Mine's only 250 words right now. I'll be adding details during the week, but I don't see it getting close to the 800 word limit.
*chuckle* mine is about 250 and 1500 words. I need to settle on one idea instead of sixty... O:)
Is "Flight of the Red Raven" a working Title or does the adventure have to include some reference to this title?
I assumed it was locked in, so I incorporated it into my query. If not, it wasn't a huge thing, but I did invoke the title in the actual query itself.
Isn't the Red Raven a Marvel character from the World War Two era?
Hmm. Yes, he is
I could have worked superheroes into my query... oh well.
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Max 800 words :-(
I've cut and trimmed... and I'm still sitting closer to 1000 words.
Man, I miss the extra 200 words we used to be able to use on a Dungeon query.
Oh well, I've got the better part of a week to edit it down further, no bonus marks for submitting it early.
Yah. I realized how quickly 800 words can be eaten up..
Need to go back an summarize better.
Wow, lots of questions, I'm glad to see people so excited about this.
If we don't get invited to the next step after our initial query is reviewed, will we be getting a rejection email, or will it be like WotC's new guidelines where you only hear if you got accepted.
We should send all of you something, even if it's just a form rejection letter.
How often are you planning on having Open Calls like this?
Every so often :)
I can confirm that this will not be the last open call we do, but I'm not sure when the next one will be. 4e kinda threw a wrench in the schedule.
Is that 800 words per question, or 800 words total for the submission?
800 words total. Make 'em count!
On the, "What will the final showdown with the culprit look like?" are you looking for a description of defenses or how the battle will look as in powers that will be thrown around or the terrain that it will all occur on?
Whichever one of those things you think is the coolest. You probably don't have room to tell us about all of them, so focus on the most interesting parts.
Are joint submissions supported? Two of us spent the day brainstorming and came up with an initial idea. Would that be the one submission allowed for the two of us, or can we submit two ideas (but with the other person as the lead on the second adventure idea)?
Joint submissions are fine. If the two of you want to work together on the project and submit it together, that works. However, that would count as your one submission for both of you.
The two of you could not jointly submit 2 ideas.
Is "Flight of the Red Raven" a working Title or does the adventure have to include some reference to this title?
Flight of the Red Raven is the final title. There should probably be something about a scarlet avian scavenger in your proposal.
Or not.
Jeremy,
When is this slated to be published if the completed manuscript has to be in by Jan 1st 2008?
Second Quarter 2008 perhaps? (I have no idea what the turn around time is to actually get it printed after edits, etc are all done)
Director of Games
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If we repeat the 5 questions and submit our query in a Q&A style format, do the questions themselves count towards the word count? Also, does our contact infomation count towards the word count?
Thanks!
When we get the proposals in, I am going to do a word count. If you are over 800, that is bad. So make sure to include any extra info in your word count total. 800 is your maximum.
Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager
If we repeat the 5 questions and submit our query in a Q&A style format, do the questions themselves count towards the word count? Also, does our contact infomation count towards the word count?
Thanks!
When we get the proposals in, I am going to do a word count. If you are over 800, that is bad. So make sure to include any extra info in your word count total. 800 is your maximum.
Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager
Right, back to editing :-(
I had it down to 797 before I added the other information like contact details, published work, etc.
Well, I guess it isn't so bad. ~20 more words to cut.
If we repeat the 5 questions and submit our query in a Q&A style format, do the questions themselves count towards the word count? Also, does our contact infomation count towards the word count?
Thanks!
When we get the proposals in, I am going to do a word count. If you are over 800, that is bad. So make sure to include any extra info in your word count total. 800 is your maximum.
Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager
Jason, did you have a preference at all for the format of the queries? ie. the Q&A format JoelF847 mentioned, or ???
I'm assuming it doesn't matter as long as you cover all the questions in the end, or you would have mentioned it in the PDF... but it doesn't hurt to ask.
