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From the Don: How to get Featured on (and Write for) WoW Insider

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family

Matt’s note: Not exactly a WoW gaming related post. Feel free to mark as read and come back tomorrow. In fact, Matticus won’t be writing today since he has to get his other 2 wisdom teeth yanked and is in no condition to blog. Today’s post will come from Don Marco Matticus, one of Matt’s many relatives.

Ah greetings. I’ve pestered my dear cousin to write on his beloved blog for so long. I am, shall we say, delighted to be able to publish my intellect for others to consume. I am a far better writer than my dear cousin is after all.

Before I start, we all need to make a fundamental assumption. Let us all assume I, Don Marco Matticus, is the reigning overlord of WoW Insider. I know it will never happen but just run with me on this one, okay?

Let us also assume that you yourself are a creative gaming enthusiast with a passion for writing. In other words, you play video games and you like to write about video games. Heck, let’s narrow the focus even more. You’re a diehard WoW player and you want to write about it. And you want to get paid to write about it. Don’t you? Because all of us are little peasants at heart.

We can refer to that peasant as Matt Demon.

Or alternatively you are a headstrong gaming enthusiast who thinks your opinion and written word is that of God. You think that what you say is always right and anyone who disagrees is pure blasphemy. Not only that, you think you can do a way better job than the staffers at WoW Insider and continue to wonder to yourself what these turkeys and clowns are doing writing all this stuff when you can do a far better job than they despite the fact that you have no experience of your own.

I call those people snobs. Back in my day, people like that would get a good old fashioned kneecapping. If I thought they were real bozos I’d cap their elbows so they wouldn’t write again.

Again, you might not feel this way but just please bear with me.

Right, now where was I?

Oh yes, Don Marco Matticus, Supreme Overlord and Editor in Chief (hypothetically). Here’s a brief list on what matters, what doesn’t, and how to boost your odds of getting in (if I were in charge).

Getting in: There are two ways to go about it. You can apply or the Don can hunt you down himself and pitch you an offer. Understand that the Don has Troll headhunters at his disposal. If the Don wants you to write for him, he will make it known. If you apply via EMail, Fax, IM, or carrier pigeon, I’ll consider it. If you’re lucky and I’m in a particularly generous mood, I might even reply.

Formal education doesn’t matter: Formal refers to things like degrees and doctorates. If you apply to me waving around the fact that you have a Ph.D, a Masters, and assorted Bachelor’s in Journalism, English, and Demonslaying I’m not going to care a whole lot. The fact is that when it comes to blogging, anyone can do it if they commit. Don’t get me wrong. Formal education can help. But it is not the be all/end all. You want to impress the brass? Start your own blog first! Prove that you can write creative and quality stuff often. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Don’t come to me with the degree saying you can write. Show me that you can write because I don’t care about your piece of paper.

Spelling and grammar still important: If you apply via e-mail and you make the Don’s eyes bleed, then the Don will make the logical assumption that you will make the audience’s eyes bleed. Making the eyes of my reader bleed is bad for business. It scares away potential readers and ad clickers. Ad clicking is crucial to my survival. Without it, the Don will not survive. Please write clearly, check your grammar, and your spelling.

Deadlines: Don Marco Matticus needs to have material out every hour on the hour. Columnists that write weekly have a set date to reach something by. However, if it is an epic piece that requires an extra day or two, that is fine. But it must be epic. There are certain pieces that need to come up every day at a particular time.

Writing topics: You may not agree with or like what you’re writing about. But the news (like spice) must flow! You may be tapped from time to time to report on major or breaking news and provide a brief opinion or translation of what it could mean. Doesn’t matter if you’re wrong or right. If you’re wrong, the masses will tell you. If you’re right, the masses will tell you that you’re wrong anyway.

Freedom of writing: Don Marco Matticus usually needs to approve what gets written for the masses to see. You think I’ll just let people read any ol’ crap that comes out? The vaults of the Matticus family may be large, true. But they are not limitless. You will be compensated fairly for the work you do. No one cares about you killing Mag for the 20th time. That’s why an element of creativity is a key asset to those that wish to join the Don. There are no limits to the amount of stories you can write. There is no cap as long as you don’t write crap.

