Submission tips?

[Quickleaf]

I figure there are some frequent freelancers on here, so maybe you can offer tips for submissions to DUNGEON magazine? I've already read the the current WotC guidelines and Steve Winter's article about more creative adventures. I'm looking for advice from writers with experience with the online incarnation of DUNGEON.

Do you include multiple submissions in one e-mail? When you embed your submission do you format it or leave it as text?

Do you include highlight bullet points at the start? Are your submissions freeflow prose or are they broken up into categories (e.g. "plot", "villain")?

Is there any rejection letter or is it a "we didn't call you after 60 days so assume your submission was rejected" thing?

Any insider tips you have about the process and what a first-timer should expect?

I have published before, but never with an rpg magazine, and the WotC submission guidelines are a bit skimpy on detail. Thanks!

 

[Incenjucar]

WotC doesn't send out rejection letters. People who have managed to get articles in generally only do so after making 20-30 proposal submissions, so patience and persistence are a big deal until you get your first in. Once you've made it once, it seems to be a lot easier to keep getting published.

 

[Neverfate]

It may also help if you're Robert J. Schwalb

 

[Shroomy]

I figure there are some frequent freelancers on here, so maybe you can offer tips for submissions to DUNGEON magazine? I've already read the the current WotC guidelines and Steve Winter's article about more creative adventures. I'm looking for advice from writers with experience with the online incarnation of DUNGEON.

Do you include multiple submissions in one e-mail? When you embed your submission do you format it or leave it as text?

I usually don't include multiple submissions in a single email, but that has more to do with how I write then some sort of prohibition (I usually work on a single proposal at a time until I'm done, send it in, and then move on to the next one). I have sent in multiple submissions on a single email before and I remember reading that it was OK to do so and even encouraged; that was during Chris Youngs's editorship, but I haven't seen, read, or have been told anything contradicting this since then.

As for formatting, I write my queries in Microsoft Word with minimal formatting and then drop them into Gmail, which keeps most of the formatting. I don't do anything fancy, just italicizing, bulleting, etc.

Do you include highlight bullet points at the start? Are your submissions freeflow prose or are they broken up into categories (e.g. "plot", "villain")?

I've done both kinds of submissions, though I personally prefer a prose style with a definite structure. My two adventures were based on a submission originally submitted to Paizo, so it was written using their Dungeon guidelines from 2006. I haven't really concentrated on writing new adventures lately and those I've submitted haven't been accepted, so I'm not sure if how I'm doing it is advisable. Over on Critical-Hits.com, former WotC staffer Chris Sims offered up some advice on submitting DDI articles, and he used a bullet-point style.

Is there any rejection letter or is it a "we didn't call you after 60 days so assume your submission was rejected" thing?

Contrary to popular belief, Steve Winter does sometimes reply to your submissions if he's rejecting them; usually its pretty brief, but sometimes he goes into detail. However, I've probably only received a response on less than 1/4th of my proposals (I'm assuming there's way too many for him to respond to all of them consistently), so use the 60 days without a response guideline. Truthfully, when they've been interested in my proposals, I've usually heard relatively quickly after submitting them.

Any insider tips you have about the process and what a first-timer should expect?

I have published before, but never with an rpg magazine, and the WotC submission guidelines are a bit skimpy on detail. Thanks!

You've been published before, so you already know the importance of economy and grammar. My most successful queries have all been pretty brief, so I would think that conveying a cool idea as quickly as possible is the best method (others may have different experiences). Expect rejection. I've had four articles published based on three queries, out of the 50+ I've submitted.

 

[Riastlin]

I can't relate from personal experience in submitting to WotC, but I do have a fair amount of exposure to the publishing world in general. The biggest thing I can say is to start off really strong in your pitch. Often times, if you don't grab them right out of the box, they may not even bother reading your full proposal. The first few sentences should give them a good idea where you are going. In other words, don't save the best for last because they might not ever see it if you do.

That of course is a general rule of thumb and certainly its entirely possible that Steve Winter (or somebody else) always reads the entirety of the submission.

And yes, change your name to Robert Schwalb, that might help.

 

[Quickleaf]

Thanks Shroomy, that was really insightful into the publishing culture at WotC. So I take it you don't do an encounter by encounter breakdown in the submission query?

Is this the Chris Sims' article you refer to? Chris Sims : Critical Hits

Well, I plan on just getting my first submission accepted out of the gate, but thanks for the word of caution about their acceptance rates And it won't involve changing my name or anything illegal... that can be proved in court.

 

[Shroomy]

Thanks Shroomy, that was really insightful into the publishing culture at WotC. So I take it you don't do an encounter by encounter breakdown in the submission query?

Is this the Chris Sims' article you refer to? Chris Sims : Critical Hits

Well, I plan on just getting my first submission accepted out of the gate, but thanks for the word of caution about their acceptance rates And it won't involve changing my name or anything illegal... that can be proved in court.

I can't remember if that specific article was part of his blog roll or a feature on that site.

I also wouldn't do an encounter by encounter breakdown; that's way too much detail, especially if you consider that the maximum length of a query they're looking for is around 500 words.

 

[Mummolus]

Where would one find the WoTC submission guidelines? You (Quickleaf) also mentioned an article about creative adventures in the opening post, but I'm not sure where it is?

 

[Shroomy]

Where would one find the WoTC submission guidelines? You (Quickleaf) also mentioned an article about creative adventures in the opening post, but I'm not sure where it is?

Here are the submission guidelines. I believe the article that Quickleaf was referring to was one of Steve Winter's editorials. Check those and his blog over on the WotC page for additional information (FYI, he hasn't updated his blog in a while).

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=32739]Shroomy[/MENTION] I'd XP you but it says I like you too much.

Where would one find the WoTC submission guidelines? You (Quickleaf) also mentioned an article about creative adventures in the opening post, but I'm not sure where it is?

Here's the link to the editorial I mentioned:
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Thinking Outside the Encounter)


Well I just fired off 9 submissions, mostly Dungeon adventures. Wish me luck.