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If we repeat the 5 questions and submit our query in a Q&A style format, do the questions themselves count towards the word count? Also, does our contact infomation count towards the word count?
Thanks!
When we get the proposals in, I am going to do a word count. If you are over 800, that is bad. So make sure to include any extra info in your word count total. 800 is your maximum.
Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager
Okay, I think the wording on the rules is a little misleading then. It says "...answer the following five questions in no more than 800 words". I took that (mistakenly, it seems) to mean that contact info and the list of previously published work were outside of that word count limit.
Ugh.
If we repeat the 5 questions and submit our query in a Q&A style format, do the questions themselves count towards the word count? Also, does our contact infomation count towards the word count?
Thanks!
When we get the proposals in, I am going to do a word count. If you are over 800, that is bad. So make sure to include any extra info in your word count total. 800 is your maximum.
Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand Manager
Jason, did you have a preference at all for the format of the queries? ie. the Q&A format JoelF847 mentioned, or ???
I'm assuming it doesn't matter as long as you cover all the questions in the end, or you would have mentioned it in the PDF... but it doesn't hurt to ask.
* I actually asked this earlier, and fell victim to the mysterious missing post issue. So I went to my Recent Posts and replied to myself, lol.... but it showed up this time. Yay!
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If we repeat the 5 questions and submit our query in a Q&A style format, do the questions themselves count towards the word count? Also, does our contact infomation count towards the word count?
Thanks!
When we get the proposals in, I am going to do a word count. If you are over 800, that is bad. So make sure to include any extra info in your word count total. 800 is your maximum.
Jason Bulmahn
GameMastery Brand ManagerOkay, I think the wording on the rules is a little misleading then. It says "...answer the following five questions in no more than 800 words". I took that (mistakenly, it seems) to mean that contact info and the list of previously published work were outside of that word count limit.
Ugh.
You'd be surprised how many words you can take out of a piece of writing and still deliver the same message (in fact the message should be clearer and more readable).
In fact there was a great anecdote that my writing professor used to tell that's worth noting. It was way back in the past when writing was the only means of long distace correspondence. The person at the end of a particularly long letter apologised to his reader for writing one of such length. He claimed he did not have time to make it shorter.
Distilling the drama and excitement of a 22,000 word adventure into an 8oo word query is kind of fun... if you look at it in the right way. ;)
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
In fact there was a great anecdote that my writing professor used to tell that's worth noting. It was way back in the past when writing was the only means of long distace correspondence. The person at the end of a particularly long letter apologised to his reader for writing one of such length. He claimed he did not have time to make it shorter.
That apology is usually attributed to Blaise Pascal, but I've seen a few who claimed that Twain said it.
I'm a fan of this one as well:
"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts." -- William Strunk, Jr.
Contributor
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When is this slated to be published if the completed manuscript has to be in by Jan 1st 2008?
May 2008, I think.
Yes, it's a very aggressive schedule.
Don't enter if you can't write that many words by the deadline.
If you win but you're late with your final submission, expect to never work for us again.
So don't be late. ;D
When is this slated to be published if the completed manuscript has to be in by Jan 1st 2008?May 2008, I think.
Yes, it's a very aggressive schedule.
Don't enter if you can't write that many words by the deadline.
If you win but you're late with your final submission, expect to never work for us again.
So don't be late. ;D
Hey!
That was one of my missing posts from yesterday?!?
Either they re-appeared sometime today, or I'm just crazy, because I was checking this thread last night and they weren't there.
*Back on topic
Thanks Mike.
Is it the final version that needs to be in by Jan 1st, or the first submission of the completed manuscript? (ie. If the manuscript was suitable, but there are changes that need to be made, would you send it back to the author for revisions, or would the editors just make the changes, etc)
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See, that concern about the final deadline and agressive schedule is my biggest reservation. I'm already working full time (and probably fuller time around the holidays) and going to school. I know I -can- do that word output if I were able to focus on it, but...
