Posting to Cliqist

After years spent dreaming of low pay and community disdain you’ve finally decided to become a games journalist. Diving into games writing has never been easier, but if you’re still not sure how to get started writing for Cliqist, this handy formatting guide is for you. If you’re not sure how to get started with writing you probably should check out our Style Guide to get some tips.

In this guide we’ll cover all the keys to getting your articles properly set-up for editor approval. This just covers the most basic formatting setups. If you feel like your article doesn’t fit within these guidelines then check out previous articles or ask in the Discord about your specific issue. Chances are someone will be able to help you figure it out.

650 is a good width for pictures inside of articles. Featured images can be larger, but try to keep it under 1000.

Here’s the backend on WordPress. Looks exciting right? The first thing you’ll want to do is come up with a catchy title for your article. Try to put something that will grab a reader’s attention and explain what they can expect from the article. You want interesting, but not obnoxious click-bait.

For Subheadings Set text to Heading 2 & Center

Next, let’s take a look at sentence structure. Take a gander at the paragraphs above and one of the first things you’re likely to notice is that they are relatively short. Aim for approximately 3-4 sentences in each paragraph and start a new paragraph each time you make a new point.

Even if a point is related you can usually split it off to it’s own paragraph to break up walls of text. This keeps readers from zoning out halfway into your article. In journalism you want to convey the maximum amount of information with the lowest possible word count.

Game titles are always italicized inside the article

Okay, so you’ve got a catchy headline and short, informative sentences. Now you’ll want to break up the text even more by adding some pictures and subheadings. Subheadings are particularly valuable because they make the article’s readability score go up. This makes the editor’s job easier which in turn increases your chances of becoming a paid games journalist.

As a rule of thumb it’s a good idea to add a picture after the first two paragraphs and then every 3-4 subsequent ones.

Sometimes you’ll want to include a quote in your article. If it’s an especially interesting one you can make it into a blockquote to draw the reader’s attention to it.

“Try not to use overly long or boring quotes here, you want something that stands out.”

Finish things off with a conclusion that drives home your point or gives the reader additional information. Try to avoid the “boilerplate” ending like you typically see in press releases where you just list off the game’s platforms, prices, and promises. Instead let readers know where they can find out more about this game or others like it. Link to our previous coverage or the game’s website and storefront.

You can add a YouTube video instead of a static image by dropping its link right into WordPress.

Before submitting your work be sure to add a strong focus keyword below and tags to the right. At bare minimum your tags should include the name of the game, developer or publisher’s name, and genre. Try to think of what words a reader might search for to find this game (or one like it) and toss those in as well.

Once your masterpiece is ready for prime time click ‘Submit For Review’ and one of our editors will get it published in short order. Editors will make basic corrections, and also ensure nothing too inappropriate gets posted.

This doesn’t cover every aspect of posting to Cliqist and New Normative, but if you follow the guidelines above you’ll undoubtedly come out of the experience a better person. Have a question? Head over to Discord!