How To Get Your Article Published In The Neopian Times

by snowie_babe

Many Neopians submit articles, stories, commentaries, critiques and exposé to the Neopian Times everyday. Only a small fraction of all those stories submitted actually are accepted and put into the times. I have had articles rejected many times but I always persist! I have already gotten one in. It was called "Who Wants To Be A Neomillionaire?" It was a help article and this one is too! For all those people who never got their articles in and for those thinking about trying here is what you need to know! Although many of the articles that are not accepted are very well written, interesting and original there is something that makes the chosen ones stand out. Now I'm really not sure what the exact criteria is but I will attempt to tell you as best I can, how to get your article accepted or at least give you a fighting chance!

1) Before you even start to write your article, you will need something to write about! Maybe you excel at a particular game or run a successful shop or guild or want to express an opinion or idea. Write about something you know about and you'll have tons to write! Once you know what you want to write about check past Neopian Times for articles with the same theme, idea etc. The last thing you want to do is copy an old article or write an article about something that has already been written about! One thing not to do is write about something that has nothing to do with NeoPets because it's most likely it will not get accepted. It has to be about something others are familiar with.

2) If your idea is okay, then start to brainstorm things that you could write about. Rack your brain until you have enough good ideas to fill your article. Make the ideas relevant to the topic and they should make sense and be true! Also, you should know what events are currently happening on NeoPets. That really helps.

3) Now write your article. Look at your ideas. Put them into groups that you can talk about and get writing! Make a couple of drafts and be constantly rewriting and revising what it says to make it the best article you possibly can! Once you think you are done, look at your article. Read it over a couple of more times. Make sure it's a good length. You don't wan't it to be too short or too long. Short articles often don't have enough information or supporting points but if written well, short stories still can work out. Long articles are a little harder to get around. Readers can easily lose interest and get bored. Some will skip parts or even skip the whole thing. People shouldn't be overwhelmed by the length but again, if written well, long articles can work out.

4) The title is definitely one of the most important aspects of your entire story. It's the first thing people will see and many will decide whether or not to read your article based on your title. It should introduce your topic briefly but be cool and catchy and leave the person wanting to read the article. Don't make your title until you have finished writing the article.

5) Write about appropriate topics. Most Neopians don't enjoy reading articles of somebody complaining about being poor or complaining about the poor. While putting opinions about these things and others can be okay, don't write an entire article about it. And don't even bother writing an article including cheats or anything that would be considered illegal in Neopia because, DUH, it's obviously not allowed in an article either and you are risking getting frozen if you do this!

6) This is the final point but just as important as the others. Simple things like spelling mistakes, incorrect grammar and improper use of punctuation really reduces your chances. Make sure you go through and edit EVERYTHING! Many times using the spell check will not work as well as a person can. One more thing to remember: include your user name! It's most likely that NeoPets won't publish your work if they don't know who wrote it. And even if they do you won't get the credit or that nice shiny trophy!

Well I hope this has helped everyone and to all who submit articles, I wish you the best of luck!