I'd rather wait for the next open call, when I have more time in terms of free time than try and crunch for this one and blow the deadline. Blown deadlines are -bad-.
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Contributor
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Is it the final version that needs to be in by Jan 1st, or the first submission of the completed manuscript? (ie. If the manuscript was suitable, but there are changes that need to be made, would you send it back to the author for revisions, or would the editors just make the changes, etc)
That's the submission deadline. Call it final if you want. :) If we need to make substantive changes either we'll send it back to you or do it ourselves, depending on the changes and the timing.
I'd rather wait for the next open call, when I have more time in terms of free time than try and crunch for this one and blow the deadline. Blown deadlines are -bad-.
Yeah, there will be more in the future. And in theory, they'll have longer lead times and less aggressive scheduling.
On the spelling and grammar front, would a proposal get marked down for UK spellings, or are you simply looking for consistency one way or the other?
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Contributor
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On the spelling and grammar front, would a proposal get marked down for UK spellings?
Not for this first step.
That said...
If you make it to the top 10 you're going to want to delete your Britishisms and make sure everything conforms to the American standard.
So, in that case, you might as well spell everything the American way from the beginning, just in case you make the cut. ^_^
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Director of Narrative
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So, in that case, you might as well spell everything the American way from the beginning, just in case you make the cut. ^_^
I wrote mine entirely in American South dialect. I was inspired by your untitled thread, Mike.
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Contributor
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So, in that case, you might as well spell everything the American way from the beginning, just in case you make the cut. ^_^I wrote mine entirely in American South dialect. I was inspired by your untitled thread, Mike.
Ayup.
[url="smurf"][/url]
Yes, it's a very aggressive schedule.
Don't enter if you can't write that many words by the deadline.
If you win but you're late with your final submission, expect to never work for us again.
So don't be late. ;D
This does bring up a point: The Guidelines (unless I missed it) don't say when the final author will be chosen. Proposals are due October 1st, proposal responses are due by October 15th, and outlines are due by November 1st ... but how long will reviewing the outlines take?
I realize reviewing submssions could take slightly more or less time depending on the number of good outlines, etc., but a good ballpark estimate would help put the January 1st deadline into better perspective (receiving notification in early November might be rather different from late November, for instance). Thanks!
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Yes, it's a very aggressive schedule.
Don't enter if you can't write that many words by the deadline.
If you win but you're late with your final submission, expect to never work for us again.
So don't be late. ;D
This does bring up a point: The Guidelines (unless I missed it) don't say when the final author will be chosen. Proposals are due October 1st, proposal responses are due by October 15th, and outlines are due by November 1st ... but how long will reviewing the outlines take?
I realize reviewing submssions could take slightly more or less time depending on the number of good outlines, etc., but a good ballpark estimate would help put the January 1st deadline into better perspective (receiving notification in early November might be rather different from late November, for instance). Thanks!
I imagine if one makes it to step two in the process, the most professional response would be to plan out how you would get the writing done before the January 1st deadline - then follow that plan. Likewise, if you're taking this thing seriously, you've most likely already started writing a full outline for the November 1st deadline. As far as I can see, the goalposts in terms of time have already been set.
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
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Contributor
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This does bring up a point: The Guidelines (unless I missed it) don't say when the final author will be chosen. Proposals are due October 1st, proposal responses are due by October 15th, and outlines are due by November 1st ... but how long will reviewing the outlines take?
Probably just a few days.
Probably just a few days.
Thanks Mike.
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D'oh.... I didn't see the 800 words per entry note. Damn I already sent mine and I have no idea how many words it was. Teaches me about writing off the top of my head after a long day of work, looking for a job in my field, and having a shot or few after such a sucky day. Oh well... I hope it was under 800.
(mutters) freaking directions never could figure them all out.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Okay, I've sent mine in. 794 words. Phew! Here's hoping....
