DarkStar20
Front Page Editor
Things the New Front Page Editor is Looking for in Feature Article Submissions.
Introducing the New Guy
Hello! My name is Jason Schelin. I am 23, and the Tournament Organizer in Southern Oregon where I have run all of our leagues and premier events for 3 different cities for the last 3 years. I have a part time job and am working towards a College Degree as well! For the last 6 months, I’ve been the Forum Moderator for the Tournaments and Organized Play forum, and am extremely excited about my new position as Front Page Editor here on the Gym.
I have always loved writing, but am unfortunately cursed by bad spelling…(And handwriting for that matter.) Thank god for computers! I spent much of my energy during my grade school years on English and writing courses, as well as a few challenging courses in college, though it is not my major. I like to think I’m not too shabby at it though, but still have a lot learning to do. I have had the privilege of writing a few articles here on the gym, and spent lots of time studying the process of my predecessor, Da' Fish.
The Editor’s Process
The process I use for handling article submissions will be very simple, and I’ll take that same process every time.
- Glance and response
- Before I even read the article, I will skim it, and tell you what required items you are missing. (I usually won’t read the article until you’ve got all the required pieces in.)
- After basic article requirements have been met, I’ll give you an estimation on when I will be able to review the article and give you notes.
- 1st Draft Review
- I will give you general notes on things to work on in the article, like information needing to be added or taken away, or structural editing.
- 2nd Draft Review
- I will really comb through the article and give you specific notes on reactions I have to your article, awkward wording/phrasing, that kind of stuff.
- Front Page!
- I will ask you to put up a new thread in the Article Submission forum, and PM me when that’s done, and I will move it to the front page!
Of course we will go through each bullet point multiple times if needed until it’s finished, or skip them if they aren’t needed. Most articles need work after they are first posted, but a few get it pretty close on the first draft.
One thing I will be attempting to do better on is giving updates frequently. I was always a little bit upset that whenever I would submit an article, or make changes, I would have to wait up to 3 or 4 days before hearing back on them. I now understand how busy the staff can be, but it would have been nice for them to drop in and give me an update. I'll be trying to at least come in and type stuff like, 'Hey, thanks for the submission! I have my leagues and work these next couple days, but I should be able to get to it within 2 or 3 days!'
What the Article Writers should expect from the Editor
I consider the job of the Front Page Editor to be to work with the writers until their article is ready for the front page, and posting it. It is my job to make sure that the finished product is up to the expectations of the Pokegym Community, and I will work hard with you until your article is up to snuff, and I won’t post it until I’m sure it’s ready. If your article can’t be put on the front page, for whatever reason, I will try to help you get it to wherever it’s supposed to go, and still work with you to make it as good as it can be.
What the Editor expects from Article Writers
Most gym articles are Deck Articles. There is a great article on how to create these articles here:
http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140642
I will be expecting to see most, if not all, of what this article suggests in the Deck Articles. I will be looking for specific things though that will be required to be put in before I accept the submission and move into editing:
- All of the cards in your list must be linked back to the page that the card appears on in the Gallery.
- You must have the large pictures of the Main Pokémon in your deck at the top of the article under the title.
- You need to put in an explanation section with all of the cards in your list, explaining why they are in there, and how important they are.
- All other pictures in the article need to be the smaller pictures in the gallery, and linked to the pages with the bigger pictures.
- You need to have at least 5 matchups of the core metagame decks.
- You must include your strategy for the deck.
- You need to post the intent of the article, (is it a fun deck or meta deck?)
I will also be strongly suggesting that the Deck Articles include:
- A short description of who you are, what age division, and your experience as a player.
- Your experience with the deck.
For other types of articles out there, I’ll be looking for good solid information and expertise on the subject matter for your article. If it’s a good solid contribution to the Pokegym Community, I will work with you to get it ready and onto the front page. Here are some things you should keep in mind for some of the different articles:
- For opinion piece articles, I will be looking for a generally unbiased view. It’s ok to display a belief in one side or the other, but both sides of the subject must be presented fairly and thoroughly. When it comes to opinion pieces, the goal should be to give the reader all the information they need to make an informed conclusion themselves, rather than you cramming it down their throats.
- For ‘How To’ guide type articles, I’ll be looking for an in-depth and precise approach to what you are trying to put out there. The reader should be able to know nothing, or almost nothing about what you are writing about, and be able to benefit from the information. If you are creating this type of article, I’ll expect you to be somewhat of an expert in the subject.
- For Story Telling articles, I’ll be looking for a complete and well told story. We’ve had a lot of great articles of this type, and it’s always fun to be taken on a journey with the writer. You’ll be wanting to be as complete and detailed as possible. It’s ok for these articles to be nice and long, and most of these types of articles should be teaching the readers something about what you got from your experience, and what they might get if they were to do something similar.
Something I will be expecting from all articles before I begin editing:
- You need to put the article through a Spelling/Grammar check program. If it’s got a lot of errors, I will ask you to fix them before I give notes.
The main thing I expect from the Writers is patience. No one likes a bad article, and I’m going to be doing everything in my power to make sure that every article is top quality. That means you have to be willing to put in the work. Most articles don’t get published off the first draft. Don’t expect your article to be posted on the front page a few hours after you submit it, or even the next day! Even the best articles that are near perfect on the original submission may have to wait a few days before they are properly reviewed and posted. But everybody will have a chance to make it to the front page if they are willing to put in the work.
Conclusion
The front page is the face of the Pokegym. I’m honored that I’ve been given the opportunity to provide this service to the Pokegym, and am planning on doing the best I can to help all the article writers to represent the Gym in a positive way. While I am new at this, I’m not new to the feature article section or process, and I believe I have a lot to offer it. I look forward to working with all of you in the future!
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