PlayMMO.com
http://www.playmmo.com/spip.php?article3
Get involved, write your own article!
by Vaelyn
Thursday, 10 May 2007 / Edinn
So you want to be a writer? Check inside for details on how to get your own article published.

Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step towards getting your article published on the PlayMMO website. By observing the suggestions and rules in this guide, you will find your journey from start to finish will be much smoother. You will save both time and frustration by adhering to our guidelines and you’ll earn the editors’ gratitude while doing so!

-  The Writer

The PlayMMO community site is all about gamers, game developers and everything in between. Our goal is to bridge the gaps between players and developers. Your role as a writer is to encourage questions from your readers, to persuade them to reflect and participate in discussion through your written word.

-  The Tone

The general tone of articles we are in search of should be fairly neutral to the industry of MMOGs. We are interested in informative, objective and fun articles. Topics can be anything related to any of our affiliates games, or the MMOG industry in general.

There are four kinds of articles that we are interested in at PlayMMO. They are the Debate Article, the Game Mechanics Article, the Game Guide and the Culture article.

- The Debate Article

Every debate article published will have the opportunity to be debated on our forums. Participation by the author is not a requirement, but is encouraged. It is important to remember the basics of a good debate. Almost every general interest article will give rise to public debate, where the community and writers will be able to share their point of view, and their ideas on the subject. How the debate unfolds will depend entirely on the way that the article is written. It is possible you may take on a “hot” topic that is current and that provokes very direct and sometimes aggressive responses from the community. The first thing you need to know about debates is that you must not take the comments that are made personally. Part of the debate is being able to give your opinion, whatever it is. It is preferable to actively participate in the debate concerning your article, to explain points that your readers may not have completely understood in your text – even if your objective during the writing of the text is absolute clarity – or to give them your own point of view. The site staff will aid in moderating the debates as needed.

- The Game Mechanics Article

Another type of article you may wish to write could fall into the game mechanics category. These articles highlight a specific aspect of a single MMOG. There are many details and systems present in the games that are still commonly unknown. These articles demystify these areas for our readers. If we already have several articles on a topic, you may want to choose another topic.

- The Game Guide

The mainstay of a ’help’ document is the Game Guide. Game guides can cover any aspect of game play, instructional or explainitory for the users of a specific games. At this time we are only accepting materials related to the games Alchemic Dream, Inc. is involved in. These include but are not limited too new player guides, character creation, hunting, tradeskills, tactics and PvP guides.

- The Culture Article

These articles deal with subjects that are not directly related to MMOs, but come close. They can deal with one game in particular, its universe, the players, the societies or just about any subject that does not fit into the other categories. If you are more interested in history, both real world, and game world histories, this is the article type for you. We want to know the background behind the games in our catalogue. For generic creatures such as dragons, elves and dwarves, we’ll also consider real world origin articles. Roleplay articles pertaining to the legend and lore of a specific game world may also be accepted here. When in doubt check with the editors on a subject your are uncertain of.

Guidelines

Try to remain neutral, give your text dimension through your arguments. Give concrete examples that your readers will be familiar with. Keep it short where you can. We use 2 pages as a guideline for maximum length. We will consider longer works on a case by case basis. A text that is too long, even if it is well-argued, beautifully written, and remarkably documented, will ultimately bore the reader. To see an example for yourself, you can read our Terms of Service agreement. Game guides do not fall under this restriction.

Before you submit it, read it several times. Then read it again! Every word of your article, once published, will be read and re-read and analysed by your readers. Submission format should be in .doc or .odt format. Please make use of the spell check function of these programs.

Be positive! We want to showcase games, not shoot them down. We will accept constructive criticism, but not outright attacks. Articles must adhere to our Code of Conduct found here. A valid forum account is required (they are free!)

- Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

When you get information from sources, be wary of their reliability. We as writers cannot allow ourselves to peddle unfounded rumours, nor present false elements. When you are uncertain about the legitimacy of a source, better to leave it, at the risk of losing good information, than to use it and lose credibility.

A writer must always verify the elements he plans on using through several sources, and should quote his sources at the end of his articles, to “protect” himself from direct accusation. Nevertheless, quoting your sources at the end of the article does not give you the right to plagiarize. Remember, plagiarism is the act of “stealing” an article or a piece of text and passing it off as your own work. We cannot allow this on PlayMMO. It is important to express your opinion, and to write your article using your own words in your own style.

If you are submitting an article on behalf of a company, or organization, an editor may request verification from you on your position with the group, before publishing the work.

Concerning images and illustrations, it is important to specify the source in your caption as in the example below. A caption must be concise and sum up the details of the image. The image itself must be placed between two paragraphs or surrounded by text according to the page layout; but it must always be near the argument it illustrates, so that the reader can look at the image while reading the text without drastically changing the subject. If you are not certain of the availability of the image in terms of copyright, be sure to consult the editors.

Example of a caption: The LOTRO object inventory interface revolutionizes the genre by allowing transparent windows. (Illus. Codemasters)

- The Editor’s Pen

Please be aware that once you submit your article, the process is not yet over. An editor may contact you to request changes, clarification or simply to inform you that the article is not a good fit for the site. Do not give up! It can take several rounds to get an article published.

Our editors will help to make your article ready for publishing by correcting a few minor mistakes with your submission. But a submission riddled with errors will not be corrected. It will be returned with a request for you to correct it and resubmit. It’s always a good idea to have a friend or another writer review your work before submission. The editors are far more likley to look at your work first if you have a good record of submissions than bad ones.

Finally, it is important to know that the editors reserves the right to edit, change or even delete your work as they see fit. While it is our goal not to make changes unless needed we reserve the right to do so.

You retain authorship over your article. By submitting it to us, you agree that PlayMMO, Alchemic Dream and its affiliates will be completely free to publish, use or modify, in any way, your article (or any part of it), without any payment or other obligation to you.

If you have any questions as to one of your submissions you may contact the editors directly here. Please keep in mind our editors are busy people and cannot debate every aspect of your article with you. It can take a long time for your article to appear online if approved.

Are you ready to get started?

You may submit your articles by emailing our editors. All submissions must be in .doc or .odt format.

Please be sure to review the following policies:
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

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