Have really thick skin: Are you one of those players that cry every time your raid leader picks on you? Then forget it! I do not take those of weak minds under my fold! You will be insulted, your words torn apart, your name mocked on a daily basis. I received E-Mails on a daily basis calling for your head! Of course, I am far more wiser than anyone gives me credit (especially that Matticus). You will be critically criticized so hard every proc on the planet will occur. It will test the very foundations of your character. Can you endure it? Be aware that every fact you list will be checked. Every opinion you write, analyzed. Every breath you take, scrutinized. The ability to handle criticism and not lash out at the masses (however uneducated they may be) is extremely important.

Payment: You will get paid in sacks of rice, beans, or gold. It all depends on my mood. I will pay 2000 gold coins for a thousand words and half of that for half the amount! If you do an image gallery for me, then a sack of beans per image will be sent to your home. Should you write more than I ask, the Don appreciates your hard work. But you shall still only get 2000 gold per post.

Is it enough for you to quit your day job? It depends on how much of a lavish life you decide to live. The possibility is there.

Retroactive editing: So you made a mistake. The Don is very forgiving. Sometimes those crazy Blizzard fools will make you look bad by making a change that has ruined your post and made you look like a complete moron. As a result, the masses have decided to rain on your parade. You can always edit them after the fact. And we don’t use this WordPress garbage that my cousin so heavily relies on to power the blog.

Do not insult my minions: That honor belongs to me. You spit on my peasants and I will send my Corehounds after you. Only I can criticize my workers. If you apply and even mention any of my staffers in a negative light, your message will be shredded immediately. The family is everything. You insult one, you insult all. Did they even teach you social skills?

Keep all of these in mind should you decide to apply for any major WoW publishing service. They all have standards. Not any mindless, bumbling fool can get in. Even though it may appear that way, these minions do know what they’re talking about and get paid for a reason. You are not. The only way for you to oust my companions is for me to fire them or for them to step down. Your opinion and word mean absolutely nothing to the Don.

Is Sydera a Barbershop Addict?

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In a word, yes.

I don’t actually have pictures for you of all Syd’s new haircuts, but I will admit that they occur at the rate of about one per day.

Here’s the look I’m currently sporting. I find it ironic that Phaelia of Resto4Life couldn’t wait to get rid of her facial tattoo–I couldn’t wait to get one!

Below, you can see yesterday’s pigtailed look. It was a good thing too, because my hair was out of my way when I got sick from too much Halloween candy. Carmelita, to my left, is pretending not to know me.

All this, after I promised Briolante I wouldn’t change my hair. . . much. My favorite tank/ significant other extraordinaire says he’s very glad I always look the same in tree form. Syd just doesn’t look like herself these days.

Oh well, at some point there will probably be a return to my long mint-green locks.

Guides to 3.0.2

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Didn’t feel the need to do one of my own. Already technically contributed to the Priest column (and really inaccurately at that).

Happy patch day!

Most likely not going to update a whole lot of addons. Not sure how much more we’re going to raid. Just going to update raidframes and thats it. Going to try to configure key bindings via WoW default interface (Thats going to be fun).

To do list

  • UBRS for the Leeroy title
  • Leveling every capital city and smashing said leaders
  • World domination

Might squeeze in some study time in there. Who knows?

Normally, I Don’t do Loot Posts but I’ll Make an Exception

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mace-stun

The Staff is being placed back on the rack in favor of a mace. I now officially have the best possible gear I can get from Black Temple and there’s no real reason for me to go back there. With the expansion so close, I’m tempted to just shut down for a while and conserve myself.

Of course, arguments can be made that what’s the point of having all the gear if I ain’t going to use it, right?

Indecision 08!

csk

Here’s the beauty on the right. It’s a shame it had to come so late in the expansion. I went all in on the mace with 324. I’m almost certain that has to be a record for most DKP spent on an item in the guild.

Wait until you see my new Off Hand that I just snagged and purchased! Keep scrolling down!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

whale

Yeah. Respect the Whale.

Aside from that, Happy Thanksgiving to the Canadian readers!

EDIT: Oh yeah, we got our first War Glaive as well (But honestly, War Glaives are overrated ^^)

EDIT 2: Realization that both Wyn and Syd will probably skin me alive for using said off hand. But I like the mini wand.

EDIT 3: Have 2 articles on WI pending for 2 PM and 3 PM release Pacific Standard. Its an overview of the new talents, suggested builds, mana management, gemming, spells, and other healing info for the raiding healing Priest. Don’t forget to check it out! (I’ll try to remember to link them later or maybe I’ll bug Wyn to do it. Give her some <3!).

