongoose. You can’t start up REH Publishing, Inc. and start writing Conan game material without infringing on multiple copyrights. You have to write for Mongoose, who does use freelance work for this line, by the way (in fact, Mongoose’s freelance budget for this month was over $68,000).

Write More

As I mentioned earlier, you write more. Every hour spent in art selection, formatting, or other non-writing work is time not spent writing. If you want to be a publisher, you certainly can. However, expect your writing time to decrease.

You might have considered self-publishing before now. Naturally, a full comparison goes beyond what I’ve broached here, and your personal goals are a large and highly variable factor. As always, do your research, and then do what’s best for you.