Pictured: stressed out corpo guy.
Up until a week ago I had a high-powered corporate PR job with a healthy salary. I had stability, a pension, and everything else that comes with doing the 9-5 for a private business.
I was also burnt out to all hell.
For over 15 years I'd slogged through the ranks, eventually becoming Head of PR, which meant a ton of responsibility. I had a team to lead, finances to manage, client pitches to attend, and daily clients to work on to boot. I daresay I was pretty damned good at it. But that didn't stop the panic attacks, depression, and flat-out anxiety I experienced on a daily basis.
Not only that, I run a small TTRPG business and freelance for several games publishers. During the day I would work my arse off, and then evenings and weekends would frequently be taken up writing and designing games, which I adore, but it was overwhelming. My manager and colleagues were all incredible, but that didn't change the fact I hated what I had become. Sure, I had money. But I wasn't happy.
So I had a decision to make. Would I continue as I was, getting my brain fried by work everyday and dreading the coming week? Or would I let go of all that and concentrate on the thing I love doing: TTRPGs?
I chose the latter. Maybe you think I've been an idiot. After all, there are so many people who would love to have the kind of job I had. At one point I loved it too. But if I could lose even a bit of that stress from corporate life then I was going to at least try.
So here I am, on a brand new adventure. I still want to help businesses with their PR and marketing, but now I get to aid those who really need it. As an anarchist, working for big pharma, oil companies, and bloated monopolies wasn't my style at all. Now I want to help tabletop businesses get seen and heard by a wider audience, while continuing to put out my own games and writing for publishers.
Will all this work out? We'll see. I'm an independent self-starter with a regimented way of working that lends itself very well to freelance life. I'm able to take everything I've learned in PR and marketing, along with my experience creating roleplaying games to offer a unique angle. Not only can I write good stuff for a publisher, I can also help them get their books seen.
Platforms like Buy Me A Coffee are crucial to helping me pay the bills, so if you want to donate, I would be grateful. Soon I'll be offering products on here to help TTRPG businesses with their marketing. If you're interested in working with me, get in touch at [email protected].