Writing for The Steampunk Workshop
Steampunk Workshop is looking for articles and writers. We are looking to move away from a short-form blog format and wish to publish more substantive articles relevant to steampunk and maker culture.We going to start out offering $50 per article (1000-2000 words) and will happily negotiate more if you have a juicy subject. We have budget for 1-2 articles per month and may buy a month or two ahead. Yeah, we’re a small outfit.
If you would like to write for us please read these guidelines:
● Pitch us your story idea! Of course we love build articles so if you’ve made something awesome we would love to see it but not all articles have to be builds. SPWS is a site that covers things that steampunks like, not necessarily steampunk things. Fashion, culture, making, art, sewing, music, and more are all fodder for articles. Even stuff that's wildly off topic are cool, as long as you can relate it in some way to steampunk, maker culture, or counter culture in general. At this time we are not considering works of fiction but that may change in the future. We want to emphasize that the idea is to pull new ideas into steampunk, not evangelize.
● Link us to your published writing or send us a sample! Show us what you’ve done in the past, and more importantly, that you can indeed write.
● Pictures! We are a big believers in the adage that “every blog post needs at least one image.” Images need to be your copyright or Creative Commons with proper attribution. Images have to also be engaging and germain to the rest of the article. Tell us about how you’ll illustrated your article. Please send us the highest resolution images you have.
● Copyright and exclusivity: You retain copyright on your work. What we purchase is the right to publish it in perpetuity and the exclusive right to publish it for 30 days. In other words if we buy your article you must sit on it for 30 days after we publish it at SteampunkWorkshop.com and thereafter you may do with it as you will. If we buy an article and don’t publish it our right to exclusivity expires after 1 year.
● Links: You are welcome to link your own personal site and any site directly relevant to the piece. No paid links of any type and no advertising. That said, it’s perfectly fine to write about a cool company doing neat things, even if it is your own company! We are not opposed to commerce but we are anti-capitalist with anarchic tendencies. Keep that in mind.
● Don'ts:
- No "definition of steampunk" pieces.
- No linkfests.
- Don't write in over-wrought psuedo-Victorian speak, we hates it.
- No guns. This is a long standing rule. For the record we believe in the right to keep and bear arms, but we are deeply uncomfortable around people brandishing fake guns no matter how outlandish.
Your pitch should outline where you want to go with the article. Like a painters sketch, it should be a complete representation of the subject, just without the detail and supporting light and shadow. Here's a short example:
Dear Editor:
I would like to write an article for you about social networking, fashion, and computer added manufacturing. I'll explore the connections between these topics, tell you why I think it's important, and make some predictions about what these new technologies will do to the fashion industry (hint: it willl mirror what's happend to the music industry.
I expect the piece to be about 1500 words and include one or two images.
Here are some articles I've had published in the past:
http://makeprojects.com/Project/The+Wimshurst+Influence+Machine/1267/1#.UP2Mbxo701I
And then the article you submit would look something like this:
http://steampunkworkshop.com/connections-fashion-social-networking-and-fabbing
If we like what you propose to write about and think it’s in line with what we offer here at Steampunk Workshop we’ll commission the article and pay you upon receipt of the text and images.
PayPal is our preferred method of payment but we can make other arrangements if necessary.
You are welcome to submit a previously unpublished article in it’s entirety on speculation, but it may not be what we are looking for and please don’t be upset if we decide to pass.
If you would like to write for us please contact: editor@steampunkworkshop.com
Cheers!
Jake, et al.
Articles:
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Comments
Possible flaws with proposition
I noticed a few flaws in your philosophy that may tend to drive potential writers away from your site in favor of other forums/media. I am writing you this not so much as a critic, but as a disinterested third party who hopes to help you succeed by pointing out weak joints in the mechanism.
The most problematic comment that would drive people away is: "We are not opposed to commerce but we are anti-capitalist with anarchic tendencies." This single line may be the stake in the heart of your enterprise. The Steampunk movement, with its close association with the Victorian era, is based on both capitalism and industrialism. The reason many people love Steampunk is not only because they have cool toys and clothes, but the industrial rationale that pervades the meme gives people a sense of solidarity and a way to imagine a more meaningful time. Many people are dissolutioned by the solid state technology of our day and long for the skill and dedication of workmanship portrayed by the Steampunk model. On top of this, the Victorian aspect hearkens people back to a time when social etiquette, elegance and capitalist pride where the driving forces behind every aspect of daily life. I don't mean to contradict your anarchist tendancy (I'm sure we all feel this way sometimes), but Steampunk is inherently industrial, and therefore, inherently capitalist. Creation is driven by the thoughts of the end gain--the goal of bettering one's life and condition through invention and mercantilism.
"No "definition of steampunk" pieces." The problem with this is that without a definition, would-be adherents don't know what they're adhereing to and therefore shy away due to lack of knowledge. People fear what they do not understand, and the only way to draw people in is to paint a picture of what the thing really is, and why they want to be a part of it.
"Don't write in over-wrought psuedo-Victorian speak, we hates it." As I said before, one of the main draws to Steampunk is the Victorian elegance that pervades it. Many of those interested don't want to PLAY at Steampunk, they want to live it, and in doing so they must have the freedom to express themselves in a manner in keeping with the genre. You might have a personal distaste for posh Victorian eloquence, but the vast majority of the population in America crave it. Why else would BBC be so popular in this country? It allows people to experience the aura of a more refined time and feel thoroughly cultured in doing so. Granted, there are those who can severely overdo in with their posh vernacular, so I to am against the "overwrought", but dissallowing all "psuedo-Victorian speak" may alienate a good sized portion of your prospective followers.
All in all, though I think the mechanism behind this proposition may need some honing, I think it only fair to open the discussion to interested parties who may want to voice their opinion also.
All the best,
Vanya
Interest, but is an age limit in place?
I do not mean to be a dead weight, and i do have a couple of ideas, but is there a age limit on the article write up, and if so, what is it.
At the current time, i am 15, turning 16.
No age limit, though payment
No age limit, though payment might have to go through a parent or gaurdian, I suppose.