Your First Product
Start Thinking About Your First Product
Now, that you have a publishing account on DrvieThruRPG you should begin to think about creating your first product.
Consider the Market or Not
Before you begin your first product you should give the market some consideration. I did not do this when I started.
I created an OpenD6 post-apocalyptic game without realizing Apocalypse World existed and that the D6 community is super tiny. As a result, the game barely sells.
However, do I regret publishing it? No, not one bit.
Why? Because making it taught me how to self-publish. I learned how to layout a book, find images and upload files to publishing platforms.
So, as you start creating you may want to think about the market some.
You should know that D&D and Pathfinder are by far the most popular games. Fantasy is by far the most popular genre with science fiction coming in a distant second.
This shouldn't deter you from doing your own thing, but you should be aware of the market forces.
Now that you are aware of those facts, do whatever you feel is best. Self-publishing is all about not having to ask permission.
The Internet and other technologies have removed the gatekeepers, so now nothing stands in your way except your own willingness to put in the effort.
Open Game Licence, Creative Commons, Etc.
The Open Game Licence and Creative Commons are a great way to get your feet wet in self-publishing.
Wizards of the Coast created the OGL while other companies tend to use Creative Commons.
If you are not familiar, the OGL allows you to create resources or whole games around mechanics and rules from an already published game. In the case of the OGL, the other game is mainly D&D.
The rules, stats and other items you are free to use in your game are generally listed in what is called a System Rules Document or SRD. I created a list of SRDs here.
This is how Pathfinder was born. Another company took the D&D SRD and ran with it and now has the second most popular RPG.
The OpenD6 System released under the OGL is what made it possible for me to publish my first game so quickly. I didn't have to make up mechanics and could focus on other things.
If you want to create a resource or a new game, looking into what is released under the OGL or Creative Commons is a great place to start.
I'm not a lawyer, so be sure to read about the OGL before you publish anything under it. However, if you sit down and read it, it is pretty straightforward. Heres'a good starting point for research.
DM's Guild
The DM's Guild is a partnership between DriveThruRPG and Wizards of the Coast for creators to self-publish material for D&D.
I have yet to publish in the DM's Guild, so you can learn more here.
There are distinct differences between publishing under the OGL and the DMs Guild. Here's more info on that.
Keep Gaming!
Matt
www.dicegeeks.com