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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Destan" data-source="post: 1618407" data-attributes="member: 12157">You may be envious, but - as stated in your sig - you're also sexy.  That's a heady combination.Overall - yes, it was a positive experience.  If nothing else, it accomplished a couple things that I think will prove helpful down the road:1. It forced me to adapt to, and meet, a writing schedule.2. It taught me a number of lessons on the publishing process.As for the high points: 1. I very much enjoyed the editorial process.  I was able to work with a professional, astute, reader who also shares my passion for gaming.  Because he wasn't my "friend" or one of the players in my campaign, I could rely on him for objective criticism.  Sometimes I disagreed, and sometimes I got a bit frustrated - but that's all part of the growth process.  I realized, and appreciated, that he and I were on the same team.  His comments were furnished only to make the end product better.2. I liked seeing my veritable mountain of campaign notes, maps, and sketches evolve into a succient, organized document.  I have been DMing the same homebrew world since '87 or so, so it was challenging and rewarding to dig into some of my old notebooks in an effort to make them available for public consumption.3. I enjoyed writing the details of my world - cities, cultures, histories, etc.  Those types of subjects were much easier to spill onto the page.Low Points:1. The deadline was no fun.  In retrospect, I should have asked for more time.  Once I signed the contract (which includes dates), I felt bound to turn in a product at the time assigned.  I felt that I had to touch briefly on section I would have preferred to examine in more depth.2. I'm not a rules guy.  Synthesizing the new races, feats, prestige classes, narcotics, weapons, et al. - that was more difficult writing for me.  I'd find that I would fly through a chapter on regional trade, for example, only to bog down when I attempted to apply racial traits to a new PC race.  Telling stories, for me, is easier than designing game mechanics.  But, justifiably so, customers expect both "crunch" and "fluff" in these sorts of works, and I wanted to do what I could to appease anyone who picks up a copy of the book.3. One of the hard parts was realizing that my notes or custom races, as one example, did not "match" or "balance" well with material published in the core rulebooks.  That was fine before I signed the contract - my players were happy with the rules as they were, and so was I.  But once the world was set to go "public" - I had to take a more methodical view on suggestions I was making.  Incidentally, folks like WizarDru and Hypersmurf - right here from these boards - helped me in this endeavor.Here's some advice, for whatever it's worth, on questions aspiring authors may want to ask a publisher prior to signing a contract.1. What instruments/plan do you have in place for promoting and distributing the finished work?2. Do you have artists on hire?  If so, could I see some of their work?3. Is there an opportunity for follow-on products, should you like my first submission?All three of those questions seem a bit pompous should they come from an unpublished author and, perhaps, they are.  Nonetheless, if there's a tactful way to insert them into your negotiations, I would highly recommend doing so.D</blockquote>

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