Contributor
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The never-ending editorial tweaking that keeps Class Acts fresh, interesting, and useful continues unabated. The switch from eleven to four articles each month has made my job an enjoyable challenge. I have to choose the absolutely best articles available to me for inclusion. The competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the acceptance percentage continues to drop (a glance at my poor overstuffed Inbox tells me that I probably have a lot of bad news to distribute in the coming noncommittal timeframe). The department has simply become more challenging, both for me and for the hopeful writers out there looking to write for it. I welcome that challenge. Do you?
Once again, I'm putting out a general free call to anyone who wants to try his or her hand at writing for Class Acts (and getting your name in Dragon and getting paid a little for your effort). Want some guidelines to improve your chance of acceptance? Here you go!
The Basics
• Four articles every month, covering the archetypes as laid out by the Complete books: Adventurer, Arcane, Divine, Warrior.
• The occasional replacement fifth article covering psionics or other "non-core" rules sets (like incarnum, exalted, vile, or legacy).
• 1,400 words.
• Campaign world neutral. Use the core setting if you want to deal with specifics like deities. No Eberron. No Forgotten Realms.
• Send your idea proposals directly to me (mike dot mcartor at paizo dot com) and put "Class Acts" or "CA" somewhere in the subject line. Please include several ideas in one email, in the body of the email, and give me enough of a description of your idea that I can glean your intent. A short concrete example helps. Contrary to the badly-in-need-of-updating writers guidelines don't just write the Class Act and then send it to me. I'm about a month behind on responding to emails, so don't expect a quick turnaround on query submissions.
Ideas to Avoid
• No spells. I don't want to compete with Spellcraft.
• No magic items. I don't want to compete with Bazaar of the Bizarre.
• No substitution levels. That's what the (far superior) variant class features (from PHBII) are for.
• No all-feats articles. I have enough, and really, how many more feats do we really need?
• No alternative classes. Use variant class features. They are the new hotness.
Neutral Ideas
• Psionics. I have plenty of psionic articles sitting in the queue right now. Unless you knock my socks off with a cool idea, I'm probably going to pass on psionic articles for now.
Ideas to Embrace
• Immediate help. These are ideas that other players will want to photocopy right away. Charts and tables and such. Christopher Wissel’s series of spells by school is an excellent example of this idea.
• Non-core standard class support. You say you want it, so give it to me. My favorites are hexblade, ninja, and truenamer.
• New systems. These should be small and should fit whole-cloth into the word limit, so no new spell system or anything like that. “Ritual Markings” by Richard Farrese and Wil Upchurch is an excellent example of a small new system.
• The real world. I’ve got a couple writers who consistently supply me with excellent articles based on history, but they by no means have a monopoly on the idea. Appeal to my love of applying the real world to D&D, and you make an editor happy (and that’s always a good thing).
• Not complete. There are a couple of new standard classes in Magic of Incarnum. Nobody else is going to support them. Same with the healer and marshal from Miniatures Handbook.
• New domains. Who doesn’t like domains? If you want to include new spells with your domain you should get a Spellcraft article accepted by Wes before you approach me about a tie-in.
• Expand on ideas. The Complete books (obviously), Unearthed Arcana, Player's Handbook II, and Dungeon Master’s Guide II are the Class Acts writer’s best friends. Buy them. Know them. Expand on them.
Archetype Distribution
Here’s where the standard classes fall in my (and thus Dragon’s) system of archetype distribution.
• Adventurer: Bard, monk, ninja, rogue, scout, spellthief, swashbuckler.
• Arcane: Bard, hexblade, sorcerer, warlock, warmage, wizard, wu jen.
• Divine: Cleric, druid, favored soul, healer, paladin, ranger, shugenja, spirit shaman.
• Warrior: Barbarian, fighter, hexblade, marshal, monk, paladin, ranger, samurai, swashbuckler.
• Fiver: Everything else.
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Ideas to Avoid
No substitution levels. The overmasters at Wizards of the Coast have spoken. I am sad.
Curses. I was just putting the finnishing touches on one of those. Oh well, back to the drawing board.
Archetype Distribution
Fiver: Artificer, incarnate, psion, psychic warrior, soulborn, soulknife, totemist, wilder.
I think I remember previous statements that artificer was off limits because it was intorduced in the Eberron setting (thus violating the campaign nuetral requirement). Is this changed?
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Contributor
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I think I remember previous statements that artificer was off limits because it was intorduced in the Eberron setting (thus violating the campaign nuetral requirement). Is this changed?
Yes, but with a caveat. We're not going to run a fifth Class Act more than... oh let's say ten times in twenty-four issues. Of those ten, you can bet that nine are going to support psionics.
No substitution levels. The overmasters at Wizards of the Coast have spoken. I am sad.
Me too... :(
Want some guidelines to improve your chance of acceptance? Here you go!
