CoG is Seeking Article/News Writers

[Digital Jedi]

We'll be taking a more structured approach to gaming here at CoG, and we're looking for volunteers to help be a part of it. CoG is in need of writer's for any TCG we currently feature in addition to video games. This includes writer's for Netrep Articles, Card of the Day, News and Events.

If you think you'd like to be a part of our team, then post your article in the following forum: [forum="861"]Articles[/forum] (it doesn't have to be a Yu-Gi-Oh! article). Threads will go into the moderation queue where they'll be judged for content. You'll be judged on the substance of the article, as well as your ability to use punctuation and capitalization properly. In addition, you'll be judged on your ability to follow instructions, so the following guidelines will apply:

• If your doing a news article, make the event current enough that we know your in tune with recent events.
  
• Avoid excessive use of abbreviations. An article should be clear and concise as to what it's about, so spell out the proper card name or game mechanic. Don't presume everyone knows what "SoRL" or "Swords" is. Remember, part of your audience is new to the game. Don't use excessive slang.
• Proper Capitalization and Punctuation are a must. Paragraphs are essential, too. Don't make your article one run-on sentence or separate every sentence with "..." We want to see professional looking content.
• Use spell check. Verify your grammar and spelling. Mistakes happen, but excessive mistakes reflect poorly on the quality of the content, and in turn would reflect poorly on the site it's being viewed on.
• Verify your rules knowledge. Nothing reflects more poorly on an article then one that get's the mechanics or rulings about certain situation wrong. Double check Netrep, RONIN or the FAQ.
• Be substantive. Put some thought into your writing. Can your article be longer? Is it too long? Verify your information as accurate and see where you can improve the quality.

Any use of pictures should adhere to the following guidelines:

• Use pictures where applicable.
• Keep picture count low. No more than 3 should be necessary for most articles. Only go over that if it's absolutely necessary.
• Images should be no more then 300px wide.
• Don't hotlink images. Use your own hosting service, free or otherwise. You'll be provided with local hosting if your article is approved.
• Use the preview page to get an idea of how your article is going to look with these pictures in it.

Lastly:

• Don't over think it. Make your article as good as you can make it, and then move on. Don't shoot for perfection, as we'll be copy editing articles just like any Editor would. Just shoot for quality.

Remember, once you submit an article, it will not show up to anyone but moderators. So make sure you've made all the necessary edits and proof read it before clicking that Submit button, because you won't get a chance to go back and fix it before we read it. Make sure your putting your best foot forward.

You can also use your real name for articles simply by putting your real name in the Byline field in your User CP Profile Options.

We will contact you only if you've been approved, and we'll let you know if we want to see more from you. I hope to see a lot of submissions, but we'll be picking the cream of the crop, so good fortune to you.

Peace,

 

[KASR]

Bringing this thread back from the DEAD, becuz I think it's still an important topic to be discussed. One might argue that there isn't enough traffic here to warrant volunteers, but you have to start somewhere - by growing the database of articles, stories, reports, etc - you then increase the chances of capturing the audience for which we intend to grab.

I'll throw my hat in!