allenfrisch
01-03-2005, 10:25 AM
I'm looking for more information on breaking into the field of video game journalism. So far I've found only two paths to this goal that seem really practical:
1. I could get a job writing for a video game magazine or video game website. I've found that a number of problems have presented themselves. First, it isn't easy to figure out to whom I should send a résumé and samples of my work at established video game magazine publishers and video game websites. Secondly, I don't personally know anyone who works in this field who would be able to guide me in the right direction. And finally, I live in southern New Jersey on the East Coast. I'm pretty sure that the majority of gaming publications are located in the vicinity of where video games are made--namely, on the West Coast around the San Fransisco Bay area.
2. So the other route I'm looking into is building my own commercial website from the bottom up. I feel I've got some good ideas and enough original content to bring in the masses. I have even built the shell of the site itself. However, I'm at a loss as to how to bring it all together to make the site pay for itself and help me provide for my family. My vision is to offer folks a site where they pay a reasonable fee to gain access to information, games, and other content they wouldn't be able to find elsewhere on the internet. However, I have been unsuccessful in finding the means of putting such a site together.
I have read a few books and googled my fingers off to learn all that I could about website creation, but have found nothing on how to allow people to pay me a small fee to access my goods. There are a lot of resources out there which will teach you how to sell merchandise on the internet but not much about setting up a membership-based site.
I would welcome any advice the members of this forum could provide. I'm really not looking for an easy way to strike it rich. I'm well aware that video game journalists work long, hard hours and generally earn pretty meager salaries. But I'd give my left arm to be paid for doing the two things I love most in the world: playing video games and writing about them!
One helpful resource I've come across recently is www.gamedreamz.com (http://www.gamedreamz.com). Budding video game journalists will find some good advice regarding the topic of this thread. Unfortunately, many of the tutorials are incomplete and weren't able to answer all my questions.
Please let me know your thoughts!
1. I could get a job writing for a video game magazine or video game website. I've found that a number of problems have presented themselves. First, it isn't easy to figure out to whom I should send a résumé and samples of my work at established video game magazine publishers and video game websites. Secondly, I don't personally know anyone who works in this field who would be able to guide me in the right direction. And finally, I live in southern New Jersey on the East Coast. I'm pretty sure that the majority of gaming publications are located in the vicinity of where video games are made--namely, on the West Coast around the San Fransisco Bay area.
2. So the other route I'm looking into is building my own commercial website from the bottom up. I feel I've got some good ideas and enough original content to bring in the masses. I have even built the shell of the site itself. However, I'm at a loss as to how to bring it all together to make the site pay for itself and help me provide for my family. My vision is to offer folks a site where they pay a reasonable fee to gain access to information, games, and other content they wouldn't be able to find elsewhere on the internet. However, I have been unsuccessful in finding the means of putting such a site together.
I have read a few books and googled my fingers off to learn all that I could about website creation, but have found nothing on how to allow people to pay me a small fee to access my goods. There are a lot of resources out there which will teach you how to sell merchandise on the internet but not much about setting up a membership-based site.
I would welcome any advice the members of this forum could provide. I'm really not looking for an easy way to strike it rich. I'm well aware that video game journalists work long, hard hours and generally earn pretty meager salaries. But I'd give my left arm to be paid for doing the two things I love most in the world: playing video games and writing about them!
One helpful resource I've come across recently is www.gamedreamz.com (http://www.gamedreamz.com). Budding video game journalists will find some good advice regarding the topic of this thread. Unfortunately, many of the tutorials are incomplete and weren't able to answer all my questions.
Please let me know your thoughts!