I think, then, it's time to lift the "double-spaced" restriction from proposals.\
I assumed that you still printed them off at some point, at least the ones that seemed most interesting. If your two pages prohibition was single spaced no wonder I kept drifting into a third. I've never gone over a thousand words at least!
Ok, I have my proposal down from 1,225 words to 922, which is two pages (about 1 and 3/4s to be more precise), double spaced and in 10 point type ... With a final self edit, it'll be with you guys on Saturday. The first of many, I hope.
Got a quick question:
I've just picked up the Libris Mortis and the book detailing the Mind Flayers - awesome they are.
But anyway, for a potential article would the mentioning of specific histories and rules detailed in the aforementioned books be seen in a positive or negative light? As a reader I could see myself getting irked at having to pick up a new supplement just to understand a specific adventure, however these two books in particular just add so much scope from which to create.
What are people's recommendations in this?
Creative Director
|
We use material from the non-core WotC books all the time. But we don't assume readers have access to these books. You're welcome to utilize concepts and rules you find in any book published by WotC, but keep in mind that we'll need to reprint enough of the rules so that someone without the book in question can still use the adventure. We've used monsters from Libris Mortis quite a lot, in fact, and will probably do the same with those from Lords of Madness, Stormwrack, and others.
The perfect way to do it is so that someone reading a "Lords of Madness" adventure would want to go buy the book to find out more because he's intrigued, not because he feels he has to in order to understand the adventure.
Hey. Is there a preferred file type for electronic SDFs? Photoshop Image? JPEG? BMP? What's your poison?
Thanks, ciao.
Hey. Is there a preferred file type for electronic SDFs? Photoshop Image? JPEG? BMP? What's your poison?
Thanks, ciao.
As someone who occasionally prints things for a living, but has no official connection to Paizo, I suggest either a Word .doc with your scanned signature plugged in as an image (.jpg) or an Adobe .pdf file, which you could create in Photoshop (at least every version I've seen).
The disclosure form is (I believe) in Word (or can be pasted into Word if it's a .pdf). That and a black and white scan of just your signature will save file size, and be printable on the their end. Likewise a black and white .pdf is also printable and won't tie up processing time.
I have submitted in both of these formats without complaint.
Hope that helps and good luck,
GGG
Thank you GGG!
That was great advice. I hate to admit that I didn't even notice I could save as a PDF in Photoshop.
I'll have my first submissions out today thanks to you! :)
Blast! More competition! ;)
Good luck,
GGG
Blast! More competition! ;)
Good luck,
GGG
G-cubed -
You hardly need to worry - I mean, you had TEN submissions in the last pile (not including a certain collaborative project). Competition is a good thing. It keeps us all lively!
- Ashavan
My ultimate goal is to eventually submit soooo much that I get one issue of Dungeon all to myself (well, and Monte Cook of course).
3G
Blast! More competition! ;)
Good luck,
GGGG-cubed -
You hardly need to worry - I mean, you had TEN submissions in the last pile (not including a certain collaborative project). Competition is a good thing. It keeps us all lively!
- Ashavan
Oh, and don't forget my Cast articles! And there's a Critical Threat rolling about oh, and ... I'll just stop now.
TriG
Just a few questions. My query document is single spaced and runs two pages. If I double space it it will go over the two page "limit". Is either double or single space acceptable?
Do I have to have a detailed stat block on the chief NPC's involved included with my query?
Equally so must I detail the magical items in a similar fashion?
Just a few questions. My query document is single spaced and runs two pages. If I double space it it will go over the two page "limit". Is either double or single space acceptable?
James Jacobs has mentioned (either in this thread or the "Black Hole" thread) that the double space requirement is sort of archaic and not really required. The better standard is no more than 2 pages and less than 1000 words.
Do I have to have a detailed stat block on the chief NPC's involved included with my query?
I don't believe so, though you ought to mention is classes and levels, I would think.
Equally so must I detail the magical items in a similar fashion?
I don't believe so. I'd mention any items that are specific to the adventure; otherwise, a general, "NPCs will be equipped appropriately for their level" is a good way to cover the bases there.
Of course, it's possible my answers conflict with what any of the editors are going to say. Which means two things: First, i can expect some rejections. ;) And second, I need to change what I'm doing.
|
Creative Director
|
Of course, it's possible my answers conflict with what any of the editors are going to say. Which means two things: First, i can expect some rejections. ;) And second, I need to change what I'm doing.
