Hi, new poster here!
*shakes hands*
I had a question about Queries. Reading through the Writers Guidelines left me with a question about them...
It says that 'We do not accept unsolicited articles'
Does this mean that if I have an idea that wasn't asked for, it won't be considered? And if so, where can I find a list of what you are looking for?
I hope someone can answer this. I'm really looking forward to attempting ( <= keyword ) to get an article published in Dragon magazine...
But knowing what I'm supposed to send in on beforehand might help.
Hi, and welcome to the boards. :)
What that means is you can't send in an article without prior approval. The most common way to get prior approval is to send them a query about an idea you have; if the editors are interested, they'll ask you for the article.
Hope that helps.
Ow as such!
Just a misread on my side then. Thanks a lot for the help, I'll get to work on my query then.
And thanks for the welcome.
Good luck with the query!
--John
Thanks, I sent something in...
Of course, having absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to put in a Query doesn't really help, but ow well...
Now begins the waiting.
Does anyone have any ideas on how many queries are sent in, and how many of those actually turn into articles?
i don't think anyone could possibly give a realistic idea on what percentage of proposal ideas actually make it into real articles. it's not a big percentage though, i'm sure.
also, be prepared to wait a few months, if not several months, to hear back on your query. there are a lot of them in the queue right now, so to speak, and many of us are waiting back for a word on one or more queries.
don't be discouraged though - patience is a virtue. :)
Yah. I'm not good with virtues ;)
But I can imagine there's a load of them... I don't even mind waiting that long to hear, it's not like I'm not going to write the articles anyway.
It's just that I have the feeling I've done my Query wrong or something and I'm just going a get a message in two months saying 'that's not how you submit a Query, please try again!' or something...
Maybe they shut put up an example Query in the Guidelines for people like me =/
If you send an email to noel.scott@gmail.com I will send copies of a couple my queries that received go aheads - articles, well thats tougher, a lot of people submit. Some of them with a better sense of what Dragon wants than I - and some are just better writers.
Welcome to the boards - there are some fun people here. Especially on the threads about Dragon authorship.
Good Luck with your queries and efforts.
Scott
But I can imagine there's a load of them... I don't even mind waiting that long to hear, it's not like I'm not going to write the articles anyway.
You may not wanna do that. It's possible - even likely - that your idea will be accepted, but changed slightly. For example, the editor might ask you to write the article from a specific point of view, or drop one element you suggested and add another.
You're really better off not writing the article until you get the green light.
There's a few successful queries posted around the boards. I know I've posted a few here and there, and others have as well. Check the "Black Hole" thread; if not in there, I'm not sure where else to look - and have to run soon to go to work, or I'd look it up for you.
--John
Maybe I am the only one interested, but I wonder if there are others who would want create a forum specifically to trade query concepts, edit each others stuff, etc?
Maybe I am the only one interested, but I wonder if there are others who would want create a forum specifically to trade query concepts, edit each others stuff, etc?
That's not a good idea... well, it is, except that the editors have basically asked us not to do it. They want the adventures that appear in Dungeon to be a surprise, and prefer for us not to post the queries until after they've been rejected, or after publication for accepted queries.
That said, a fair number of us correspond in one way or another to compare ideas or collaborate, outside these boards. It's one of the many functions of that super-secret were-cabbages group. *slaps self... you're forgetting the first rule of were-cabbages!*
- Ashavan
From what I understand, Hal Maclean ("Seven Deadly Domains," "Take Cover," "The Stars are Right") is king of the query. He has a reputation for being among the most organized of the current crop of regular freelancers. But then again, he's also a darn good writer, so it's no wonder he's got his stuff together.
If he has anything he'd like to share about freelancing and writing, then we should all listen closely. Search the archives under Hal and you'll find a treasure trove of good advice.
From where I sit, Amber Scott "Medesha" and John Ling "Zherog" are among the strongest of the regular contributors. Plus, they're good peoples. Search their names out, as well.
As for the idea about a query exchange, I really don't see what that would work in practice. I mean, I'm all for the exchange of ideas and helping out other writers -- we're all in the same boat, after all -- on the other hand, since we're in the same boat, we're also in competition with one another to get our ideas approved.
The same editors see our proposals, so ultimately, wouldn't posting our queries on the boards be counterproductive?
We also can't post our accepted queries on the messageboards because that telegraphs articles that have the potential to appear in the magazine -- and the editors aren't keen on that at all.
If anyone has any ideas that resolve those concerns, though, I'm open to suggestions.
I think the best that can be done is to encourage one another. I consider myself a reader of Dragon magazine first and an (infrequent) contributor second. So, I'm more about seeing great material in the magazine and getting my money's worth that way. So I hope all aspiring writers have a taste of publishing success.
