I belong to several writing and networking groups all around the web, and sometimes there are events posted that are just “that cool.” This summer event is so in touch and up-to-date with our current culture, it’s definitely worth checking out and is perfect for young women interested in this multi-million dollar industry.
Game Design for Girls: Scholarship and Day Camp
Using Keywords to Sell Your Work
As more newspapers struggle to keep in print, like the Capital Times here in Madison, readers, job seekers, and house hunters will continue to turn to online sources to find what they’re looking for.
The reverse, however, is also true. Just as you try to find work, there are ways to make your work more attractive to potential buyers by inserting keywords relevant to the market you’re targeting. If you think about it, the idea of using keywords to highlight your resume, query letters, writer’s submissions or portfolio is nothing new. Human resource departments have been filtering out resumes, comparing it to keywords within their classified ad for years. Many writers, though, make the mistake of offering one version of their resume in multiple places, believing that it’s enough.
Earlier I pointed out, that one of the biggest challenges as a writer is whether or not to diversify. By modifying your resume, using keywords found within similar ads or markets, you can navigate the waters of online job markets to find work by turning the tables on prospects so you can appropriate address your market.
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer
How to Win Top Writing Assignments
Secrets are revealed about what the high-paying magazines really want, how to build relationships with editors, how to ascertain which sections of a magazine are open to freelancers, what kinds of stories are in demand, what to do if a deadbeat publisher doesn’t pay up, how to market reprints, and how to become an expert in one’s chosen writing field.
Written by by Jenna Glatzer (AbsoluteWrite.com)
Published by Nomad Press
Tons of useful information in this book makes it one of my top recommendations. Jenna offers up some great advice that anyone wanting to make a living writing will find useful.
Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer is available at Amazon.com
Marketing 101: What has Changed for Novelists Selling their Books
Straight out of the comments from this previous post about writing unconventional fantasy settings, author Joe Cooke asked:
If we write stories that are outside the bounds of the tried-and-true, how do we get them to market?
Dear readers, that is the million dollar question and one that I have heard many, many times. It’s also the reason why I’ve been extraordinarily hesitant to make leaps and bounds into the foray of (what has been described by some) as “writer’s purgatory.”
How the Market Has Changed
Before I talk about how to bring an unconventional work to market, I’d like to first cover why and how much the market has changed. Simply, three factors have reshaped the industry forever; the internet, the rising costs of publishing, and new forms of electronic media like the eBook readers. No longer do publishing houses have hosts of “readers” who glance through slush piles; several have “closed” submissions to first-time authors and even more prefer “named” authors only. There are a few that still have an open door policy, and agents do still exist.
Read More…
System vs. Setting in Game Design
One of the biggest arguments I’ve heard over the past, few years is, “Does system matter more than setting?”
The answer is, “Both do.”
Here’s why:
Game mechanics, for any platform (PC, video, tabletop or card game) handles the pacing of the game, attributing to its mood or what I call “game aura.” If you’re creating a “fast-paced zombie hunting game” for example, your mechanics should facilitate that feel. A good example of relevant mechanics is the card game Gloom, which was produced by Atlas Games. In this game, your goal is to make your “family” as miserable as possible. Whoever dies first, in the most horrific way possible, wins. Now, this game may sound truly terrifying but the art and the writing of the game give it an Edward Gorey-like feel, building the setting.
The mechanics are really inventive; you have see-through cards with points that stack on top of one another. In this way, the mechanics allow you to “make” your family member miserable by directly placing modifiers on top of your character. Hence, the mood is not detracted and the overall feel of the game remains intact.
Another good example of mechanics is the exceedingly popular Star Wars: Legos series. Star Wars, a science fantasy setting, is taken to a humorous level by playing off of the Legos setting. The mechanics are simple because they needed to be; who wants to “build” characters through stats if you’re playing Legos?
“New” game mechanics from upcoming or independent publishers are not as integrated with their setting, in many cases, because game designers often strip out the system to playtest it and make sure the system works. If your system has a “theme,” (i.e. fast-paced, larger-than-life), then this can be a good idea. If it doesn’t, you may want to “test” different parts of your game with the mechanics to ensure that the pacing and flow is not interrupted by say, your vampire needing to feed before making it through your next scene (Bloodrayne).
So if you are working on game mechanics, there are really two questions that are important for you to ask: One, does this system work with the game I’m designing and two, have I tested it in all of its forms to ensure it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the game.