Nope: these comments are spot on.
No more than 2 pages and less than 1,000 words.
No full stat blocks (but tell us the race and class levels of your villains).
For magic items, just mention artifacts or new magic items; everything else can be "treasure appropriate for the adventure's level."
Do I have to have a detailed stat block on the chief NPC's involved included with my query?
I don't believe so, though you ought to mention is classes and levels, I would think.
I tend to pull a "Niga (LE female human commoner 2/rogue 1) runs the orphan beggar crew and will make life miserable for anyone who harms her charges" for main NPCs it's short enough not to eat up word count if you're only using it for primary NPCs.
- Ashavan
Thanks for all the fast responses. One final question which is probably directed more towards those who actually read and consider the queries, but is the length and important issue? I just got a query down to 650 words. Are shorter queries good or bad? I've found it hard doing Backdrop and Creature Catalogue queries that near the 1000 words mark however I don't want to clutter the query with information I don't need.
Of course, it's possible my answers conflict with what any of the editors are going to say. Which means two things: First, i can expect some rejections. ;) And second, I need to change what I'm doing.Nope: these comments are spot on.
* dances around the room *
Woohoo! I did something right today!
:D
|
Creative Director
|
Thanks for all the fast responses. One final question which is probably directed more towards those who actually read and consider the queries, but is the length and important issue? I just got a query down to 650 words. Are shorter queries good or bad? I've found it hard doing Backdrop and Creature Catalogue queries that near the 1000 words mark however I don't want to clutter the query with information I don't need.
Shorter is better. We get nearly a hundred queries a month, so if you can get your ideas across in less words, excellent!
OK, one last thing. For say a Critical Threat submission, is it essential that the article be in the new stat block style, or is the old acceptable?
This is a longshot then, but any chance you can update your submission guidelines to reflect that then? Heh, it might be interesting to incorporate alot of the info in this and the black holes thread as well. Good luck on finding the time though ;)
PS James, I LOVE Lord of Madness. One of the best supplements I've ever read.
OK, one last thing. For say a Critical Threat submission, is it essential that the article be in the new stat block style, or is the old acceptable?The old stat block is dead.
Use the new stat block.
James/Jeremy -
For those of us who have Campaign Workbook or critical threat articles languishing in the pile - if they were done before the stat block change, should we resubmit them with the new stat block format?
- Ashavan
Adding to what Ashavan said: How about those of us with backdrops or adventures that have already been accepted but probably won't see print for a year?
GGG
The old stat block is dead.
Which old stat block? The wicked old stat block?
Ding dong... :)
(The lollipop guild will be along shortly)
I hate change, but this one does seem easier to use.
|
Creative Director
|
Don't resubmit adventures; if they're already here with the old style stat blocks and we decide to print them, we'll change the stat blocks during development. Anything you send in now, though, should use the new format.
And by format, I mean organization. Don't go getting tricky with text boxes or frames or adding lines. We take care of the actual document formatting during layout. Just presenting the stat block in plain text is all we're looking for, like this:
MONSTER NAME CR XXX
Gender race class level
AL Size type (subtype)
Source xxx
Init xxx; Senses Listen +xxx, Spot +xxx
Aura xxx
Languages xxx
AC xxx, touch xxx, flat-footed xxx
hp xxx (xxx HD); regeneration/fast healing ; DR xxx
Immune xxx
Resist xxx; SR xxx
Fort +xxx, Ref +xxx, Will +xxx
Weakness xxx
Spd xxx ft.
Melee weapon +xxx (xxx)
Ranged weapon +xxx (xxx)
Space xxx; Reach xxx
Base Atk +xxx; Grp +xxx
Atk Options xxx
Special Atk xxx
Combat Gear xxx
Spells Prepared (CL th):
2nd—xxx, xxx
1st—xxx, xxx
Spell-Like Abilities (CL th):
1/day—xxx
Abilities Str xxx, Dex xxx, Con xxx, Int xxx, Wis xxx, Cha xxx
SQ xxx
Feats xxx
Skills xxx
Possessions xxx
Meep! And here I've been spending time doing the formatting of bold, italics, break lines, and so on.
Well - at least my submissions look nice. :)
Meep! And here I've been spending time doing the formatting of bold, italics, break lines, and so on.
