Unfortunately, I'm taking on a new column, and I won't be continuing Freelancing.
The truth is that, while certain questions do arise from time to time, the process itself is very simple. You query a publisher, you write the work, and you sign the contract. It doesn't take a million words to explain it.
I feel like we've covered the freelancer's most difficult issues in the column, aside from technical issues relating to one game system or another, which I specifically avoided. As questions continue to arise, I am always available in the forum to discuss them, where you can find freelancers of greater skill also available and willing to share their expertise.
Freelancing was something of an experiment for me, and I have to consider it a success. I wanted to force myself to keep to a schedule and use the columns to scribble out a few thousand words toward a book on the topic. After each column, I've incorporated that month's material into a manuscript, modified it, and expanded the material. The result is a short manuscript of about 35,000 words that didn't interfere with my other writing projects. I've had a publisher express a desire to publish this book, and we're working out the details now.
It has always irked me that there's no single, central listing of publishers that lays out their freelancing requirements in a manner similar to the Writer's Market. Few RPG publishers, for some reason, don't bother to maintain listings in the Writer's Market. If you want to sell in this industry, you have to hunt down individual markets, with each of us recreating a lot of work. Like Writer's Market, this book contains articles on queries, proposals, contracts, and other questions that come up for freelancers. Unlike Writer's Market, it doesn't address issues that have no place in the RPG industry, like ghost writing, finding an agent, and greeting cards.
Beginning next month, I'll be addressing the issues of retail gaming in a new column directed toward those who want to open their own game store. This question comes up every couple of weeks here on RPGnet. As soon as one discussion falls off the Recent Posts backlog, another one starts, often asking the same questions. This column will be a chance to keep those discussions active while offering a starting point for people new to the website.
I don't expect to see much overlap between the two columns. In my 5 years as a retailer, I've known exactly one other game retailer with a book credit. Chris Aylott of the Space-Crime Continuum wrote Dynasties and Demagogues and some other work for Atlas Games. While I'm sure we're not the only ones, you have to admit the overlap between the two Venn circles is a tiny sliver.
I'd like to thank everyone who posted to the forum in response to an article for their input. Feel free to continue discussion--the more we share, the better off everyone is. It's not a net sum game, where every new freelancer on board decreases the amount of work out there for each of us. With more people writing, the publisher can produce more or their quality of work improves. Either way, the market grows and demand for freelancers increases.
Thanks again, and best of luck to everyone.
Lloyd Brown
www.lloydwrites.com
