I was discussing game publishing with a friend who is about to publish two of his rpgs and hit on an idea I haven't seen mentioned, so I thought I'd mention it to see if anyone's tried it.

trading editing jobs.

periodically, someone posts in the Connections forum seeking an editor for their rpg. we all know it's a good idea to have someone else eyeball your text for errors; but we also know that budgets are sometimes tight. so, it occurs to me: why not strike a deal with another indie publisher to trade games for proofing? this saves money, gives each each publisher an editing credit, and in general fosters more of a feeling of community.

I know indie people already trade ads for pretty much the same reasons, and it's possible some people trade art as well. has anyone tried trading editing? any thoughts on how this should be arranged?

Hey Tal:

Decent enough idea. I'd be willing to get in on that. I'd be happy to trade editing for playtest, or art, or editing, or even just an editing-help byline.

That's a cool idea! I like it.

Id be willing to trade artwork for editing

damn! too bad we don't have some kind of board set up to match up people willing to trade. I suppose this thread, or something in Connections, would do in a pinch, but I have this vague idea of something more interactive.

maybe I'll try to program one, or find a script that can be modified to do that.