Well - at least my submissions look nice. :)
I do all the bold and italics too, though I knew from some previous advice from the editors not to do the horizontal line.
- Ashavan
The irony here is the amount of time it took me to figure out how to insert the line... :-\ *sighs*
Onrie is ready to start! Get ready for a March of Terror with the best danged tarrasqui adventure ever.
All I need to do is find a humanoid race not used in a while. hmmm, bugbears sound nice.
Onrie is ready to start! Get ready for a March of Terror with the best danged tarrasqui adventure ever.
All I need to do is find a humanoid race not used in a while. hmmm, bugbears sound nice.
What no fire newts? No demodu, lumi, or yurians? And what about yak folk?
Oh well, I guess most of them are monstrous humanoids. ;)
Good luck,
GGG
Dude, Yak folk scare me...
The old stat block is dead.
Use the new stat block.
Amen to that, brother!
WaterdhavianFlapjack
I have a question regarding writing in general . . . Lately, I have been spending a lot more time sitting at the computer each day, and I have noticed a couple of physical changes. I am getting headaches in the back on my head, and my back and shoulders have been hurting. I am also seeing some spots, off and on, after a long day of typing.
I know that alot of people that use these boards can spend their entire work day staring at a computer, and then go home and surf the interet or play on-line games. I don't think that what I'm doing is unusual.
Overall, I'd say that my computer time has doubled at least. Is there a peroid of adjustment that I need to wait for, or are there ergonomic tricks that I can use to handle these problems?
Thanks.
I have a question regarding writing in general . . . Lately, I have been spending a lot more time sitting at the computer each day, and I have noticed a couple of physical changes. I am getting headaches in the back on my head, and my back and shoulders have been hurting. I am also seeing some spots, off and on, after a long day of typing.
I know that alot of people that use these boards can spend their entire work day staring at a computer, and then go home and surf the interet or play on-line games. I don't think that what I'm doing is unusual.
Overall, I'd say that my computer time has doubled at least. Is there a peroid of adjustment that I need to wait for, or are there ergonomic tricks that I can use to handle these problems?
Thanks.
I'm all about those jelly slugs for your wrists.... Also, try adjusting the height of your chair/how far away your monitor is. Of course, I'm not all that ergonomic - I write journalistic stuff normally, but half the time when I get "in the zone" for fiction, I turn my chair 90 degrees and hang my head so that I can ignore the screen completely and write by touch alone. For some reason it works better that way.
...yeah, I know I'm weird.
-James
I would definitely look into making your environment more ergonomic. As JS said, adjust the height on your chair, the distance to your monitor, where your mouse and keyboard sit, and all that stuff.
Also - when was the last time you had your vision checked? Maybe it's time for a trip to your eye doc. When you go, be sure to tell them you're spending more time in front of the computer lately. If you already wear corrective lenses, you can get some light tints that will help with eye strain from computer screens.
I've found that circulation is also important. Do some stretching exercises for the neck, shoulders, back and wrists. I type a lot more at work than at home, but when I do work at home a lot, I use my laptop with a detached keyboard, move a few feet from the computer and put the keyboard across my thighs, supporting my wrists and forearms with my thighs and lower belly (which is quite ample now that I'm pushing 40).
I get up a lot and stretch, do wrist circulation exercises, neck stretches, etc....it has helped a lot.
Somehow this thread got archived. Posting to it to bring it back.
Darn - I saw Jeremy had posted and I was hoping he had a cool tip for us. ;)
You know what would be cool for someone other than me to do? Break this all down and put into one easy to read Q&A format FAQ for ease of reference.
Ok, fine, I did it. I condensed all the notes form this thread down into one document for my own personal reference for submissions, and if anyone wants it, or wants me to post the whole thing, let me know. I got like 4 pages in word with all the tips.
Ok, fine, I did it. I condensed all the notes form this thread down into one document for my own personal reference for submissions, and if anyone wants it, or wants me to post the whole thing, let me know. I got like 4 pages in word with all the tips.
Of course we want to see it! Don't be silly. And a great big "thank you" for doing so.
Ok, fine, I did it. I condensed all the notes form this thread down into one document for my own personal reference for submissions, and if anyone wants it, or wants me to post the whole thing, let me know. I got like 4 pages in word with all the tips.
Please, post away!
Otherwise thejade1@iwon.com. Either way, thank you for the effort.
Apologies if this ends up being too long of a post. This is the condesnsed, strippe down version that has doen away with repeats and such...
