Thanks! Coming from a fellow Alliterate, that’s high praise.

I’m struggling with deadlines myself these days, mostly because of the demands of my home life. Still, I’m trying to take on less and learn where the new balancing point is for me.

As for the solitude, it doesn’t usually bother me much. I like being alone, and I feel like I get the most done then. If you’ve ever seen me at a convention, though, you know I’m hardly shy. For me, cons are the great break-out times, and for that reason alone I’ll keep going to them.

I couldn’t agree more with just about everything you wrote in this great article. I particularly wanted to concur about both the issue of punctuality and lonliness.

I have always harped on getting assignments in on time (especially since I’ve been on the other side of that freelancer-publisher wall), because I know how few designers actually hit said deadline. We’re creative people by nature, and we have a tendency to work odd hours, tinker (as you mentioned), and get bogged down in design-think from time to time, so running late is a common occurance. But publishers suffer all sorts of headaches when their designers (whether in-house or freelance) miss deadlines, and they DO notice people who are prompt and professional; it really does make a difference.

That’s not to say that pros are immune to the problem. In the past 18 months, I’ve missed more deadlines than I care to admit. Yes, there were lots of extenuating circumstances (my mother passed away two Novembers ago and my wife gave birth to my third son, and I’m still trying to catch up from those setbacks AND figure out how to work enough hours each day with a 15-month-old toddler in the house who’s into everything), but there’s only so much sympathy a publisher can offer. Those businesses still need to get projects out to the door and to the printers on time, and I’ve been letting them down far too much lately. So one of my New Year’s resolutions is to get my own act together and hit all my deadlines in 2004. We’ll see how it turns out.

The other issue, one of solitary confinement, is something few freelancers realize until they’ve been in the industry for a while. Human contact is at a premium, and I strongly recommend that anyone who intends to try their hand at this business full time put together a schedule that includes some social time. Whether it’s staying active with a gaming group, or joining the local indoor soccer league, or simply going and spending a few hours each week volunteering at the library or a soup kitchen, make the time to be with other people. I haven’t been (those pesky deadlines), and it’s really wearing on me. My other NYR is to get out and get active in some other social environments at least twice a week. Seeing my own family just isn’t enough.

As a quick side note, working as a full-time freelancer, I have determined that conventions are crucial for me, both as a means of socializing and in order to pursue work. The industry is small, almost like a really big extended family, and nothing beats showing up at the GAMA Trade Show in March and spending a few days seeing old friends and making some new ones. It’s also a great way to network and line up new work for the coming year. Just like in any other industry’s trade show, at GAMA, more business cards and resumes get passed out than possibly at any time of the year.

In any event, great article, Matt, and like someone else posted, it is just as useful for an old hat to read as a potential new freelancer.

Thomas

Thanks for dropping by. TS has a good point about writing speed. I wrote an article about that for someone once, breaking down how to judge whether you think you can make the leap to full-timer or not. I’ll have to see if I can dig that up.

It’s o.k. if you don’t write as fast as Matt or that writing machine, Mearls, by the by. 🙂 If you know you can only write 10,000 words a month however, freelancing is not going to be your career, but it could still make a fun sideline – and these days, a number of reputable publishers are planned out far enough in advance that work you do for them won’t come out for a year+ anyway.

There are days when I don’t want to read another email or visit another webpage, but that seems to be the only “human” contact I get during the day, so I keep at it.

I’ve been full-time freelancing for just over a year now, and I think I’m just now starting to get into the groove of it. It’s a tough road, and unlike anything I’ve ever done, but I can finally see myself reaching a comfortable space and I hope to be producing games for a long time.

It’s hard to stress how important discipline and meeting deadlines is to the success of a freelancer. Hell, even with a staff position discipline and meeting deadlines is important. It’s sometimes far too easy to miss a deadline when you’re dealing with a dozen other “A” priority projects. And the web can be far too tempting a toy at times. Especially when a co-worker e-mails you the link to play Qix in Flash.

Thanks for dropping by. TS has a good point about writing speed. I wrote an article about that for someone once, breaking down how to judge whether you think you can make the leap to full-timer or not. I’ll have to see if I can dig that up.