The Retrogaming Times
- The Bimonthly Retrogaming Hobbyist
Newsletter -
- Article Submission Guidelines -
Article submissions are closed
as our final issue was released September 9th, 2022 on the newsletter's
25th anniversary.
Thank
you for being a part of a
great retrogaming tradition!
The
below information is preserved here for archival only.
David Lundin,
Jr. (Retrogaming Times Monthly,
Contributing Writer, 2004 - 2013) is serving as Chief Editor for this
iteration
of the newsletter but it can only exist with your help. The
Retrogaming
Times is 100% free and 100% driven by retrogaming hobbyists such as
yourself
who submit articles as contributing writers. Other hobbyists want
to read what you have to write and we are always accepting submissions
for future issues of The Retrogaming Times. Submit an article
today
and join a great retrogaming tradition!
If you would like to contribute to The
Retrogaming Times, please submit your articles to our official
submissions
and contact address: trt@classicplastic.net.
The information below is a detailed
outline of newsletter submission information and answers to common
questions.
However what it all boils down to is that submissions are open to
everyone
and all anyone needs to do is e-mail their writings to The Retrogaming
Times (trt@classicplastic.net)
and then they will be published in the next issue. It really is
that
simple.
Simplified Article Submission
Information:
- Submit your article as e-mail text, plain
text, or a .RTF (Rich Text Format) file to
trt@classicplastic.net.
Please ensure this address is white listed by your spam filter as it is
used as our only direct method of communication.
- Please include any images along with your
submission e-mail, preferably separate from your document.
- If you are including images, please make a
note in your document body for image locations or provide instructions
in your e-mail if you have specific image placement in mind.
Image
usage and placement ultimately falls upon the discretion of the editor,
but every effort will be made to represent your article as intended by
you.
- Please do not include video clips or require
external video links as a large part of your submissions as this is a
text
publication.
- Everyone who submits at least one article
over the lifetime of the newsletter will have a permanent "Contributing
Writer" credit on the main index of The Retrogaming Times. This
is
a genuine credit that senior staff will vouch for.
- Everyone who submits an article for at least
three issues over the lifetime of the newsletter will have a permanent
"Contributing Columnist" credit (promoted from their earlier
"Contributing
Writer" credit) on the main index of The Retrogaming Times, even if
their
three articles are unrelated individual one-shots. This is a
genuine
credit that senior staff will vouch for.
- Everyone who submits an article for at least
fifteen issues over the lifetime of the newsletter will have a
permanent
"Contributing Journalist" credit (promoted from their earlier
"Contributing Columnist" credit) on the main index of The Retrogaming
Times, even if
their
fifteen articles are unrelated individual one-shots. This is a
genuine
credit that senior staff will vouch for.
- You retain all rights to your original submitted
articles, however The Retrogaming Times asks as a courtesy that you do
not republish your work in the form as it published in the newsletter
"The
Retrogaming Times," as all articles will receive some form of editing
prior
to being published. Articles published at "The Retrogaming Times"
with those edits and normalizations in place are effectively part of
the
newsletter and are not to be republished separate from the rest of
their
respective issue's contents.
- To quote the newsletter's founder: Keep it short.
Keep it clean. Keep it relevant.
Detailed Article Submission
Information:
The Retrogaming Times - Submission
Guidelines From The Editor, David Lundin, Jr.:
- Anyone is welcome to submit an article.
- No one is obligated to write bimonthly for
every issue. Reoccurring regular columns are spectacular but
please
do not feel obligated to do so - one shot articles are excellent as
well.
- There is no requirement that you "check in."
If you want to write something, just submit it. As Scott Jacobi,
former Retrogaming Times Monthly Chief Editor, used to say years ago,
"If
there is something you want to write about, send it in."
- Credit is given however you wish it to be
(real name, alias, handle, etc.) but I would like to keep the old style
of having a contact e-mail link, which can be declined upon request of
course. If your desired "contact" e-mail differs from the e-mail
you use to submit an article, please let me know.
- Everyone who submits at least one article
will be given a staff credit on the main page. That's correct,
write
one article and you are a Contributing Writer and part of The
Retrogaming
Times staff. This is a genuine credit that senior staff will
vouch
for and never diminishes.
