WotC Seeking Your Setting Proposals (was "Big Wizard announcement")

[Patrick-S&S]

Re: Wish they hadn't gone with an enter as often as you like rule for this.....

Guess I can whip up several POOMA submissions as well, just to feel competitive. Anyone else feeling this way?

Well yes and no actually. I think that while they might write several dozen submissions I would suspect unless you have solid presentation and something that is interesting it won't matter. And so many submissions makes it look to me anyway, a kind of gambling without much luck. I have personally sent three ideas that I have been pondering on for years, and unless any of those is picked I will start publishing one of them on my own. I have been writing, publishing and mapping for HârnWorld now for years (and got published several times myself) and I am looking to enter the d20 arena. In any way I am a "winner".

 

[Gez]

The Thing To Do: write a hellish lot of different submissions about roughly the same world ! You just need to rephrase things and focus on an aspect or another...
If you sent around 1 000 submissions of the same world, you can be pretty damn sure one of them at least will get picked. Of course, you may ran into trouble if several are selected...

 

[Weeble]

The Thing To Do: write a hellish lot of different submissions about roughly the same world !
Of course, you may ran into trouble if several are selected...

Good luck.

 

[Desdichado]

I think sending in multiple settings is only valuable if you've got multiple settings with a good concept that you've worked on for some time.

I'm probably going to send three, but all our concepts that I've kicked around for a few years. I wouldn't be trying to throw together some kind of proposal just to have more numbers in. This isn't a lottery, and those kinds of proposals will get dumped real fast, I'd bet.

 

[Olidammara]

Multiple submission improve your chances, eh? ...

Submission No. 1: "Player characters slay monsters and collect treasure."

Submission No. 2: "Monsters? Treasure? -- Player characters slay the former to get to the latter!"

Submission No. 3: "A world where monsters guard treasure and player characters get in the way."

Submission No. 4: "Yeah, I got yo monster right *here*."

Submission No. 5: "Orcs guard pies."

Submission No. 6: "Treasure and monsters abound! Player characters romp! High adventure ensues!"

Submission No. 7: "Monsters + Player Characters = Conflict. The Prize? Treasure!"

Submission No. 8: "Player characters slay monsters and collect treasure. ... But not necessarily in the same way that I suggested previously. This one is different. Really. Call me at home and we can discuss the details to your satisfaction."

 

[kingpaul]

Submission No. 5: "Orcs guard pies."

ROFLMAO! This would be a great one, if for nothing else, the humor factor.

 

[King_Stannis]

The Thing To Do: write a hellish lot of different submissions about roughly the same world ! You just need to rephrase things and focus on an aspect or another...
If you sent around 1 000 submissions of the same world, you can be pretty damn sure one of them at least will get picked. Of course, you may ran into trouble if several are selected...

no offense, but this is why i'm even hesitating to send in one submission. man, WotC dropped the ball by not limiting the entries. or better yet, charging a few bucks per entry.

 

[kingpaul]

no offense, but this is why i'm even hesitating to send in one submission. man, WotC dropped the ball by not limiting the entries. or better yet, charging a few bucks per entry.

The limiting factor, I believe, will be that each entry needs to be entered with its own signed submission agreement. Postal charges will mount, if nothing else.

 

[Darraketh]

no offense, but this is why i'm even hesitating to send in one submission. man, WotC dropped the ball by not limiting the entries. or better yet, charging a few bucks per entry.

The sheer number of entries would make me immediately toss any that were not done professionally.

I hope we don't drive Anthony V. away. It would be so nice if he were able to keep us updated until the final setting hits the store shelves.

 

[edbonny]

The Thing To Do: write a hellish lot of different submissions about roughly the same world ! You just need to rephrase things and focus on an aspect or another...
If you sent around 1 000 submissions of the same world, you can be pretty damn sure one of them at least will get picked. Of course, you may ran into trouble if several are selected...

Posts like the one quoted above remind me of the hopeful "wanna-be stars" on the American Idol show on TV last night. For the entertainment of the viewing audience, an unfortunate combination of ambition, inexperience, and ego led to many hilarious moments.

Put bluntly, the kind of thinking in the above post (and many others here offering similarly attractive approaches) is simply naive and sorely misguided - precisely the wrong way to approach this task. There is no "angle" to figure out nor is there a "quick fix" that can circumvent the effort necessary into making your submission one that will stand out.

Keep in mind: It's not a lottery. It's a talent show. Sending in 1,000 hastily written submissions is the same as singing 1,000 songs badly on Star Search (or if you prefer, American Idol). You're not singing any better than the first time, and no one will be looking forward to your next performance.

Bottom line: This is about quality. This is about professionalism. This is about making the effort. And finally, this is about understanding fully what is required of you... And even after you do all this, you also understand that you still might not make the grade. But you realize that because you have these traits, you do stand a better chance of being chosen than someone who doesn't.

Work long hours on your proposal; Make it gripping; Read it out loud and do this often; Show it to people; Welcome their comments... Then put it down for a day before reading it again. Does it leap off the page? Will it make every gamer you ever met want to play in it? If not, think about how to rephrase it so it captures their attention. Rinse, lather, repeat!

On June 21st, it's show time!