Writers Wanted for the DP 'Zine

[Kid Ice]

The Digital Press ‘zine is looking for a few good writers. Although DP
does not pay writers, we can offer a unique, stress-free opportunity for experience
and exposure in the field of video game journalism.

Interested parties please send a writing sample to the e-mail address in my
profile. Your sample can be anything relevant to classic gaming. Please keep
it brief (no more than one page, double-spaced Word doc). Be sure to include
your “real” name. Samples will be subjected to a blind reading by the ‘zine staff,
therefore your stature (good or bad) here on the DP forums will not be a factor.

Questions can be posted here or sent to me via PM. Thanks for looking.

Jeff

[Doonzmore]

When is the deadline? I plan furbish a few before submitting.

[tom]

Wish I could help, as I did in the past, but I lost my ability to write (Ok some say there wasn't much to start off with, but nevermind)!!!

[AB Positive]

I would consider writing again given a better idea. Focusing on games that take forever to beat made making articles... long to research. :D

[ubersaurus]

I'll try and put something together. Could never hurt to have something more in my portfolio as a Journalist :P

[emceelokey]

Are you looking for artist?

[Kid Ice]

When is the deadline? I plan furbish a few before submitting.

We're going to start looking at submissions in two weeks.


Are you looking for artist?

Yes, after we have our writers in place there will be another thread for artists.

[Coldguy]

Sent!

[emceelokey]

We're going to start looking at submissions in two weeks.



Yes, after we have our writers in place there will be another thread for artists.

Cool. My deviantart page is on my sig so you can check that out if you want to see my work.

[ooXxXoo]

Please make sure to select the future writers wisely...

[Superman]

Regarding the writing samples, what exactly are you looking for? Does it have to be an official piece of work or could it be made just for this purpose?

I am interested in this opportunity, but I am not an experienced writer as far as publications go.

[rurouni318]

This would be an awesome experience that I could use. I would just have to find an older piece of work, or just write up a completely new one.

I think I may just write up a new one, so the deadline is in two weeks right? If so, I'll have something new definitely written by then.

I am so hyped for this, its not even funny.

-Raj

[ILikeBibleAdventures]

Are the samples we provide supposed to put us in contention for a staff-writing gig, meaning that the writers you choose will be contributors to every issue? Or do you plan on accepting freelance-written, one-shot articles as well?

[Flack]

Regarding the writing samples, what exactly are you looking for? Does it have to be an official piece of work or could it be made just for this purpose?

I am interested in this opportunity, but I am not an experienced writer as far as publications go.

I'm going to speak for Kid Ice and say that submissions for the zine do not have to be pre-published pieces of work. They can be completely new works -- or, they can even be reworked old pieces, maybe something you used somewhere else that you could clean up and resubmit to Mr. Ice.

As general advice, I'd say the following. Everything you learned in school applies here. Spelling and grammar count, but more important to me is logical progression of thought. Do a little planning; don't just start writing and send in a big jumbled mess. Remember what your parents said about first impressions? Your submission will be all the DP Zine staff have to go off of when considering you as a contributor. The better your submission looks, the less work the editor will have to do on it! Nobody's expecting perfection, but at least make sure the damn thing makes sense!

My only other advice, something that applies to any writer, is "write what you know." Now's not the time to pick a new system you know nothing about and try and put something together. Write a review of your favortite game. Write something about your favorite system. Wanna go big? Write a feature article -- say, how to refurbish an NES or something else you know about. Whatever it is, make sure it has a point. Don't just ramble; set up your point in the opening paragraph, talk about it, and summarize everything near the end (or at least wrap up your thoughts).

[SegaAges]

Hmm, sounds interesting. I will have to write something up to submit it.

[Kid Ice]

My only other advice, something that applies to any writer, is "write what you know." Now's not the time to pick a new system you know nothing about and try and put something together. Write a review of your favortite game. Write something about your favorite system. Wanna go big? Write a feature article -- say, how to refurbish an NES or something else you know about. Whatever it is, make sure it has a point. Don't just ramble; set up your point in the opening paragraph, talk about it, and summarize everything near the end (or at least wrap up your thoughts).

