Freelancers
How can I get paid for writing?
Do I need experience?
What
can I write?
What are the submission guidelines?
How can I get paid for writing?
We do offer compensation for feature articles, columns, and website or guild review assignments. First, you must submit (or accept) an idea the MOG crew likes. Then, our editor will relate the exact requirements, rates and deadlines. Our panelists normally have first pick of the assignments, since MOG content discussions take place on our private panelist forum board before we solicit help from the public.
Compensation will be decided on a case-by-case basis by our editor once you've been accepted for an assignment.
Do I need experience?
Only MOG gamers know what MOG gamers want. Massive Online Gaming is looking for submissions from dedicated gamers in all game systems to write columns, articles and informational items. You don't have to be a professional journalist, but you do have to be able to express yourself clearly in writing. Most importantly, you must be a dedicated, knowledgeable and experienced player of the massive online games you want to write about.
Massive Online Gaming does pay by the word for accepted freelance submissions (rates available on request). Writers also receive complimentary copies and full credit for their work.
What can I write?
Submissions of the following types are actively being sought, but if you have a great idea that doesn't fit into any of the categories below, we want to hear that as well. We recommend that you submit a query letter before you actually begin or submit an article. All submissions should be original (never appeared elsewhere, either on print or on the net). Please don't write in to say, "I'd love to write something." We're looking for detailed proposals (100 to 200 words) for specific articles.
General Features
Feature articles covering subjects of interest to all gamers, including (but not limited to) industry trends, new technology, or development and programming issues. Previews and interviews are generally arranged and assigned by the editors, but if you feel you're uniquely qualified to conduct a certain interview or preview a certain game, by all means let us know. General features should run 2000 to 3000 words.
Strategy Features
Feature articles to help players get the most out of their games. Strategy Features should be tied directly to a specific game. Possible topics include getting the most out of certain core systems within the games ("Crafting for Fun and Profit," or "Building Guilds to Win Wars"), general advancement advice ("Power Leveling Made Easy," "The Most Bang for Your Nano-Tech Buck"), or enhancing roleplaying ("15 Fun Ways to Celebrate Real-World Holidays," "Playing Evil Without Being a Jerk"). Strategy Features should run 2000 to 3000 words, and you should be able to produce 8 to 12 screenshots to illustrate your story.
Opinion Columns
MOG wants informed, useful, fun opinion columns about specific game systems, and about issues of general interest to MOG gamers. Space for new opinion columnists is extremely limited, so please send your ideas for the column as a whole as well as specific entries, and your unique qualifications as a columnist.
Perspective
Perspective is a forum for short opinion pieces of general interest to the MOG community. Perspective submissions should be 1000 to 1500 words, and offer a unique viewpoint on a matter of interest to all MOG gamers, not just players of one specific game.
Humor
We welcome MOG-related humor of all types. Humor pieces can be anywhere from 100 to 2000 words, and should be really funny. Please keep all language and topics to a "PG" level or better.
My Favorite Website
This is a short (600 to 1000 words) profile of a fan site relating to your favorite MOG that you find particularly useful or appealing. You should not be a webmaster, staff member or regular contributor of the site you profile.
Featured Guild
This is a short (600 to 1000 words) profile of a guild or similar player-run organization in your favorite game. You may be a member of the guild you profile. Extremely large or successful guilds are always welcome, but smaller organizations with a unique outlook are also desirable. You should be able to produce screenshots of the guild in action.
Event Reports
We welcome reports on MOG-related events, either in-game or real-world, from the players who organize or attend them. Reports should run 100 to 500 words (longer reports are possible for major events, by assignment).
Fiction
At the present time, MOG is not interested in game-based fiction, with the possible exception of humor pieces.
Cartoons
We welcome the submission of humor cartoons, both hand-drawn and screenshot-based. Drawn cartoons should be of professional artistic quality. Please keep all language and topics to a "PG" level or better. At the present time, MOG is not seeking other original illustrations of any kind.
What are the submission guidelines?
Our editor will provide concise requirements for each assignment. But just in case you're curious (or delete his e-mail), here they are:
Art
Screen shot art should be at least 800 x 600 PC screenshots (unless they're for a console game). Higher resolution is better. We prefer *.bmp, high-quality *.jpg or *.png format. Please do not crop or otherwise alter your screen shots.
Concept art or sketches should be provided in as high a resolution as possible. We can accept Photoshop, *.bmp , *.png files, or *.tif files.
Please do not send animation files.
Words
We'll accept any sort of document that supports rich text formatting. This means that you can send us something created in Wordpad (standard with Windows), Wordperfect, or Microsoft Word. We have a document template available for Microsoft Word users that our editor can send you when you have been accepted for an assignment.
If you are unfamiliar with templates or Microsoft Word, simply save your document as a rich text file (*.rtf) and we'll take care of the rest!
We prefer that you zip your files and e-mail them. (The editor will tell you where to send them when you've completed an assignment.) For larger files, we do have a private FTP site.
One last word about words ... we reserve the right to cut or edit as necessary, but you will always receive byline credit for your work.
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