I'd nominate Melissa, but due to some people being douche bags, and posting personal info, she has decided to leave. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying I miss her around here.
Calling All Writers!!!
News | March 12, 2012 2:53 pm
What's happening XboxAmerica faithful? I see a lot of old-timers, but just as many new faces around here, so I believe a quick introduction may be in order. My name's Hektic, senior staff writer around here, and I have been MIA for the recent months for reasons that I don't really need to bore you with here: That's what I pay my shrink a damn good amount of money to hear. Hektic: Newbies. Newbies: Hektic. Got it? Get it? Good. On to the real reason for this post (I swear I had a reason when I started this).
Due to the lovely work of Mini and Meta, or the gruesome twosome as I like to call them, I have been able to shirk my staff-writing duties and pass most (all) responsibility onto them. However with news and games releasing left and right, its come to my attention that three (two, really
) staff writers cannot keep up with the waves of information that needs posting every day. Its physically impossible to be able to do that, and spend a good amount of time playing games, which is why we are all here in the first place. And then there's family and all of that, but nobody really cares about that junk.
That being said, I've a mind to open up the flood gates for some try outs! That's right, we're calling all aspiring writers: XbA has some staff writer positions that we are looking to fill. I urge those of you who have submitted articles in the past to apply, as well as those of you who have considered it, or have thought about writing in general. As always, XbA is a user-driven community above all else, and you do not have to have some swanky title in order to submit articles, news write ups, and/or reviews. If you have been, please continue to do so regardless of whether or not you get the position, and if you haven't, well you should! Our content depends as much, if not more, on users than it does on staff. And it makes my job easier, which I love.
Alright, onto the fancy mumbo jumbo:
What we will be looking for, above all else, is quality. User seniority will not be given much weight, so new users you all have the same chance as these oldie but goodies. I don't expect a New Yorker masterpiece, but I do expect a coherent article written in your own words. Citing sources is equally as important; any one can copy and paste a news article from x360a or majornelson's blog, but a skilled writer can take the article and put it into their own words, as well as giving credit and citations where they are needed.
I cannot speak for Mini or Meta, but grammar and punctuation is also very important to me. Being a former English major, I am a bit of a grammar nazi: I don't seek perfection, but if you submit a huge wall of text with no periods, no paragraph breaks or commas, I'm going to be a little miffed. Don't let my personality scare you, though; I don't have a red sharpie to correct the screen with. I tried that once at work...it cost them a new monitor.
As a staff writer, we would expect as many quality articles as you can produce, and while I will always value quality over quantity, you would be expected to submit one article a week, at the very least. I will hold myself to this standard, as well. To give you an idea of the process: You will write your article, preview it, and then submit it via XbA's interface. Your articles will be edited and then actually published by either Mini, Meta, or myself depending on who sees it first. I'd like new staff writers to focus on News first, but a healthy flow of reviews and articles would be appreciated, as well.
Alright, so in order to be considered for the position, I ask that you PM me with a writing sample, as well as what you enjoy writing most: Be it news articles, editorials, or reviews. I will pass along all submissions to Mini and Meta. All samples must be submitted by March 31st, in which time we will go through all of them and select the best of the best. I hate to repeat myself, but I believe that this bears repeating: Current users are urged to continue submitting news articles, tips, reviews and editorials all of the same. I'd love to see as much user content published as there is staff content!
There it is folks, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Get your wrist guards out and start typing!
Due to the lovely work of Mini and Meta, or the gruesome twosome as I like to call them, I have been able to shirk my staff-writing duties and pass most (all) responsibility onto them. However with news and games releasing left and right, its come to my attention that three (two, really
) staff writers cannot keep up with the waves of information that needs posting every day. Its physically impossible to be able to do that, and spend a good amount of time playing games, which is why we are all here in the first place. And then there's family and all of that, but nobody really cares about that junk.That being said, I've a mind to open up the flood gates for some try outs! That's right, we're calling all aspiring writers: XbA has some staff writer positions that we are looking to fill. I urge those of you who have submitted articles in the past to apply, as well as those of you who have considered it, or have thought about writing in general. As always, XbA is a user-driven community above all else, and you do not have to have some swanky title in order to submit articles, news write ups, and/or reviews. If you have been, please continue to do so regardless of whether or not you get the position, and if you haven't, well you should! Our content depends as much, if not more, on users than it does on staff. And it makes my job easier, which I love.
Alright, onto the fancy mumbo jumbo:
What we will be looking for, above all else, is quality. User seniority will not be given much weight, so new users you all have the same chance as these oldie but goodies. I don't expect a New Yorker masterpiece, but I do expect a coherent article written in your own words. Citing sources is equally as important; any one can copy and paste a news article from x360a or majornelson's blog, but a skilled writer can take the article and put it into their own words, as well as giving credit and citations where they are needed.
I cannot speak for Mini or Meta, but grammar and punctuation is also very important to me. Being a former English major, I am a bit of a grammar nazi: I don't seek perfection, but if you submit a huge wall of text with no periods, no paragraph breaks or commas, I'm going to be a little miffed. Don't let my personality scare you, though; I don't have a red sharpie to correct the screen with. I tried that once at work...it cost them a new monitor.
As a staff writer, we would expect as many quality articles as you can produce, and while I will always value quality over quantity, you would be expected to submit one article a week, at the very least. I will hold myself to this standard, as well. To give you an idea of the process: You will write your article, preview it, and then submit it via XbA's interface. Your articles will be edited and then actually published by either Mini, Meta, or myself depending on who sees it first. I'd like new staff writers to focus on News first, but a healthy flow of reviews and articles would be appreciated, as well.
Alright, so in order to be considered for the position, I ask that you PM me with a writing sample, as well as what you enjoy writing most: Be it news articles, editorials, or reviews. I will pass along all submissions to Mini and Meta. All samples must be submitted by March 31st, in which time we will go through all of them and select the best of the best. I hate to repeat myself, but I believe that this bears repeating: Current users are urged to continue submitting news articles, tips, reviews and editorials all of the same. I'd love to see as much user content published as there is staff content!
There it is folks, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Get your wrist guards out and start typing!
Keywords: None