The man has a plan. Thanks for the outline, Mike. It's much appreciated.
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Contributor
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Want some guidelines to improve your chance of acceptance? Here you go!The man has a plan. Thanks for the outline, Mike. It's much appreciated.
Hey now. Don't go spreading those kinds of rumors about me. ;)
And yeah, Zherog, I figured you might be sad about the loss of sub levels. I thought of you when I received the dictum.
...
In other news, I edited my first post slightly to correct what I had written about the shugenja. So if you want to tackle that imposing project make sure to read the first post again. :)
And yeah, Zherog, I figured you might be sad about the loss of sub levels. I thought of you when I received the dictum.
I assume this means all the cool ones I've written already are dead as door nails now?
*sobs*
Oh well. Time to see if I can recycle them somewhere else. ;)
Recycling is good for the environment.
BTW, Congrats on your upcoming feature.
I have a feature?
I think so .... wasn't it promo'd in the most recent issue?
(If I'm wrong, I am sorry about raising expectations. Believe me, I know all about busted expectations.)
I have a class act in 341, but alas - no feature.
Sorry, 'bout the confusion. I'll go slap myself right now.
:SLAP:
If it means anything, I think you're certainly worthy of one.
Jason has one... :D
Just call him mini-Mearls.
(I don't think Medesha's filled that much territory before. You're now one up on her!)
Zherog does indeed have a feature in 342. And a Bazaar of the Bizarre. And a Class Act. By a weird quirk of fate he ended up writing about 10% of the issue.
Holy publishing credits, Batman! I guess this means Jason accepted that feature I wrote, huh? :D
* pitches a tent by his mailbox to wait for the contract *
-- John
Hey Mike, you need to give the smack down to WotC overmasters for whooping out more classes than PCs whoop goblins. That's going to hurt Class Acts. LOL
Ardent, Lurk, Binder, Shadowcaster, Truenamer. Jeez, WotC, give it a break. Support the material you created, sold, and forgotten. *rolls eyes at WotC*
Zherog does indeed have a feature in 342. And a Bazaar of the Bizarre. And a Class Act. By a weird quirk of fate he ended up writing about 10% of the issue.Holy publishing credits, Batman! I guess this means Jason accepted that feature I wrote, huh? :D
Awesome! Congrats, babe!
-Amber
The never-ending editorial tweaking that keeps Class Acts fresh, interesting, and useful continues unabated. The switch from eleven to four articles each month has made my job an enjoyable challenge. I have to choose the absolutely best articles available to me for inclusion. The competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the acceptance percentage continues to drop (a glance at my poor overstuffed Inbox tells me that I probably have a lot of bad news to distribute in the coming noncommittal timeframe). The department has simply become more challenging, both for me and for the hopeful writers out there looking to write for it. I welcome that challenge. Do you?
Wow. That's definitely a lovely gauntlet you've thrown there, Mike! So forceful, so ... eloquent. Is that a new bardic skill? :P
I'll go back to stressing over my first batch of queries for the Class Acts and hoping. =)
Mike: A Question:
Do variant class abilities (such as variant paladin abilities found in Complete Warrior, p. 13) fall under the same category as the ban on substitution levels?
An inquiring query writer would like to know.
Thanks in advance!
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Contributor
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Mike: A Question:
Do variant class abilities (such as variant paladin abilities found in Complete Warrior, p. 13) fall under the same category as the ban on substitution levels?
An inquiring query writer would like to know.
Thanks in advance!
I have received no dictum that disallows alternative class abilities.
Hey, Mike! I have these really neat ideas from some old articles I have lying around; I was wondering if you'd be interested. They're alternate class features, but only certain races can take them; different races have different abilities - all in all, it's a really awesome idea, and I think all the cool kids will like it!
:D
Thanks for the rapid response, Mike.
Now it looks like a race with Zherog to get the query in.
Out of curiosity, can you tell us why Wizards of the Coast have forbidden substitution levels?
By the way...
*Waves two fingers in Mr. McArtor's direction.*
... I REALLY like variant classes.
Non-core standard class support. You say you want it, so give it to me. My favorites are hexblade, rogue, and scout.
Rogues are non-core now? :-p
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Contributor
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Out of curiosity, can you tell us why Wizards of the Coast have forbidden substitution levels?
It is best to not delve too deep into the madness of the Overmasters.
(i.e., I don't know. They just don't like them.)
By the way...
*Waves two fingers in Mr. McArtor's direction.*
... I REALLY like variant classes.
I hope those aren't two middle fingers. ;D
I'll try to keep putting them in whenever I get good ones. :)
No, that was a weird mistake. I meant to say ninja.
Avast, yea, matey! Ninjas? Thar be only scallawags here!
is there a deadline for this? been away for awhile and i'd like to try to send out a query, but i want to make sure that i hit a deadline or if i missed it.