To anyone who still hasn't submitted: 800 words came out to around 1.5 pages of normal margins in 12-pt. Times New Roman for me. Of course, I put in a few hard returns, so it might be a little less than that if you don't try to break your sections up.
I just sent my query in. 800 words exactly, but I also went through around 6-7 edits and different versions until I was happy with it. I was going to wait until Monday to submit it, in case I got a better idea, but I'm really happy with this one.
*I hope that whoever reads it is as enamoured with my idea as I was ;-)
If you make it to the top 10 you're going to want to delete your Britishisms and make sure everything conforms to the American standard.So, in that case, you might as well spell everything the American way from the beginning, just in case you make the cut. ^_^
Thanks, Mike. *installs second spellchecker*
Ok, that's mine in.
I kind of assumed that the notifying time for the full outline-author step would take much the same time as the proposal-top 10 stage. (15 days max) in which case, the writing breaks down to about 500 words/1 encounter a day.
Of course, you can always get a head start by writing up the bits you can use in your own campaign even if you don't get picked. ;)
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Contributor
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I'm curious on something. Do you want this in Q&A format, story format, or some other format as yet unmentioned?Ne'er you mind.
You got it all figured out then? :)
Don't be afraid to ask us questions. We might not catch them all within an hour of them being posted, though. Especially at night. :)
If you make it to the top 10 you're going to want to delete your Britishisms and make sure everything conforms to the American standard.So, in that case, you might as well spell everything the American way from the beginning, just in case you make the cut. ^_^
Thanks, Mike. *installs second spellchecker*
Ok, that's mine in.
I kind of assumed that the notifying time for the full outline-author step would take much the same time as the proposal-top 10 stage. (15 days max) in which case, the writing breaks down to about 500 words/1 encounter a day.
Of course, you can always get a head start by writing up the bits you can use in your own campaign even if you don't get picked. ;)
*Emphasis mine.
That raises an interesting question. How many encounters are there in a 32 page GameMastery Module? (I could actually go flip through and count, but I'm at work right now.)
I remember an old thread on Dungeon Submissions when James said a good rule of thumb was:
500 words/encounter, plus tack on an extra 2000 words for the background, summary, etc. Adjust the words needed per encounter up or down a bit depending on how often you use a non-standard monster (ie. need to insert a full statblock)
Is that rule of thumb still holding true of GameMastery Modules?
If that was the case, we could assume roughly 35-40 encounters per 22000 word module (I subtracted a bit more than 2000 words, since we do get an appendix on the location), which seems a bit high to me.
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Creative Director
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500 words per encounter remains a pretty good rough estimate method for an adventure. Check out, for example, Seven Swords of Sin. It's got 36 encounters, so that'd be 18,000 words right there, which leaves only 4,000 words for introduction, sidebars, new monsters, and the appendix.
Works pretty good for Crown of the Kobold King too: The dungeon has 33 encounters, for an estimate of 16,500 words. There's also another 2,000 words or so spread out over the wilderness encounters, though, once again leaving us about 4,000 words for the rest of the adventure.
It's probably best to limit yourself to about 35 encounters for a 32 page adventure, in any case. Leave yourself a little bit more elbow room for unanticipated extra stuff, and when you're drawing your maps, remember that if you have more than 35 rooms, you'll be locking yourself in to a too-big setup.
500 words per encounter remains a pretty good rough estimate method for an adventure. Check out, for example, Seven Swords of Sin. It's got 36 encounters, so that'd be 18,000 words right there, which leaves only 4,000 words for introduction, sidebars, new monsters, and the appendix.
Works pretty good for Crown of the Kobold King too: The dungeon has 33 encounters, for an estimate of 16,500 words. There's also another 2,000 words or so spread out over the wilderness encounters, though, once again leaving us about 4,000 words for the rest of the adventure.