This is good advice, just try to keep it brief. If it's a feature article, either just submit the first few paragraphs, or summarize. If you have something big and you want us to look at the whole thing, just give us the "abstract" and we'll ask to see the rest if it fits with what we're doing.

Also, this seems like a good time to mention that we are going to make an effort to give some sort of feedback on every submission.

[Kid Ice]

Are the samples we provide supposed to put us in contention for a staff-writing gig, meaning that the writers you choose will be contributors to every issue? Or do you plan on accepting freelance-written, one-shot articles as well?

That's a good question. If we like your writing enough to print one of your contributions, I can't think of a logical reason we wouldn't invite you to join the staff.

[Sotenga]

!!!!!

Yes. Yes, I would. :D

I could just be lazy and resubmit one of the thingies I wrote for Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman, but I see no reason to take a shortcut here. One question, however: Is there a word limit to any of our submissions? I'll shoot for a range of 2000-3000, though I might exceed that. I usually tend to go overboard, but whatever the case, I await to hear further details. ^_^

[Lady Jaye]

I'm still part of it, right? I contributed to the issue in limbo (from 2 years ago)... I still have that text on my computer in case DaveG has lost it.

[cyberfluxor]

What is the usual work load of a staffer in terms of articles or pages over a certain time frame? Is there a location on the DP site that gives an overview of the responsibilities? I'd be interested in contributing and until next year I would squeeze in time for the weekends but it couldn't be a large burden against other potential work.

[Dire 51]

I've written for the 'zine before, but had to bow out about two years ago due to issues going on in my life at the time. However, I'm in a position to start writing for it again... would you guys be interested in having me back?

[Bratwurst]

May we submit comic strips detailing the Mario brothers (and other video game characters) in adult situations?

[Kitsune Sniper]

May we submit comic strips detailing the Mario brothers (and other video game characters) in adult situations?

Like what? Buying a home? Signing a contract? Getting a passport?

[kps67]

Hey - brand new here. First time forumer, long time gamer, thanks for having me on the show.

I've written a ton, would love to know more. How do I get a sample to somebody?

Oh, and I spel gude too...

[Andred]

Well, it appears that most everyone posting in this thread has 1000+ posts under their belt but, on the off chance that you'd accept the work of a relative DP rookie, I intend to submit a sample anyway.

[ubersaurus]

!!!!!

Yes. Yes, I would. :D

I could just be lazy and resubmit one of the thingies I wrote for Memoirs of a Virtual Caveman, but I see no reason to take a shortcut here. One question, however: Is there a word limit to any of our submissions? I'll shoot for a range of 2000-3000, though I might exceed that. I usually tend to go overboard, but whatever the case, I await to hear further details. ^_^

If it's one page, double spaced, think more along the lines of 300 words.

[diskoboy]

I'll gladly contribute!

I'd prefer writing about arcades or pre-NES stuff, though..

[Kid Ice]

Consider Friday an unofficial deadline for submissions. If any of you want to submit something after that I'll be glad to look at it....the Friday deadline is for consideration by the entire staff to join immediately to work on the new issue (#66).

[Pantechnicon]

Submission sent five minutes before deadline. Please let me know if you got it okay :)

[Kid Ice]

Submissions are being read now by the zine team. We'll have an answer or some kind of feedback for everyone who submitted by the end of next weekend.

[Kid Ice]

Thank you to everyone who made a submission. We have chosen two writers and they have been notified and are now on assignment. Feedback is still coming, it's just taking longer than I thought to get through everything (the submissions were much longer than I was expecting/hoping!).

[Sotenga]

... wow. I totally spaced on the date here, but what can I say. College has really been eating into my time, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with DP at this point. It's for the best, but once my time is less constrained, I hope to contribute. Congratulations to the winners! :)

[SegaAges]

... wow. I totally spaced on the date here, but what can I say. College has really been eating into my time, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with DP at this point. It's for the best, but once my time is less constrained, I hope to contribute. Congratulations to the winners! :)

You did the same thing i did. I was going to write something up, but spaced it off.

Oh well, good luck to all of the people that sent something in.