We’re about halfway 2024 and I realize something. I have been making (board) games and writing stories consistently, every day, for a while now. It has led to numerous book and game releases, and many yet to come, and I feel like I did great work.
None of that, however, earns me any income. (I have some income and it’s enough to pay the minor rent to my parents, with whom I still live, and nothing else.)
This is partially by design. I don’t care about money, I don’t want to be motivated by money in any way, and so I make everything free and open (source) whenever I can. It’s the direction in which the world should be going and it’s relatively easy for me to point it there just a little more.
It’s als partially because I’m just a small, unknown fish in the giant sea of creatives. Sure, I’ve published a lot of novels, but each one is only bought a very small number of times. It gives me some income, but far from enough to make a living.
All of this is made possible, however, because I have my own company in the Netherlands. I am a freelancer, or a “ZZP-er” (which translates to independent person without personnel), which …
- Allows me to take on projects. (Legally. Of course you can do stuff and get paid without a company, but it’s illegal once the government deems you a business. Which is when you earn too much money, consistently.)
- Gives me tax benefits or favorable treaties on royalties.
- Lends an air of credibility and professionalism in general.
- Is required when publishing paid work (such as games or novels) in many marketplaces.
Starting your own company means filling out the required paper work, a little extra effort on tax returns, and a one-time fee of 50 euros. That is quite easy and straightforward, which convinced me to take the leap many years ago. (And which is probably the reason the Netherlands has an incredibly high number of “ZZP-ers” :p)
Now, however, the government has decided to introduce a mandatory disability insurance for freelancers. This would be a pretty expensive monthly fee that would currently ruin me within a few months. (Ironically, that’s exactly the same financial/stability risk the insurance is supposed to guard against.)
It’s pretty much 100% a guarantee now that this will take effect at the start of 2027.
And so I had to consider my options. What am I going to do!? The way I currently run and use the company is simply impossible with those new rules, which would mean I have to cease all operations effective January 1st 2027.
That’s why I write this article. Everything I say here is general planning and speculation—reality might turn out different, but for now I have no reason to doubt my approach for the upcoming years.
Writing: Wildebyte Arcades
My “money maker” has always been books. (And those freelance projects on the side, but those are sporadic and not as lucrative as you’d hope.)
I write several a year and sell them for money. (Only my Saga of Life work is freely accessible as an open source website.)
The intent is to earn a living wage from my books when 2027 rolls around.
I’ve pretty much thrown most of my writing eggs into one basket: the Wildebyte Arcades. The entire series was designed to …
- Allow short, independent novels.
- Run for as long or as short as needed.
- Allow talking about games (and using my knowledge from game design) through stories set inside them. (More on that in the next section.)
The first disk—the Handheld Disk about mobile games—has roughly 30 stories planned. At my current pace, I could write 10 a year, and precisely finish that disk before 2027 rolls around.
It would bring closure. It would also tell me if this is worth pursuing further. If I’ve written all those professional novels, and I still don’t make more than a few hundred bucks from it, then maybe I should give up trying to gain income from writing.
I’ve planned one standalone writing project per year, to be filled in as needed. But that’s no certainty, as 10 Wildebyte novels a year is already a load of work that might not leave time for anything else.
I like my chances of generating income better by building a solid series of novels than by trying some new standalone novel all the time and trying to find a new audience or approach. Maybe that’s wrong, I don’t know. But the risk from starting some (long) standalone fantasy novel now and having it not sell at all feels too high at this point.
So, in short, when 2027 rolls around I want Wildebyte Arcades: Handheld Disk to be completely done. That’s the goal for writing.
Games: back to Video Games (eventually)
I have already made many board games that will release more than a year from now. They are faster to develop than video games. I also prefer them over video games and have more experience playing/making them. (Probably because I’m a physical, natural person who just wants to game without screens if possible.)
My biggest income the past ~5 years, however, has been all video game work. Tiny games I made that were picked up. Games that impressed enough to be asked to co-write a book on game design or get other opportunities. Some donations or even games sold, which again totals to around 100 euros in revenue.
I haven’t been able to develop games for a while now because I only have a very old, very broken laptop that refuses. Even booting the laptop and typing (for articles like these, and my books of course) can be a hassle.
As such, I’ve been saving for a new computer that would allow me to get back to what worked before.
The plan is to have this new computer before 2025 rolls around. Once that happens, I have …
- 2 big (“paid”) games that were mostly done already, that I can now finish and release. (Although, the code and assets being years old at this point, I’m sure I’ll want to do some things from scratch and give it a huge update. Even without being able to program and run video games, I’ve grown a lot as a programmer and designer the past years.)
- 1 great idea that has already proven its worth (when I made a prototype years ago), which I can turn into a full game that should sell well. (It also works well with my new approach of breaking projects into smaller tasks, because this idea would allow delivering a small base game and endless expansions or modules on it.)
Before 2027 comes, I want to have finished and released at least those three things.
- Because I have already done a good chunk of the work.
- Because I believe in the fun or potential of the ideas.
- Because my experience has shown that this is actually the area in which I have the biggest chance of income. (And my finances are really hurting now that I haven’t been able to do any video game work for a while.)
Any other video game ideas are in “we will see” territory. I don’t actually like planning ahead and living with too much structure, and I certainly can’t predict the future, so I’ll play it safe on this front. I think that a working computer (and more experience) will allow me to make many tiny games, which might sell a little bit, but it’s not really part of the planning.