- Please do not feel obligated to only submit
reviews. While reviews have traditionally been a large part of
the
newsletter and are always welcomed, The Retrogaming Times is more of an
open newsletter for retrogaming hobbyists to write down what's on their
minds. Interviews, personal stories, experiences, memories,
opinions,
ideas, musings, recollections, collecting advice, knowledge to share,
strategy
guides, whatever - as long as the common thread is retrogaming then it
will be welcomed and published.
- The Retrogaming Times considers the era of
"retrogaming" to be an extremely broad spectrum, stretching from the
most
embryonic era of electronic games to three or so generations behind
current
video games. In simplified terms, from "Tennis For Two" (1958) to
PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, Xbox, and Game Boy Advance. Of course
more
modern releases of old games, such as compilations, are fair
game.
Additionally current arcade and pinball coverage is welcomed as those
are
generally considered to be industries rooted in retrogaming. Yes,
pinball is retrogaming and it would be great to see more of it
here!
Cover what you enjoy, that's what is most important.
- Images are encouraged to complement submitted
articles but are never required. Simply include them along with
your
article in your submissions e-mail. Please no video at this time,
this is a text publication. Please do not submit articles that
are
composed primarily of images with very little text, your writing
content
should drive your article while your images complement the text.
- Submissions are to be handled via e-mail,
including the article itself as well as any images you would like
included
and/or any special instructions concerning their placement. I
will
make every concession to see that your article is presented how it was
written. Either cut and paste into your e-mail client or attach a
.RTF (Rich Text Format) file along with any images.
- It is my promise that, in terms of your submissions,
there will be minimal input from your editor (me) outside of reading
through
everything and placing it into the newsletter. My role is to
support
those who take the time to write and submit articles, not the other way
around. If anyone requests assistance I will be happy to help
them
but my voice shouldn't echo in others work.
- There is no limit to how many articles / columns
you can have per issue. If you want to have three articles and
two
reoccurring columns running next month - go for it! Many long
running
staff members have done this in the past.
- I will contact everyone via e-mail three times
before a publication month deadline: Once at the end of the
non-publication
month (even), then two weeks before the publication month (odd)
deadline,
and then again one week before the publication month (odd)
deadline.
These announcements are also publicly made on The Retrogaming Times
page
on Facebook and via The Retrogaming Times Info Club on Twitter.
- Target deadline for all
submissions will be
the 20th of the month before a publication month.
Generally this
means there will be two full months between each issue's
deadline.
If you are working ahead of the deadline, please submit your articles
as
they are completed rather than wait for the deadline to approach.
All submitted articles will be published on the next publication date.
- Please only submit completed articles.
If you have a revision or correction, send it in as soon as possible
but
please try to only send in articles that are finished. If you
have
an idea about an article or column and would like to discuss it,
contact
me any time but please do not submit "draft" versions of your
submissions.
These are not necessary and slow down the publication process.
- The Retrogaming Times is hosted by David Lundin,
Jr. at classicplastic.net. All previous Retrogaming Times /
Retrogaming
Times Monthly sites, groups, forums and social media are archives of
their
respective newsletters and are separate entities from The Retrogaming
Times,
although they may continue to exist as earlier archives or separate
publications.
Much thanks to those true giants of independent retrogaming journalism
that I am able to stand upon the shoulders of. It is only due to
them that I have the privilege of continuing the spirit of this
newsletter.
- While there is no need to "call" an article
or topic in advance, if you plan on writing a reoccurring column, a
courtesy
e-mail in advance to me at trt@classicplastic.net
would be greatly appreciated. This will ensure that we do not
have
two columns covering the same thing, running at the same time. In
the rare event two articles are submitted that cover the same topic, a
hardware review for example, both articles will be published as they
would
provide different perspectives. In this extremely rare case I
will
contact both writers to let them know of the situation.
The Retrogaming Times - Article
Submission Process:
- Write your article using the word processing
or text entry software of your choice. Additionally you may write
your entire article in an e-mail client.
- If you are using word processing software
it is extremely important that you save your document as a .RTF
(Rich
Text Format) file before submitting it. This allows
faster
integration into the newsletter as .RTF is a standardized format that
can
be opened and manipulated universally. While .DOCX is okay, there
is generally a ton of hidden formatting that has to be stripped out in
editing. Always assume your article will be published as plain
text.
- Send your article via e-mail to trt@classicplastic.net,
the official submissions and contact address. Either cut and
paste
your article into your e-mail client or attach it as a .RTF (Rich Text
Format) file.
