Even without a publisher, resources will put constraints on development, and of course some things just don't work out as well in practice as anticipated, so changing or redesigning too much can cause problems, especially if everything only comes together near the end of the process.
Somewhat randomly, I'm reminded of the time our manager at work resigned in a strop and wasn't replaced for over a year. I think that was probably the happiest and most productive environment I've worked in. Sure, we had some of the same constraints as ever, but their effect was rather less toxic.
I'm imagining that not having a publisher is probably the same writ large.
I guess that publishers
can bring their own advantages, but I suppose that there are direct parallels between managers and publishers when it comes to matters of competence and scrupulousness. And both seem rarer than they should be.
My, I'm sounding opinionated today. How unusual.
