Tag: video game journalism

Should You Work for Free When Starting Out in Video Game Journalism?

This question was asked to me in response to my call for questions on Instagram Stories. You can ask me questions directly or email questions at gameindustryguides@gmail.com (I will never share who asked). These FAQ posts will be filed under the Ask Gameonysus Category of my blog.

Would you recommend doing unpaid work/writing articles for free to grow your resume/CV?

– Asked via Instagram 

No. 

Anything you can do for free you can do for yourself or for someone who pays you which means no one needs to work for free in order to grow their resume. 

However, I did work for free so I think it’s important for me to discuss that experience. It’s funny because before writing this post I wasn’t completely against the idea of working for free. I thought, “sure, I did it and it was great.” But it turns out that view was skewed by my own false memory. I thought I worked for free when I was first starting out, but I actually worked for free before I really got started.

It wasn’t until I sat down to write this post that I realized I only worked for free because I didn’t know if I wanted to do this. So if you know you want to do this, I do not recommend you work for free.

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Do You Need Internship Experience to Work in Video Game Journalism?

This question was asked to me in response to my call for questions on Instagram Stories. You can ask me questions directly or email questions at gameindustryguides@gmail.com (I will never share who asked). These FAQ posts will be filed under the Ask Gameonysus Category of my blog.

How important is internship experience when getting a job in the industry?

Question asked via Instagram

It’s not. 

Continue reading “Do You Need Internship Experience to Work in Video Game Journalism?” →
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How do you stand out when there are thousands of people going for your same dream?

This question was asked to me in response to my call for questions on Instagram Stories. You can ask me questions directly or email questions at gameindustryguides@gmail.com (I will never share who asked). These FAQ posts will be filed under the Ask Gameonysus Category of my blog.

How do you stand out when there are thousands of people going for your same dream?

Asked via Instagram

Try not to think about it too much.

Don’t Think Competitively

I’m a big believer in seeing my peers as community members instead of competitors, even when we “compete” for traffic. Make your goal being the best but don’t get caught up on being better than others specifically. Focus on being the best (you can be). Not being better than others because, let’s face it, you’ll never be better than everyone.

The truth is you never know who you’re up against. Not getting a job, opportunity, or pitch doesn’t always mean that you or your idea is a bad fit. It could just mean someone else had more sauce.

So my first piece of advice is to shift that mindset.

Practical Tips for Standing Out 

Secondly, to me the best way to stand out is, to make a list of every “required skill” and “preferred skill” out there. Then start getting those skills.

Continue reading “How do you stand out when there are thousands of people going for your same dream?” →
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If You Want to Write About Video Games for a Living – You Have to Love Writing (And Everything Else that Comes With the Job)

When I first considered pursuing video game journalism for a living, I made it a point to seek out advice and hear as many success stories as possible to get a sense of what it took and what some people’s paths looked like. One day, while doing this, I came across a video from Alanah Pearce (writer, host, podcaster, voice actor, and creator of many other forms of video game content). The video was called How I Got My Job at IGN, coincidentally she recently mentioned this video on her Instagram story. In it, she said if you want to write about video games, you have to love writing – not just video games. Below is a direct quote.

I think there are a lot of people who want to work in games media because they like games rather than because they like writing. I never want to discourage anyone from trying to learn a new skill or improve at something but if don’t like writing or only want to write about games, it might not be for you. You might want to consider all of the other things there are to do in games that you have historically been good at or are passionate about.

– Alanah Pearce, How I Got My Job at IGN (YouTube)
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A Working Introduction

Welcome to my new blog: game industry guides! Here, I’ll answer the most frequently asked questions I get about video game journalism and content creation to the best of my abilities and post advice on things I’m rarely directly asked about (such as leveraging social media) but that are equally – if not more – important. So here’s a bit about who I am, why I’m doing this, and why you should follow along.

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