Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig

I’m pretty secure in saying I had a good Gen Con this year. Not only did I get to see a lot of interesting people I only get to see once a year, I also made new contacts and am now sitting waiting for new contracts to result from it.  I say waiting because several of the contracts’ particulars depend on scheduling and fine-tuning decisions to be made over the course of the next few months.

I know I’ll be writing some M&M over the course of the next year – at the very least a 3rd edition updating to The Algernon Files to be put out by Dave and Blackwyrm, as well as finishing up Rogues, Rivals, and Renegades for Vigilance Press (and maybe also getting Seven Sins out for them, too).  Some form of the Heroic Roleplaying System (formerly the Marvel Heroic Role Playing System) will see the light next year and I’ll be involved.  Scion (relaunch) and Shadowrun 5th are still deciding how much they like me, but signs are good so far. Oh, and I get to work with Jack in some form or fashion on Dragon Age (yes, knowing the developers, Jack in this case, is sometimes very helpful …why do you ask?).

In light of all of this, the wife’s gentle exhortations about me taking a somewhat more professional-looking stance regarding my game writing finally won out. While I like to think that I’ve always turned in professional work to my contracting companies, I’ve generally refused to call myself a professional writer when asked about it.  Why?  Because this ain’t my day job.  I have one of those that pays the mortgage and other bills and keeps me busy for the lion’s share of any particular week.  Even at my busiest in freelancing years previously, I’ve only ever brought in a very small fraction of my day job’s income. When asked, I’ve always referred to myself as “An Enthusiastic Hobbyist with a Little Bit of Name Recognition in Limited Circles.” A bit wordier than “Professional,” but also more accurate to my mind. At least, that’s what I’ve told friends and other freelancers…I’ve never said that to people giving me contracts, of course (I’m not a complete idiot, thank you.  I’ve only completed part of the idiot certification course so far. Time conflicts, you understand.)

If I’m going to try to expand on that industry presence any, I needed to make a few changes. Small but important ones.

First, updating a website that’s laid dusty and unused for a decade or so. WIP there. Some changing around and modifying a few email set-ups for online payment and stuff. Also, WIP. Finally, we’re setting up some domains for a professional business of sort  – Wordmonkey Studio (“Words Written for Money, Poo Flung for Free”). I’ll let you know how that goes.

In the interest of making sure my writing muscles stay exercised, I’m setting myself a goal of updating this blog at least twice a week, preferably more.  We’ll see how that goes as well.