Tips for Potential Dungeon Contributors
*PUT YOUR NAME AT THE TOP OF YOUR MANUSCRIPT - Put your name at the top of the first page of the manuscript. Submissions usually get printed out, and if we have to go back to your email, figure out who sent what, and write your name at the top of your manuscript, you are making the staff do unnecessary work.
*INCLUDE THE SDF FORM AS A SEPARATE FILE - It makes filing a lot easier if you attach the SDF form as a separate file. We can't accept an adventure without an SDF! It may be sent in paper form or emailed in electronic form.
*DON'T JUST PASTE YOUR QUERY IN THE EMAIL BODY - Your full query should be in the word processing format you will write the adventure with, preferably Microsoft Word.
*PROOFREAD - A spellchecker will make minor fixes, but an abundance of grammatical and spelling errors makes your manuscript much less attractive and professional looking. Try to get others to read it first for clarity and correctness. Give yourself time to adequately go over the whole manuscript. This can be especially important for foreign-language contributors who must compete with native speakers. Also, learn how to use apostrophes.
*SHOW, DON'T TELL - Instead of saying "a really cool trap" or "a mind-bending puzzle", give us a QUICK idea of what it involves. Additionally, minimize backstory and NPC information for the sake of increased description of what will actually transpire in the adventure. You do not have to include every single monster or grunt, but the main NPCs and villains need to be have some detail. Also, include notes for anything particularly unusual.
*TWO PAGES MAXIMUM PER QUERY - Two pages can seem limiting, but it's extremely important to get as much of the adventure itself into the query as possible. When possible, condense or sacrifice background description in favor of telling us about PC involvement. If you can't explain your adventure in two pages, it's probably too complex to fit into one of our adventure slots in the magazine. If we like your basic idea but think we need a longer proposal, we'll ask for it.
*DO NOT RE-SEND QUERIES - Please don't resend a query unless we ask you to rewrite it for us or we ask you to resend it because we did not get it.
*BE PATIENT - It can take some time to get a response. The average time between proposal acceptance and manuscript submission is a couple of months - even the best queries generally have some changes that need to be made, and the editors understand that such things don't always happen overnight.
*DO NOT PRESUME PC ACTIONS - The whole reason we like D&D is because it allows us as players to do anything we want. In your adventure, don't presume that the PCs are always going to follow the path you've laid out. Go ahead and talk about incentives for PCs to take various actions, but realize that being lead by the nose is rarely fun or effective.
* PUT YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD - Consider what elements make your proposal exciting and a "must buy" from an editor's perspective (great story, great NPCs, great location, basically great anything) and put them up front. Let us know what makes your adventure cool, because if we have to go hunting for it, there's a good chance it's going to get missed.
*WE ARE NOT YOUR PLAYERS - A lot of authors like to be sneaky about key plot elements, avoiding a big "reveal." Even if the adventure is a mystery, it shouldn't be mysterious to us. Don't hide elements of your adventure from us. Give us all the information we need to make an informed decision about whether or not to buy the module. If you don't, we're probably not going to buy it.
*WE NEED MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF ADVENTURES - We still need Eberron and FR adventures. We need low-level adventures. This changes around a lot as months go by, but right now we're seriously hurting for good low-level proposals.
*AVOID OVERUSE OF THE DUNGEON CRAWL
There will always be a place for "traditional" dungeon crawls in Dungeon (it is, after all, the name of the magazine), but we're beginning to yearn for more interesting adventures.
*NO MORE BORG ADVENTURES - At least five proposals from the current meeting (and this is after scores have already been rejected) hinged on some sort of creature, usually something that looks like a bug, trying to spread out and assimilate innocent folks.
*MORE URBAN ADVENTURES - This ties into the request for more than just dungeon crawls, but we're really interested in some cool urban adventures that can be easily slotted into any urban D&D campaign. City adventures, like any other adventure, should generally be for the core D&D world. If you want to do a city adventure set in Forgotten Realms or Eberron, make sure that it's in the city you chose for a reason. In the end, there's no real difference between the two as regards a footprint in the magazine, since we'll want to present enough info in the magazine to run the city even if it's been extensively detailed elsewhere. For an excellent example on how to structure and present an urban adventure, check out "The Styes" in issue #121.
*READ RECENT ISSUE OF DUNGEON - Not only will this help in showing you what kind of adventures we tend to accept, but it'll also tell you what adventures we've run too often.