My two cents worth: Be as concise as you can be in conveying your article idea(s) in a query without shortchanging the content of the article itself. And remember, make the query submission itself as clean as copy as you can. An editor will likely judge the quality of a previously unpublished writer on the only thing they have to go on -- the query. That means being attentive to style, spelling, capitalization and grammar.
Thanks, I sent something in...
Of course, having absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to put in a Query doesn't really help, but ow well...
Now begins the waiting.
Does anyone have any ideas on how many queries are sent in, and how many of those actually turn into articles?
Lots and lots.
The Dragon side has never shared that knowledge that I am aware of, though James Jacobs has shared it for Dungeon - they receive about 60 adventure queries a month and accept approximately 3% for publication. My understanding has always been that Dragon receives far more queries than Dungeon.
- Ashavan
From where I sit, Amber Scott "Medesha" and John Ling "Zherog" are among the strongest of the regular contributors.
:blushes:
Plus, they're good peoples. Search their names out, as well.
:blushes more:
You're too kind, Troy. And don't sell yourself short, either. You've made some very high quality contributions.
From what I understand, Hal Maclean ("Seven Deadly Domains," "Take Cover," "The Stars are Right") is king of the query. He has a reputation for being among the most organized of the current crop of regular freelancers.
Thanks Troy :)
One thing to keep in mind is how long it takes for your first glimmer of an idea to actually see print so keep on pitching fresh topics even as you wait to hear back.
To put it in perspective, out of the four features I've written to see print so far three of them were actually pitched to Matt Sernett (the previous editor). Only one of the four, the astrology article, was given the greenlight by Jason. That was in "Bulmahn3" (i.e. the third group of five pitches I sent to him).
Today I sent off Bulmahn18 :), and I'm currently expecting to hear back on Bulmahn11 - Bulmahn14 sometime this month. As of now, I have about fourteen features in the queue, the results of pitches from Bulmahn4 through Bulmahn10 that got a greenlight from Jason. Most of them, when I inquire as to their status get a reply similar to one of the following:
-"Floating, we're looking for a place to put it."
or
-"The issue we want to put that in is taking shape."
So, it could easily take a year or more even after you get the greenlight for the article to make it to print.
On the subject of pitches in general. I don't know about anybody else, but I like to do a "pitch week" about every four months or so. This keeps me from sending off a really bad idea that seemed cool at first glance. Plus, since I only send in 30 or so ideas with each pitch week it enables me to select the ones that seem most interesting. It also helps me to strike a balance (monster articles, new rules, advice, etc) so that no one type dominates.
I usually include five ideas in each pitch and I classify them into three basic types.
-general ideas ("Bulmahn#X")
-Regular themes: October=Horror/Undead (Bulscary#X), December=Magic (Bulmagic#X), January=Campaign Classics (Buloldcamp#X) and June=Dragons (Buldragons#X).
-Specific Themes: If you have a lot of ideas on a particular topic send them in as a group. What can it hurt? At worst, they're still ideas that might fit in somewhere else, at best, you're in on the ground floor for a particular issue.
Most of my individual pitches are around 100-150 words and I try to follow a consistent format with them.
(1) Start with a good title!
(2) State the case. Give a quick one or two sentence rationale for why an article of this topic needs to be written. Touch on a hole in the rules it can fill, the historical relevence, (how much fun it would be to read... :) ).
(3) Sketch out the contents. Briefly, and without too much detail, talk about what you plan to include in the article. If you feel it needs lots of info offer to send in a more detailed outline, but don't waste the editor's time with something he might not want. If you can't win him over with 100 words, you likely won't with 500 either. Prhases I like to use, "new game elements" (feats, etc), "new game mechanics" (rules, rules, rules!), "strategies and tactics" (advice) and of course, "briefly discuss the history of X before...".
And now, for the ressurection of something old and dangerous...
Well, not very dangerous, but you might get the point.
Many thanks to all who replied here!
(I suppose I'm allowed to say this, since no-one knows what I'm talking about anyway)
It's getting published! My first article made it through, and according to the editor will see the light in Februari.
(What it is about, shall remain a surprise, of course)
It feels awesome to see something of your own hand in print, I haven't even seen it in print and I'm already feeling awesome xD
Now I just have to fix up more Queries. Hal, you have 30 ideas per month? That's a lot... I only had 3 in my Query and I only have 4 currently for the new one...
Well, on the other hand... that means 33% of my ideas so far got published. That's not a bad score, is it?
I'm gonna pay close attention to the tips you and the others gave in here, really hope it'll help me get more things published!
Thanks again everyone!
And now, for the ressurection of something old and dangerous...
Well, not very dangerous, but you might get the point.
Many thanks to all who replied here!
(I suppose I'm allowed to say this, since no-one knows what I'm talking about anyway)
It's getting published! My first article made it through, and according to the editor will see the light in Februari.
