You Should Publish That

29 Apr, 2026

No, you really should.

But I don't just mean upload your rough draft to Itch and hope someone finds it.

I mean you should:

compile it into a single reader/referee friendly document
share that document with some trusted friends for feedback
feed a starving artist in exchange for a cover image (or more, as budgets allow)
have a trusted friend or paid proofreader comb through it
then upload it to Itch and DriveThruRPG.

And tell people about it!

Share it on Reddit, or Bluesky, or wherever people talk about weird little RPGs these days. Be proud of this.

Tell me about it.

Because if you've personally received a link to this blogpost, it means someone thinks you should really publish that.

They want your work on their shelf.

Resources

Here are some resources for you, if you do go for it, which I really think you should.

Gretch Sketch, Affinity - An Affinity template containing a basic layout, headings, and instructions for use to make a nice looking adventure. CC-0.
Gretch Sketch, Google Doc - A Google Doc containing a template similar to the above, but friendly for use with Google Docs, for anyone who really doesn't want to download Affinity, or wants to be able to work on their document anywhere.
The Classic Explorer Template - Free - Another Affinity template (by Clayton Notestine). Definitely a slight learning curve, but very useful.

Old Book Illustrations - Public domain art from old books. Lots of Fairy Tale illustrations. While you can just paste this in, a little photo-bashing goes a long way.
Look around Itch - Lots of artists on Itch post packs of RPG art, and much of it is Creative Commons. Just be sure to look at the specifics of how you can use creative commons art. Most requires attribution, and some do not allow use in commercial products.
DriveThruRPG DTRPG sells usable art as well. Compared to custom commissions, these are more affordable, but less specific to your work. That said, if you search around, you might find something that fits well.

Read lots of good modules, listen to module-reviews, like Between 2 Cairns.
Start with a defining sentence. What is the experience players will have with this text? E.G. "Players join a rebellion against the cult of an evil god only to find out the evil god was keeping a worse one at bay."
Decide the scope. Six scenes? Sixty? Something in between?
Write 3 words a day. Open the document, look at it, and write 3 words. If you write more, awesome.
Write the shittiest version first. Make it better later.
If your project is 60% good and 40% lack-luster, cut out the lack-luster. Now it's 100% good. If you can't bear to leave behind those less interesting sections, sweep them up and post them in a slush-pile once in a while.