*TAKE YOUR TIME - Once we accept a proposal, we typically give the author several months to write the manuscript. Usually three months. We never expect a writer to be able to generate a full manuscript in a week.
*MAPS MUST BE CLEAR - If you can't draw good maps, do your best to at least draw a clear and legible map. Don't clutter it with too many notes. Don't do it in pencil and then photocopy it so it's hard to read. As long as it's understandable, you should be fine.
* YOU CAN USE NON-CORE BOOKS - You're welcome to utilize concepts and rules you find in any book published by WotC, but keep in mind that we'll need to reprint enough of the rules so that someone without the book in question can still use the adventure.
*USE THE NEW STAT BLOCK - Don't go getting tricky with text boxes or frames or adding lines. We take care of the actual document formatting during layout. Just presenting the stat block in plain text is all we're looking for, like this:
MONSTER NAME CR XXX
Gender race class level
AL Size type (subtype)
Source xxx
Init xxx; Senses Listen +xxx, Spot +xxx
Aura xxx
Languages xxx
AC xxx, touch xxx, flat-footed xxx
hp xxx (xxx HD); regeneration/fast healing ; DR xxx
Immune xxx
Resist xxx; SR xxx
Fort +xxx, Ref +xxx, Will +xxx
Weakness xxx
Spd xxx ft.
Melee weapon +xxx (xxx)
Ranged weapon +xxx (xxx)
Space xxx; Reach xxx
Base Atk +xxx; Grp +xxx
Atk Options xxx
Special Atk xxx
Combat Gear xxx
Spells Prepared (CL th):
2nd-xxx, xxx
1st-xxx, xxx
Spell-Like Abilities (CL th):
1/day-xxx
Abilities Str xxx, Dex xxx, Con xxx, Int xxx, Wis xxx, Cha xxx
SQ xxx
Feats xxx
Skills xxx
Possessions xxx
*A FEW SMALL DETAILS - I think it's time to lift the "double-spaced" restriction from proposals; there's no need for this. Another thing that needs to go away: using 2 spaces after the end of every sentence. Please only use 1 space after that period.
Awesome stuff, Luke!
Glad I could help. It's nice too that by gathering all that, my own queries and submissions should be better.
Well done and thanks Luke, that should be a big help.
another bump to pull this thread out of the archives so more folks can benefit from the awesomeness contained within. :)
Hey everybody! This is really just because I'm OCD about email, but if you'd like to know what makes the Gatekeeper happy:
*One submission = one email. Far easier to organize than the alternative (particularly when certain submissions from a given batch get accepted and others don't).
*Attach that SDF as a separate file - as we generally don't print them unless we decide to publish your piece, putting it in the manuscript wastes valuable printer time. You'd be amazed how many near-stabbings occurr around here due to slow print times.
Thanks, folks! Keep 'em comin'!
-James
Thanks for all the help you have given us on these boards. It's very cool for you to take the time to offer tips for improvement.
I am working on taking that next step in my query writing, and trying to really knock you socks off with every single proposal. In addition to your great feedback this time around, I am also planing to change up the proposal presentation.
In my previous queries, I usually focus on simply telling the story from the PCs perspective. As I've been looking at my past sucesses vs. my past failures, it's occured to me that much of my word count is being wasted on moving the PCs from place to place. . . very tedious.
How would you feel about a proposal that started with a descriptive 3-4 sentence paragraph/hook that summed up the tone and feel of the adventure, and then another small paragraph that did a straight 3-4 sentence plot synposis (this is only about 250-300 words, tops)?
After that, the rest of the proposal is just a list of the coolest WOW! elements from the adventure. . . they can range from a description of a specific encounter, a cool NPC, a particular trap, an overview of the dungeon's location, a philosophical theme, a 3.5 conversion of an old monster, new monsters, etc. . . Basically whatever else I would consider to be the best parts of the adventure.
Based on this, you would have to trust that the various elements will come together in a cohesive plot. That's a negative. On the other hand, you also get a very good sense of the adventure's selling points without wasting so much time reading through the logical points that don't get anyone excited.
I thought it would be wise to get your opinion before forging ahead with this. Also, it will be much easier for me to write them out this way, and I may be able to increase the number of choices you will have to work with in future writer's meetings (2 new proposals for every rejection. . . and all that).
Thank you very much! :)