EDIT 4: I’m taking the day off from blogging. I write way too much. I don’t think I’m a bloggerholic though. Am I? Nah. In an ideal world, I’d just come up with ideas and delegate them to people. Some people can’t seem to spark ideas. I come up with too many. I think we’d be a perfect match! =)

EDIT 5: Bed. Flopping into it after a long day has to be the best feeling in the world.

Matt’s Outlook for the Future

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I was leafing through the Psychology Today publication (a great non WoW blog, mind you) and I ran into an article about George Carlin’s outlook on life. It was an interview he did for PT. There’s a few lessons I want to impart. I liked the post format a lot that I wanted to try!

Except in my case, I won’t be looking back. I’ll be looking forward.

On Wrath. Lots of fun. I can’t wait for it. It’ll be out in a little over a month with new zones, new things to do and I’ve eased off the beta for a while. I only leveled to 73 on my Character copy Priest. I guess I just got tired. I was more interested in raiding anyway.

On blogging neighbors. Blogging’s changed since I first started. A lot of old time faces I knew have retired from the game and have moved on. There’s a lot more new faces and strong bloggers out there. Once Wrath arrives, I suspect we’ll see a surge of quality stuff as new posts get written by people who want to get their thoughts down.

On marketing and promotion. I’ve seen bloggers who state their adamant position that they’re writing for themselves and that’s it. Later on I come back finding these same bloggers concerned about their lack of traffic. Sorry guys! Can’t have one without the other! If you want to see an increase in traffic, you have to write for yourself and for your audience! There’s a lot of excellent writers out there who are bright people. But here’s the trick: You have to learn about marketing and promotion. Draw attention to yourself. Link outwards. EMail other bloggers asking for a link (you can do it subtly, too. Just don’t play this card every post, only on the epic ones). I miss good posts all the time and by the time I think about linking to it, its out of date. Use Twitter. Use Facebook. Use Curse.com. Email WoW Insider. We’re always looking for stories and if its well written and newsworthy, we’ll put it up. Put the URL in your forum signature. Ask for subscriptions. I could go on and give a lecture about this.

On reading. Will Smith said it best. There isn’t a problem on Earth that someone hasn’t already solved and hasn’t already written about. Don’t stop learning, don’t stop absorbing information, and always ask questions. Because to put it bluntly, if you don’t ask, you won’t get an answer. But reading is very important. Try to catch 15 minutes a day with a magazine or a blog. Try reading a Non-WoW blog.

On creativity. The thing I miss the most about being a kid was being foolish and having an imagination. I just can’t seem to do it anymore. I know as I grow older its only going to get worse. There’s no such thing as a bad idea. What may not work for one person could work for you. Be creative! Try something new! Do something no one’s done before. I really want to try Slidecasting and I do have an idea in place to see if I can pull it off. Yeah it’ll take a lot of work, but I view it as a different way to express myself.

On special occasions. Happy birthday Aylii! They should be recognized. Even a gentle reminder would be nice. Guys are just bad at remembering dates (actually, it might just be me).

On modus operandi. It’s a term in law known as mode of operation. It describes characteristic patterns and their style of action. I’m a Priest at heart who loves the job of healing and who loves the job of writing. My style has always been straight and to the point (most of the time). But I’ll express posts in different formats and I won’t hesitate to borrow other formats and apply it to WoW.

On Blizzcon. I wish I could go. I’d love to attend but school keeps me away. I won’t be able to go next year if it falls at the same time again. It ends up usually around Mid term time for me. Have fun, all of you that are going! I look forward to reading about your stories and seeing photos!

On the joy of writing and being read. Its a tremendous feeling and it offers a heck of a high to wake up to in the morning after checking stats and reading other reactions. Its nice to be recognized for the effort that’s being put into the work I do. A lot of people don’t understand that blogging at a high level is hard work. So why do I do it? Because I love writing! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here and its always been that simple. I rest easier knowing that I’ve helped a player out there improve themselves or teaching someone how to do something. Its not a feeling that can be placed into words. Some people like to entertain, some like to rant or rage, but I just like teaching.

On laughter. We need more of it in this world.

What about you? Not necessarily on the above topics I chose, but pick 10 random topics or lessons and write down how you feel or what you think about them.