It's probably best to limit yourself to about 35 encounters for a 32 page adventure, in any case. Leave yourself a little bit more elbow room for unanticipated extra stuff, and when you're drawing your maps, remember that if you have more than 35 rooms, you'll be locking yourself in to a too-big setup.
I am a mite confused - where are the actual details of the Open Call posted at ?
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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It's probably best to limit yourself to about 35 encounters for a 32 page adventure, in any case. Leave yourself a little bit more elbow room for unanticipated extra stuff, and when you're drawing your maps, remember that if you have more than 35 rooms, you'll be locking yourself in to a too-big setup.
Oh God! We have to draw our own maps for these?!? I thought you had cartographers for that...
Or will a really rough-sketch map be good enough to include with the submission and you guys have the cartographer and art director make it pretty?
Also, will you guys reveal the names of who makes it into the Top 10 when that time comes or will you only reveal the final winner?
Encounter-wise, I was looking at this thread in the Modules section - saying about 25-30 envounters a module or enough to level the PCs twice.
So - max about 35 encounters - I'll make a note. :)
I am a mite confused - where are the actual details of the Open Call posted at ?Check out the Paizo Blog, the details were posted a few days ago.
Kind of a skeletal framework, the tidbits in this thread are just filling out the requirements a little more.
Thanks Eyebite.
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Contributor
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Oh God! We have to draw our own maps for these?!? I thought you had cartographers for that...
Unlike artists, cartographers can't just create their pieces out of thin air. (And to be fair, artists frequently receive reference pieces from us. Creating stuff is hard!) You need to show them (and more importantly, us) the setting of your adventure. The nicer you can make your maps, the better. But don't worry: we won't reject your submission based on the maps.
Or will a really rough-sketch map be good enough to include with the submission and you guys have the cartographer and art director make it pretty?
Yes. That is what we need. :)
Also, will you guys reveal the names of who makes it into the Top 10 when that time comes or will you only reveal the final winner?
Unknown at this point.
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This is an interesting exercise for me, to see just how much information we assume people have about the process. Your questions are great, everyone. Please keep sending them! ^_^
Also, will you guys reveal the names of who makes it into the Top 10 when that time comes or will you only reveal the final winner?Unknown at this point.
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This is an interesting exercise for me, to see just how much information we assume people have about the process. Your questions are great, everyone. Please keep sending them! ^_^
Mike, I'm assuming its ok to mention on the boards if you made it to the next stage of the Open Call?
As I recall used to be the case with the Dungeon Blackhole thread, after an editorial meeting, people would post if they got green-lit or not. Or they'd post if the query made it past the Gatekeeper, which is a better analogy for this first section of the Open Call.
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It's probably best to limit yourself to about 35 encounters for a 32 page adventure, in any case. Leave yourself a little bit more elbow room for unanticipated extra stuff, and when you're drawing your maps, remember that if you have more than 35 rooms, you'll be locking yourself in to a too-big setup.
Question that I hope to not be repetive: Do the maps have to be sent with the initial entry or with the outline?
Also, what would you say would be the EL for the end battle? The adventure is for fourth level, so how high do you think we should go beyond that?
I was about this close <squinches fingers together> to sending mine in, when a much more suitable idea hit me. Gonna flesh them out both and see which is better.
By the by, Paizo thanks for doing this. I know it benefits you guys (hopefully) but it really invigorates a lot of your clientele. Kudos!
Question that I hope to not be repetitive: Do the maps have to be sent with the initial entry or with the outline?
We won't ask for maps until the final turnover. In other words, you won't have to worry about it until you know you have already won.
Now that being said, a good map turnover is very important, and while you can write consistently for us while turning over poor maps *cough* Nick *cough* it helps your case A LOT if your map turnovers look cool.
Also, what would you say would be the EL for the end battle? The adventure is for fourth level, so how high do you think we should go beyond that?
You should plan on the PCs being either 5th or 6th level by the time they reach the final encounter (depending on the previous encounters). In that case, anything from EL 7 to 9 would be appropriate.