How to Publish Your TTRPGs featuring DriveThruRPG Community Representative Kage

[@TheGallantGoblin]

Sponsored by Hit Point Press' CONSTELLATION RPG ZINE ANTHOLOGY on Kickstarter now! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hitpointpress/constellation-rpg-zine-anthology?ref=1syy06 Visit DriveThruRPG: www.drivethrurpg.com/ Support Kage's Unexplored Hoard interview show crowdfunding campaign: crowdfundr.com/unexploredhoard Find all of Kage's links at her website: www.ragekagerugger.com/ See Storytelling Collective's courses and Discord links at: storytellingcollective.com/ Join our Discord at: discord.gg/965z54hPzx Order Kobold Plushies at: koboldplush.com

[@josephskiles]

Great content with some really valuable information! You did an awesome job with the interview as well Grady!

[@TheGallantGoblin]

Thank you, Joseph!

[@Drudenfusz]

I work on my own system, but I have no idea if I should also become a publisher or how I would go about it to find a publisher that would fit me and what I am doing.

[@rage_kage_games]

If you're interested in publishing it yourself, all you need to do is create a Publisher account on DriveThruRPG and you can set up titles right away!

[@Drudenfusz]

@@rage_kage_games Like I said, I am not sure if I want to be a publisher, or if it would be better join n already established publisher. I would like to keep my focus on the design and not have to worry about marketing and whatever else being a publisher would entail.

[@rage_kage_games]

@@Drudenfusz Absolutely! I would suggest researching publishers who create content in a similar genre as you and see if there are any collab opportunities there. Or check out companies that work with publishers to do distribution and marketing. :)

[@TheGallantGoblin]

I think it depends on your goals for your system. Are you hoping to make a lot of sales? What sort of community are you trying to reach? As you've said, self-publishing can require a lot of additional work, and it's not just marketing. It's also potentially editing, art direction, layout, and more. That's a lot to take on and will definitely detract from time for pure design work. However, you can also put out a fairly simple product with mainly text as a playtest and see if you start building people who enjoy playing your game. Getting a publisher can also be difficult if you don't have an existing body of work or connection to someone in the industry. Launching a new product can be a big risk as even a crowdfunding campaign requires a substantial investment to create assets and market it. In most cases, I think the "one step at a time" philosophy is probably good. Start by compiling a basic ruleset that can introduce people to your system and self-publish that, maybe even for free if you really just want eyes on it. Iterate and grow from there. I can't think of any TTRPG that makes its first public debut in a complete form-there's always extensive playtesting first. If people enjoy your system, you'll naturally get some word of mouth or perhaps even folks willing to contribute work to help build it into a form where you have a marketable and complete product to crowdfund, pitch to a publisher, or self-publish. I think any of those options will require some self-publishing pre-work to get there, and that pre-work will help you figure out what is right for you. -Grady

[@Drudenfusz]

Thanks you two! I added the video to my TTRPG Marketing playlist, even though I am still unsure about that topic.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Thank you for the durection