Pitching an RPG to a publisher: what to bring and how to safeguard the work

Question

I'm not sure how different it would be to pitch an RPG (Role Playing Game) manual to a publisher compared to pitching a novel, but I don't have any experience so it's all the same for me.

Let's say I have 100% of the writing completed (unrevised, unedited). How much of what I've written should I bring to the publisher to pitch my idea? I would be tempted to bring the whole thing and leave it to them, but what guarantees do I have that they won't just steal the idea and publish it on their own?

Which brings us to the second (related) question: what do I need from a legal standpoint to safeguard my work before involving a publisher in the United Kingdom?

Answer 1

In the UK you need do nothing to protect your work. You automatically have copyright on your own work.

Novel writers routinely send their full manuscripts to agents and publishers (on request) without fear of the work being stolen, and I would say the same would be true for RPG books. There is little incentive for a publisher or agent to risk attempting to steal an author's work.

If you are approaching a publisher to submit a game manuscript or pitch a game concept I would advise that you send them exactly what they ask for. Generally a publisher will want a cover letter, a summary, and the first few pages for consideration, but check the publisher's website carefully and pay attention to what they want. (For an RPG they may want sample artwork, for example)

May be worth reading this answer on the RPG Stack Overflow for more commentary on publishing RPGs:

https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/16414/how-would-i-go-about-publishing-the-rpgs-ive-created