Music & More
As I’ve said many times before, I am actually a musician. I am far better at writing music and playing instruments than anything else I ever tried or made.
I am also, unfortunately, chronically ill. This makes recording music professionally so hard (and often impossible) that it’s not worth it, not when your income depends on it.
Additionally, as stated, I’m still living at home. So do almost all my siblings (I come from a large family), which means having any sort of recording space or quiet is rare. Additionally, my parents are renovating the home, but have hired incompetent builders to do so. What should’ve been done by now, might even take until 2027 to get finished.
No, music will not be recorded or released. I tried, I really tried—I have 5 EPs on all the major services—but they were a pain to record and they often sound horrible to my ears. Just because of the massive limitations and unfortunate circumstances I can’t magically dispel.
On top of that, those 5 EPs have only netted me … 4 dollars. Yeah, even my worst novels turned a bigger profit than that, so it’s not a money maker either.
So, in short, I don’t think me (or my company) will branch out into anything else until 2027 rolls around.
In summary: the 2027 deadline
Basically, I’ve become too old to 100% stick to the idea of ignoring money.
My best option (historically, looking at my data of the past ~10 years) for income are video games. I have lots of experience, I have a backlog, others think I have talent and were willing to pay me for it. (I don’t believe in talent.)
Once I have a functional computer installation, those will return at full force. Much of the work is already done; the work to be done is something I believe in.
My second best option are my books. The Wildebyte Arcades books will steadily be written, about 10 a year, until the entire Handheld Disk is done by 2027. The Saga of Life will continue, but being af free project that receives 10 short stories a year, the timing and/or quality of that can vary. Any other standalone novels are optional and will only be done if I really feel they might sell well.
Even with a broken keyboard, or sitting in a noisy environment with unreliable Wi-Fi, I can still get my 5000 words a day. I have done so for several years now, I am confident about that.
With the time left, I will keep creating board games (or generally “game experiences”) and giving them away entirely for free (on Pandaqi Games, as always). As stated, many for 2024 and 2025 are already done. Some ideas are parts of series (of similar themes/mechanics/game ideas), exactly because it reduces the amount of work I need to do “per game”.
I know I’m making really professional and good games now. But no publishers bite, and the board game world has slim profit margins anyway, which means I have literally 0 lifetime income from board game work. I simply can’t put any eggs in that basket.
My music (and any other ventures) are completely optional until that moment. Despite music actually being my first love and the one thing for which I might say I have “talent”. That’s capitalism for ya!
And when 2027 happens, there will be a choice. Or, rather, one of two situations will arise.
- I have managed to generate a proper income for myself. I can keep the company and move out.
- I have not managed to do so. It all ends there.
In the second case, I literally can’t keep it going then. (Or it would be in a way that’s against the law.) I will have finished all that I started and made a lot of good stuff (which stays online/available), but I’ll have to bite the bullet and get a regular full-time job and mostly focus on that, I guess.
Conclusion
I have always been very minimalist and practical. My websites are hosted for free, so there’s no reason to take them down or change them in any way, even if I become broke. (Though there are backup systems and approaches in case something goes haywire or the free plan stops.)
I have also always been very conservative, or perhaps “smart”, with money. I have reserves. I would be able to hold out for a year or so, even if the house burns down, all my family dies, and god knows what happens. But the entier idea of reserves is that you don’t use them unless it’s an emergency situation.
The Dutch government basically put a timer on me and my company. I’ll try to see it as a good thing and use it to continue working hard and make slightly more financially wise decisions.
Because, in truth, I really do not care about money, or career, or marketing, or whatever. This is all just because of how our society and systems work, not because it’s necessary or good.
People tell me all the time to “think what you’d be able to do with financial stability!” and “you should ask money for all the work you do! Promote it eveywhere!” and “you’re just stubborn/lazy/stupid!”
I think it’s stupid to voluntarily choose to waste all your time on something you hate and think actually harms society and others, just to get money you don’t intrinsically want, just to spend it on items you don’t need, which you buy to compensate for how much you’ve started to hate life.
No fucking thank you.
There is no job that I’d like the slightest bit, not even one I would tolerate. (I have tried, I really tried, to find something part-time to support me financailly.) My brain and body are incredibly active and want to move around all the time, to create, to be in nature, to live simply and naturally. I just can’t accept all the lies and bullshit and terrible systems that you’d have to live with if you’re under contract or want to keep your job.
I already went insane when I had to sit inside classrooms for hours a day. And I’ve had to do so for ~25 years, until I finally graduated from university! Doing that for the rest of my life (inside an office) would be deadly, in the most literal sense of the word.
There is no way to insert myself into the capitalist system without actively promoting and advancing it. I would rather die poor knowing I gave the world a lot of good and the least possible bad, than die with stable finances and the deepest possible regret.
The “lazy” argument to explain why I reject a regular job is just silly. It’s countered by simply showing a fraction of work output I produce in a week.
I am willing to work day and night, no weekends, no vacations, no superficial reward, for this. I already have, for many years. Because writing, game design, music, programming, website development, running a business, publishing, illustration, and more … they don’t teach ya any of that in school!
That is the future of Tiamo Pastoor. (And Pandaqi, and, well, everything related to me.)
Until the next update, hopefully with good news,
Tiamo