- If you have images to complement your article,
please attach them to the same e-mail as your article text. If
there
are special instructions concerning image placement, please include
them
in your e-mail. Every concession will be made to ensure your
article
is presented how it was written. Please do understand, however,
that
normalization edits will generally be made to allow images to fit
smoothly
within the body of the newsletter for presentation uniformity.
- Please include any special instructions regarding
how you would like to be credited (real name, alias, handle, etc.) both
on your article byline as well as the staff index on the home
page.
A contact e-mail link, which can be declined upon request, is
encouraged
and will be included on each of your article bylines as well as the
staff
index on the home page unless other arrangements are made. Your
byline
name and staff index name do not have to be the same, for instance, if
you would feel more comfortable using a handle in-issue and your real
name
on the staff index. If your desired "contact" e-mail differs from
the e-mail you use to submit an article, please let me know. If
no
special instructions are given, your name and submission e-mail will be
used to credit you on both your articles as well as the staff index.
- If you have any questions, problems, or require
information concerning anything about the newsletter whatsoever - feel
free to contact trt@classicplastic.net
with your concerns. I will generally respond within 48 hours.
- You may "bank" both standalone articles or
those that are part of a reoccurring column by submitting them well in
advance of their publication date. Simply include which issue
number
you would like each article published in. This is a great way to
get ahead of the game when the writing bug hits!
- Submit articles as early as possible!
Although there are two months between issues and the deadline doesn't
fall
until the 20th of each "even" month of the year, please submit your
articles
as you complete them. This makes it easier to gauge issue size
and
plan out how the issue will flow. Your editor really appreciates
this!
- Beginning in 2021 we will move to a form letter style rejection
response. This allows us to maintain consistency in rejection
reasoning, encourage resubmission, and to save time in responding to
submissions that have been declined for publication. While I am
very appreciative of every article that is submitted, unfortunately
everything sent in cannot always be approved for publication for
varying reasons. If you receive a rejection response, please read
the details as to why and either resubmit with changes or consider a
different retrogaming subject.
- Once an issue is published, you have five
days after the publication date (generally the 1st of the month) to
contact David at trt@classicplastic.net
if there are any problems with how your article is presented.
Five
days after publication an issue is considered set in stone and any
corrections
will be published in the next issue.
The Retrogaming Times - Limited
Content Restrictions:
- Please do not submit advertising copy or articles
that read like advertising copy for a product, site or service.
While
covering products, sites and services is fine and a large part of the
newsletter,
they should always be written about from a personal and reasonably
unbiased
perspective. The only exception to this is the "Upcoming Events"
column, which only features official information directly from event
organizers
and official event websites.
- Articles revolving around attacking online
communities, gaming groups or personalities will not be
published.
This stuff is supposed to be about having fun. Cover your
experiences,
cover the games, and have a good time.
- Put your personal integrity before all else.
Remember that The Retrogaming Times traces its lineage back more than
twenty
years (Tom Zjaba published Retrogaming Times issue 1 in September
1997)
and the spirit of this newsletter has outlasted many of the topics it
has
covered. Make sure your opinions are your opinions.
- Exclusivity of your articles published here
is a courtesy of your choosing but is always greatly appreciated.
An article edited and published by The Retrogaming Times should not be
republished anywhere outside of its publication issue without properly
citing The Retrogaming Times as its source.
- Do not submit articles pertaining specifically to high scores /
world records, as in the past some groups that maintain world record
databases have been very protective of their data, which is completely
understandable. Additionally scoreboards often feature full
names of people who achieved said scores, which is a third-party
personal privacy issue that I don't want to have to reconcile years
down the line. Now if it's a local competition at an arcade or
bar or something, or an event at a show - that's fine, it's a one-off,
and it should be your observations on such.
See You Next
Game,
David Lundin,
Jr.
Chief Editor /
Contributing Journalist,
The Retrogaming Times
Last edited
09/05/2022
Please submit your articles to our
official
submissions and contact address: trt@classicplastic.net.
Please include the name you would like to be credited under and any
special
instructions.
If
you don't have anything ready at
this time but would like to be on the "issue deadline e-mail list" then
please send a request to trt@classicplastic.net
as well. You can submit your articles at any time and they will
be
added to the next issue.
Content and opinions
contained
within The Retrogaming Times are those of their respective writer(s) -
Published at ClassicPlastic.net
© 2016 - 2022
The Retrogaming
Times. All Related Copyrights and Trademarks Are Acknowledged.
