Tips on Getting Published

[Camelot]

I'm looking in to sending some articles to Dungeon and Dragon magazines in the hopes of getting them published. Today, Steve Winter wrote an editorial, Got Adventure?, with some tips for submitting adventures to Dungeon. I'm more interested in tips for articles in Dragon. I know some posters here at EN World have gotten published before, so I was wondering if you have any tips.

Some things I can think of:

• Something New: The article should have mechanics that can create a character that was previously unmakeable with the current rules, as well as flavor that is different from previously published material. It should be something no one has thought of yet.
• Balance: If you are making crunch (which I will be), make sure it's balanced. It can't be weaker or stronger than any other option that's supposed to be the same level. The best way to make sure is by playtesting it with your friends.
• Keep the Description Concise: Write a few paragraphs describing your article and what it achiever, which you should put in the body of the submission email. If you have a complete article, attach it as a PDF, but know that the summary is more important, as that is what will catch the reader's interest and make them look at the article.

Anything else I should know?

 

[the Jester]

There was just an article or editorial or something about submissions to Dragon, actually.

 

[Stormonu]

While I only was published back in the TSR days, these are the big things that helped me:

* Playtest where possible (this helps with the balance issues, as you mentioned)

* Proofread anything you send in. While they have editors, a poorly written article that needs a lot of corrections is a big turn-off.

* Keep the query letter 1 page or less. Best if you can make it 300 words or less.

* DON'T MISS A DEADLINE. If you are asked to do something by a particular date, do everything in your power to meet that deadline - NO excuses.

 

[Camelot]

There was just an article or editorial or something about submissions to Dragon, actually.

Could you provide a link? I remember seeing one a while back, but I can't find it now.

While I only was published back in the TSR days, these are the big things that helped me:

* Playtest where possible (this helps with the balance issues, as you mentioned)

* Proofread anything you send in. While they have editors, a poorly written article that needs a lot of corrections is a big turn-off.

* Keep the query letter 1 page or less. Best if you can make it 300 words or less.

* DON'T MISS A DEADLINE. If you are asked to do something by a particular date, do everything in your power to meet that deadline - NO excuses.

Thanks for the advice! Proofreading is definitely a good tip; I know there's nothing I hate more than having to "translate" poor grammar. Meeting every deadline is definitely important, once you are hired for a regular job, which is my ultimate goal.

 

[MrMyth]

Could you provide a link? I remember seeing one a while back, but I can't find it now.

Here is the new one from this week.

It's not quite as useful as the Dungeon one, though - it has some decent guidelines on the sort of thing not to write, but doesn't really go in-depth on what they are looking for. It sounds like there will be some blog updates this month that give examples and go into this in more detail.

Which doesn't really help right now, nor do I know exactly where this blog is.

Still, any info is better than none, I suppose!

 

[Maldin]

Maybe they've changed their unofficial yet clear policy in the last year, and I really do hope that they have, and are serious about it, but...

The only tip worth anything regarding getting published by post-Paizo Dragon and Dungeon was "Get a full-time job with WotC first". The first several post-Paizo years was 100% done in-house. By in-house I mean current WotC employees, former WotC employees, favored-freelancers that already had hardcover credits, or you are co-authoring an article with one of those previous categories. They didn't even acknowledge submissions for years. There was an old thread (which The Rouse posted in) here at Enworld that documented the publishing history of those first few post-Paizo years and identified all of the authors and confirmed them as fitting in one of those categories, despite the public posting of submission guidelines.

If they are actually accepting and publishing independent NEW authors, then nothing could make me happier! (Well, almost nothing)


Denis, aka "Maldin" (who was a Paizo-era author)
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