How to Get Paid for Writing Game Reviews
Take you always dreamed of getting paid to write near video games? As a freelance author, it's non hard to spin your favorite hobby into a source of income by writing articles, but those of you lot out in that location who dear gaming are particularly in luck.The game industry itself is booming, but what y'all might non know is there's a large and various writing niche for game journalism in its many incarnations and offshoots. Enough of publications out there are willing to pay freelancers good money for thoughtfully-crafted pieces about the latest games and the interesting people behind them.
The game industry itself is booming, merely what y'all might non know is there'southward a large and diverse writing niche for game journalism in its many incarnations and offshoots. Plenty of publications out there are willing to pay freelancers proficient money for thoughtfully-crafted pieces about the latest games and the interesting people behind them.
In this first installment in a series of upcoming posts roofing the realm of freelance game journalism, I pull back the curtain on what information technology's like writing for this fun niche marketplace and what yous tin expect from excavation into this freelance trounce.
The Freelance Game Journo Market place: A Quick Primer
At a quick glance, breaking through the barb-wired editorial wall of the gaming world may seem daunting. Unlike other markets, precious few game publications mail service their writer's guidelines and editorial contact info, which leaves eager freelancers with a lot of burning questions unanswered. Where do you start? How do you get in touch on with the correct editors? What kind of articles are they looking for? The good news is with a lilliputian bit of detective piece of work, you tin can find near of these answers hidden in plain sight. In this series of posts covering the topic, I'll help you lot go a head start.
Here'due south a Little Secret…
Nigh every major video game website and print magazine out at that place uses freelancers. Everyone from IGN and GameSpot to PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Many medium-tier and smaller sites as well utilize freelancers likewise. While editors oft have a steady pool of freelance writers they depict from, many are e'er on the sentry for fresh ideas, new talent, and reliable freelancers who can tackle assignments with finesse.
The Best Way to Pitch Articles
Feature pitches tend to be the all-time manner to intermission into publications in this market, though once yous get your foot in the door and found a relationship with editors, you'll observe there are lots of opportunities to write unlike kinds of pieces. Game reviews and preview assignments are more easily nabbed in one case y'all've made those initial inroads to a publication. The large volume of almanac game releases across all of the different gaming platforms means there's a steady supply of work for skilled freelancers who tin bear witness themselves. There'due south also a demand for list stories, interviews, video content, humor pieces, daily news posts, and more.
If y'all already take some writing chops and a bit of freelance experience, and so yous're a step ahead of a large swath of the competition. Granted, there are many established writers and freelance pros in the field pitching stories on a regular basis, merely editors are also deluged with e-mails from everyday gamers and inexperienced writers who don't have a inkling about what makes a good pitch. As such, with a good thought and a finely-tuned pitch, you lot accept a bully shot of getting noticed and scoring your first assignment in the gaming realm. From in that location, information technology'south not difficult to build inroads into other publications.
The editorial community in the game journalism customs is quite expansive—big plenty to support freelancers who brand their sole living from covering games for different outlets. Just it's also just cozy enough that many editors at different publications (yep, even competing ones) know each other or have worked alongside one another before. Getting in adept with one editor can sometimes lead to recommendations and piece of work opportunities elsewhere too. Solidify a few good gigs, testify your worth, and you tin springboard yourself upwards.
The Perks…
Making coin writing near video games and geeky stuff yous honey can exist rewarding on its own, only at that place are other perks in this fun niche. Scoring costless games, products, and hardware to review is easily at the top of the list for many writers. When you're writing reviews for bigger publications, they ofttimes send out review codes or concrete copies for you to play through to tackle assignments. Don't expect to e'er nab the best AAA games, simply it's still exciting to become paid to play and write about the latest releases, specially when yous receive them well ahead of their official launch.
Across admission to early on and free games, there's a lot of freedom to write near some very interesting, diverse topics that relate to the industry. Many publications similar to cover other facets and trends of game civilization, allowing for tons of flexibility and inventiveness in the kinds of articles you tin can write. Opportunities to encompass fun gaming conventions, interview unique personalities and studios behind the games, and mine quirky topics for your pieces are plentiful.
The Pay…
Of class, so at that place'south the money itself. Yous won't get rich off of covering games as a freelancer, merely you can notwithstanding brand a proficient living. Pay rates run the gamut from one publication to the next. On average, online pieces can pay anywhere from $0.fifteen to $0.35 cents a word at medium to larger sites. In some cases you'll detect web rates as high equally $.50 cents a word, simply information technology's rarer. Many sites take a flat-charge per unit arroyo, paying a few hundred dollars for reviews and previews of a prepare range and oft more for bigger features. Print is all the same king when it comes to the nitty-gritty dollars and cents. Y'all tin brand upwards to $1 a discussion penning features, previews, reviews, and other content for magazines.
In the side by side installment, I'll lay down some specific tips for pitching game manufacture editors and dish out advice on how to increment your chances to breaking-in.
About the writer:
Nathan Meunier is a full-time freelancer, author, and professional person nerd who covers video games, geek culture, and tech. His work has appeared in more than xxx publications, including Nintendo Power, IGN, GameSpot, GamePro, Official Xbox Magazine, Mac|Life, and more. If you enjoyed this post, check out his new book, Up Up Downwardly Downwards Left WRITE: The Freelance Guide to Video Game Journalism. You can also find him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/nmeunier) and at his blog (www.nathanmeunier.com)
Source: https://www.freelancewriting.com/freelancing/writing-about-video-games/
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