If you haven’t read last week’s article ‘The Gamers’ Guide to Writing for Games — Part One’ yet, I suggest you take a peek at it before reading further here. That’s partly because you’ll find that information relevant when reading ahead, but mostly because I get paid more if you do. Why the honesty? Because self-promoting (as nasty as it sounds) is one of the best ways to achieve success in this here writing business, and that’s mainly what I’ll be talking about today. Getting started. Getting better. And getting known.

Getting started, getting better, getting known; and get hired

Getting hired in the writing industry (and doubly so when writing for games) is a long, tedious and often painful process — and unfortunately, there’s really no one way in which it can be achieved. If you were to ask someone currently writing professionally for video games how they got their start, you’d be almost guaranteed to get precisely the same answer every time — ‘I was lucky, and I sort of just fell into it’. Why? Because it’s the truth. You won’t be getting hired as a writer by applying for the job at your local ‘job search’ agency, nor will you land the role by having the best resume, or by travelling door-to-door in your favourite suit and asking ‘if anyone’s in the market for a really good games journalist’. It’s simply not that kind of industry. You get hired as a writer by getting noticed. And you get noticed, by getting good.

You also get noticed by writing. Writing about anything. Writing about everything. And writing as often as possible. There’s no one way to get into writing, but there’re plenty of tips and tricks to help you get started; and believe it or not, you’ve already completed the most important one. Read.

Writing is probably the most competitive industry in the world, and to compete, you must know your enemy. Me, and everyone else currently writing for a living. You do this, by reading their work. Studying their style. Learning from their mistakes. Learning from their successes. What works? What doesn’t? What do people enjoy reading? Why do they enjoy reading it? These are all tools in a writer’s arsenal, and they are all crucial to success. Once you know the answers to some of these questions, you write. And in my opinion, you should do that here, too.

MMOsite is a great place to begin your writing — hell, I’d wager that it’s the best — but that’s probably because it’s where I started. You may know of a better place, and if you do, write there too. I recommend writing here because it’s where I started, and because I’ve since found no better place. You can open a blog for free, you’ll get access to hundreds of betas, you’ll get thousands of readers, and you’ll even get paid to do it. All the while you’ll be creating a portfolio of your work, and in time, you’ll be able to write elsewhere.

In your blog, you write about games. Write reviews for the latest and greatest in the gaming world. Write articles about the things you like, and the things you don’t. Write about your opinions on the MMO scene; and write about the future as you see it, and the many things that may yet come to pass. Write about it all, write about it often, and write about it well. Then, once you’ve written something, let everyone know where to find it. Tell your friends to help you, too. Head over to the forums here at MMOsite and promote yourself. Head over to the forums anywhere, and do the same. There’s no point in writing if there’s no-one reading it, so make sure you’ve told as many people as possible, and make sure you do it every time you write.

A note on tact and good manners: DON’T go to your favourite forum and spam links to your work like a wanker. DON’T post your work in a forum where it’s not welcome. You’re a writer, so do it well. Make a small post explaining what you’re doing, and make it good. Make them want to click on your link. Make them want to read more of your writing. And for God’s sake, make sure it’s in the appropriate place.

I would suggest too that you write about games that are big right now. There aren’t many people out there that are looking for a review on T-Crew at the moment, or are interesting in reading your thoughts about the character selection in Aeronauts. Make your writing current, make your readers interested.

I’ve digressed. I’m good at that, you’ll find. There are so many things you can do to help you get started, that I often find myself forgetting them all. So let’s summarise, and make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

Here’s my list of recommended things to do in order to get your start as a writer:

• read
• start a blog at MMOsite
• play the latest games
• review them, write articles about them
• write them well
• post links to them in your favourite forums.

Simple, right? Right. It is simple. Really simple, actually. Play games, write about them, tell people about it. Do this well. Do it often. And you’ll get noticed. When you get noticed, you get hired. When you get hired, you get better known. When you get better known, you get hired by better companies, and get paid better, too. It’s a snowball really — once you’ve started, it’s difficult to stop. And it’s all downhill. Of course, talking about it is one thing. Doing it is another. You need to write a lot. Most of the time for free. And you need to get better as you do.

Remember those things I mentioned last week? Learn your grammar. Practise your syntax. Find your voice. Develop your walnut shell. Write, write, write — and I promise you, you’ll succeed. I know, I’m beginning to sound like a broken record now, but this really is the way to do it. Take the initiative, and never give up. Get writing, and get it out there. You’ll be writing a guide of your own (one that is probably a lot better than this) in no time. And you’ll love doing it.

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I had planned on talking about introductions today too, but it seems as though we’ve run out of time. Next week, then! Stay tuned.