Class Acts are in every issue - query away, my necromantic friend. :)
Class Acts are in every issue - query away, my necromantic friend. :)
i knew that, i just meant about the open call thing.
Yes. Anybody can query a class act idea at any time.
Necromancer:
Mike is a gentle, wonderful soul -- quick to offer advice and suggestions to new writers. He's a best-selling editor and writer (Spell Compendium and Dragon Compendium). Any future query you submit wil certainly be evaluated with TLC
(Can you tell I'm waiting for Mike to evaluate an entry of my own?)
Does your truck still smell piney fresh, Mike?
well, i'm currently in the process of moving, so that why i was asking. i'll hopefully have a query out soon, if not in the next few weeks.
By the way...
*Waves two fingers in Mr. McArtor's direction.*
... I REALLY like variant classes.
I hope those aren't two middle fingers. ;D
I'll try to keep putting them in whenever I get good ones. :)
Nah, jedi fingers. :)
I think I'll be trying my luck with a query sometime soonish. I should probably change my username before I hit the ten-post point of no return, on the off chance one of my submissions ever gets accepted.
It's my understanding that the submission guidelines are somewhat out of date, so I'd just like to assure myself that Class Acts should be sent to you while anything else goes... er, to someone else, right?
Yep. Class acts go to Mikey. :) This thread gives you all the up-to-date info on the article style - 1400 words, blah blah blah.
I'm not Mike, but I can help on some of these...
Mike,
When contacting you about a class acts article, should the query be sent as an attached file (as with the scanned signed disclosure form), or in the body of the email?
I place the query right in the body of the e-mail. Remember a query should be short - it's not like the query for a Dungeon adventure. A paragraph, sometimes two, usually covers it. You basically want to give Mike an idea of what you have in mind - sometimes, that's just a simple description of the article ("I have this really cool idea for a 'Warrior' class act that goes into details about the Knights Who Say Ni. It'll discuss this group's history, describe how to gain membership, and list about a half-dozen or so feats the Knights find useful, though characters other than the Knights may also find some use for them."); other times, I do the simple description, and include a sample of a feat or two (or whatever) that I have in mind, to help give him a better understanding of my clever idea.
Should one send a query or the full article with the SDF?
You don't need to send an SDF until you write the article. Start with a query; if Mike likes the idea, he'll respond and ask for the full article. Most of the time, Mike has really loose deadlines (at least for Class Act stuff) - though once in a while he'll ask for something by a certain date.
How long should we expect to wait before hearing from you?
Lately? I have some stuff from late January that I sent Mike that I'm waiting to hear back on. Up until the Christmas holidays, though, Mike was generally getting back to me (and others I talk to) within 2 weeks or so.
For some reason, when I scanned the SDF form, it came out at 4 meg (!?!). That seems a bit large to me (but that's not really your problem)- can you receive emails that large, or would the email not be delivered, and you'd never know?
Thanks in advance.
Holy cow! 4 meg? Yikes! That's a big file! What sort of file type did you save it as? There may be ways to reduce it after it's been scanned.
Hope those help a little.
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Contributor
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Mike,
When contacting you about a class acts article, should the query be sent as an attached file (as with the scanned signed disclosure form), or in the body of the email?
The query should just be in the body of the email. An actual submission should be an attached file. Attaching the SDF separately is primo good. Including the SDF in with the article file is okie dokey. You only need to ever send one copy of the SDF, no matter how many times you have to revise the article.
Should one send a query or the full article with the SDF?
Send the SDF with the first time you send the article file.
How long should we expect to wait before hearing from you?
At the moment? At least a month. *sad*
For some reason, when I scanned the SDF form, it came out at 4 meg (!?!).
Faith and begora!
That seems a bit large to me (but that's not really your problem)- can you receive emails that large, or would the email not be delivered, and you'd never know?
As far as I know, the Paizo mail server is like a gorilla. A half-dragon awakened dire gorilla with barbarian levels. It can handle a puny 4 megs. Rawr!
Thanks in advance.
You're welcome in advance. :)
Send the SDF with the first time you send the article file.
Yay! I learned something new today! :)
For some reason, when I scanned the SDF form, it came out at 4 meg (!?!).
Here's what you need to do to keep the filesize down when scanning in standard disclosure forms:
That'll get your disclosure form down from 4MB to perhaps 100KB.
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After Mike's agreed to see an article, how long does it take him to reply once the full article's been emailed? Is it 4 weeks again?
Yeah, roughly. As I write this I'm looking over old emails in a probably vain attempt to get my Inbox cleaned out. Okay, technically, as I write this I'm writing this and am taking a short break from looking over old emails in a probably vain attempt to get my Inbox cleaned out, but you know what I mean. :P
I'm right now responding to emails from early February (two months ago), some of which were replies to emails I sent a month or more after the author's initial contact. :\
My goal is to be through February by the end of today and caught up completely sometime before I die. ;)