(What it is about, shall remain a surprise, of course)It feels awesome to see something of your own hand in print, I haven't even seen it in print and I'm already feeling awesome xD
Now I just have to fix up more Queries. Hal, you have 30 ideas per month? That's a lot... I only had 3 in my Query and I only have 4 currently for the new one...
Well, on the other hand... that means 33% of my ideas so far got published. That's not a bad score, is it?
I'm gonna pay close attention to the tips you and the others gave in here, really hope it'll help me get more things published!
Thanks again everyone!
It's okay to be excited about getting a green light, as long as you aren't too specific about what got green lighted. Saying you got an ecology article approved, for instance, is usually fine. Saying you got the Ecology of the Yak Folk approved usually isn't (at least until the editors announced it was coming).
Congrats!
Also, don't feel bad about not querying as much as Hal... he's crazy. Of course part of why he gets so much accepted is that he proposes a whole lot of cool ideas.
I envy him too.... he's finally pulled past me on Campaign Workbook publications, gaining the dubious honor of trailing only the truly prolific Russell Brown.
- Ashavan
Congratulations, Frats! Want to tell us your name so we can keep an eye out for your article?
Kyr, does that offer to show off some of your queries still stand?
Yes please! Anything for me to compare my Queries with, if anyone is still offering to show some work, I'd love to see as well.
My name is Erik Roelofs; good luck in finding the article. And if you read it, please let me know what you think!
Congratulations, Frats! Want to tell us your name so we can keep an eye out for your article?
Kyr, does that offer to show off some of your queries still stand?
Sure.
I am a little wary of posting my queries on the messageboard. I am unclear as to the etiquette on that - and I certainly don't want to screw up my chances of getting published (limited though they may be).
That said if one of the good folks at Dragon wants to give the all clear on posting actual queries I am happy to do it on the board.
Otherwise, please send me an email to noel.scott@gmail.com and I will send you some of the queries that I have sent up - I can probably even find some with some of the constructive criticism I have found helpful.
I'm not a Paizo person, but...
In the past they've said it's OK to post your queries under one of two situations:
1) The query was rejected.
2) The query was accepted and the article has already been printed.
And now, for the ressurection of something old and dangerous...
It's getting published! My first article made it through, and according to the editor will see the light in Februari.
(What it is about, shall remain a surprise, of course)Now I just have to fix up more Queries. Hal, you have 30 ideas per month? That's a lot... I only had 3 in my Query and I only have 4 currently for the new one...
Congrats on the first sale :) Be sure to check out your name on dragondex when they update the site to include that issue. It was a strange feeling the first time I did, scrolling through all those names and articles I still remembered from decades past. Tht thought that someone might feel a similar sense of connection with me one day... it's an odd sensation.
To answer your other question, I trotted out my most recent pitch week early this month, about 65 ideas this time. That's a lot, even for me, but I skipped the September pitch week so it was really two shots at the same time.
Ideas are easy to come up with, just train yourself to remain open to them as they drift on by. Watch TV, read a book, listen to music, once you get your head in the right space everything is idea fodder. Of course, you have to also train yourself to accept that most of them won't get a greenlight, even the ones you really, really, want to write :)
Yeah. I guess that I think 'that's not nearly interesting enough' too quickly. But I have 4 ideas. Yeuh. Ah well, at least they're the ones I personally think are the best ones...
Thanks for the hint on the Dragondex, I'm gonna have a look when it's published. ^^
*kick* back up you go!
So I just read the first people received their copy. Still waiting for mine, but I'm assuming shipping stuff across the Atlantic takes time :(
But I saw the cover, and my Ecology of the Yrthak made the front page :D
So, now I'm really curious!
Has anyone read it yet? And what do you think? Comments? Critisism? Cookies? Anything?
I haven't seen it yet, but to hold you over until the comments come in I'll give you an Yrthak story.
My wife ran me and Rich Burlew through City of the Spider Queen. Because it was only the two of us, we used gestalt characters (from Unearthed Arcana). Overall, we breezed through the adventure. Except for the cave with all the yrthaks. Nothing gave us more trouble than those damn things.
It was the only time I've ever faced them, and I'm glad. :D
I think I can bump it now...
Comments on the Yrthak? Anyone?
haven't even seen the issue yet! :)
Ah, so that one's yours. I'm looking forward to it, and I'll definitely share my thoughts on it once I have the issue - which could be next month for all I know. Being ever full of hope, though, I'm going to go check the mailbox right now.
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Approaching that scream and run feeling now.
Was most concerned that the Isle of Dread and Characters such as Warduke such Mystara Setting D&D stuff were being plundered for use in alternate settings because Mystara was being abandoned by Dragon and Wizards. is it any wonder that the old gamers are reluctant to convert to D&D MK3.
