Now that we have a proper page on here, I'm once again formally opening up pitches for essays and other writing about and adjacent to videogames.
Rates: $150 for 1-2k words
Longer form pitches will be considered on a case-by-case basis with appropriate compensation adjustment, but these are very rare and I'm unlikely to accept them from writers I haven't worked with before. Same goes for smaller pieces (base rate will still apply).
Topics
As always, feel free to send any pitch ideas you feel would fit the site based on our previously published essays, but at a high level I'm currently looking for:
- Essays/reviews for games which have not appeared on Critical Distance
- Series/developer retrospectives for works with a small critical footprint (see "Terraforming Oddworld" and "Transmutations: an owch analysis")
- Creative non-fiction about dead, dying, or undead MMOs (see "6,303 days in quarantine")
- Deep readings of recent releases (see "And there will be no one to cross the Rubicon") NOTE: what recent games will be considered is entirely dependent on my own interest + how unique the pitch/reading is compared to what's already been written as we can't cover everything.
Things not to pitch
Maybe more helpful since I'd generally invite you to try with any idea you feel strongly about. Here are some things I am not currently accepting:
- Primarily autobiographical essays (1st person writing is welcome if it connects to a larger theme/topic)
- Guides and other instructional writing
- Listicles (with rare exception)
- Anything about the following games (it's fine if these come up as related works or in broader essays):
- Baulder Gate's 3
- Fortnite
- any of the Sony flagships
- Starfield
- Cyberpunk
- Activision-Blizzard games
- most games described as souls-likes
Pitches can be sent to contact@kritiqal.com. Please review the Pitch Guide for complete instructions and expectations for how the process will work. Looking forward to hearing from you!