"plundering" was happening long before 3E arrived - it's just more prevalent now. ;)
Approaching that scream and run feeling now.
Was most concerned that the Isle of Dread and Characters such as Warduke such Mystara Setting D&D stuff were being plundered for use in alternate settings because Mystara was being abandoned by Dragon and Wizards. is it any wonder that the old gamers are reluctant to convert to D&D MK3.
Think of it more as an ooze-like meme that is slowly eating all other settings. Mystara.
Bwhahahahaha!!!
GGG
sure! you can work twice as hard, right? :)
More Dragon means more chances for me to do more articles.
That means I should send in more Queries.
...
Aw.
That's what I was supposed to be doing. New Queries >_<
*gets back to work*
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Perhaps that is not quite right: The Campaign Settings need a special edition. It would be better if Dungeon Magazine was brought up to twelve issues a year and Six issues were devoted to the Campaign Settings (1.Darksun, 2.Mystara, 3.Greyhawk, 4. Dragonlance, 5.Eberron, 6.Faerun)Actually as i name them, i realize there are a lot more than this. Perhaps Each Dungeon Should be specific to a setting along with Campaign Updates.
Adventures should be specific to events in the campaign update.
If You encounter a Cleric supported by a single Steam Cannon, it is because Mystara dissalows gunpowder outside the Savage Coast.
Creative Director
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Dungeon magazine already does do 12 issues a year, actually. And we've done, in the last 12 issues, adventures that drew upon material from Mystara, Eberron, Greyhawk, Planescape, and the Forgotten Realms. Did a Dark sun blow-out spectacular back in issue 110 or thereabouts too.
As for devoting an entire issue to one campaign, though... I don't see that happening any time soon. Unless that campaign's an adventure path, of course...
Dear Guys,
I know Mike gets Class Acts queries, but so I don't misdirect other queries, to whom should I email ideas for the following categories?
General articles/features
Spells
Magic Items
Ecologies
As always, I'm very impressed you editors at Dragon (and Dungeon) take the time to give us advice. Thanks.
So, when is there gonna be another Campaign Setting competition? :D
General articles/features
These go to Jason - dragon@paizo.com
Spells
...
Ecologies
Wes handles these departments; I don't know, though, if he prefers you mail him directly or not. If you send them to the address above, they'll get re-routed, though.
Magic Items
Mike does this department.
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Dungeon magazine already does do 12 issues a year, actually. And we've done, in the last 12 issues, adventures that drew upon material from Mystara, Eberron, Greyhawk, Planescape, and the Forgotten Realms. Did a Dark sun blow-out spectacular back in issue 110 or thereabouts too.
As for devoting an entire issue to one campaign, though... I don't see that happening any time soon. Unless that campaign's an adventure path, of course...
I better pay more attention, Dungeon still only shows up every second month at my Newagents...
The Ultimate Adventure Path: The Oard You will never know they were behind it because they travel in time and prefer the infiltrate and manipulate method. They could be behind the Artificiers of Faerun, the Gnomes of Nevermind, the Greyhawk age of steam, the construction of the Starship Warden, the starship Beagle in Mystara, the spacecraft in in "the expedition to...", anything involving a technological advance.
Contributor
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Magic ItemsMike does this department.
And I will save us all time by advising you to not bother with sending in Bazaar of the Bizarre queries right now. I have something like twelve in my folder and we've run something like two in the past year. That should give you some indication of how little I need new BotB articles...
And I will save us all time by advising you to not bother with sending in Bazaar of the Bizarre queries right now. I have something like twelve in my folder and we've run something like two in the past year. That should give you some indication of how little I need new BotB articles...
You need to come up with your own personal "... like a hole in my head." catch phrase.
There's a challenge :)
Mike needs more BotB articles like a:
-fire elemental needs thermal underwear.
-mind flayer needs dental floss.
-beholder needs orthopedic shoes.
You need to come up with your own personal "... like a hole in my head." catch phrase.There's a challenge :)
Mike needs more BotB articles like a:
-fire elemental needs thermal underwear.
-mind flayer needs dental floss.
-beholder needs orthopedic shoes.
-purple worm needs a bus ticket.
-Iuz needs needs a copy of Winning Through Intimidation.
-Nymph needs a trial subscription to Match.com
You need to come up with your own personal "... like a hole in my head." catch phrase.There's a challenge :)
Mike needs more BotB articles like a:
-fire elemental needs thermal underwear.
-mind flayer needs dental floss.
-beholder needs orthopedic shoes.
-purple worm needs a bus ticket.
-Iuz needs needs a copy of Winning Through Intimidation.
-Nymph needs a trial subscription to Match.com
-Like Lord Soth needs Jenny Craig
-ixitachitas needs goggles-like McArtors need magic items...