If you’re interested in writing an article for Dark Magenta, we’d love to see what ideas you have in your head. Reading over the following paragraphs should help you work out what needs to be done before submitting an article.
Disclaimer
Before you put finger to keyboard, you should know that, if your article is accepted for publication, you are handing over copyright and all rights to the material to Dark Magenta. You will, of course be fully credited for your work should we publish it. Unless specifically commissioned, all submitted articles are unpaid.
Unlike Fanatic Online, the act of submitting an article to Dark Magenta does not constitute a handing over of copyright. Copyright is handed over if we choose to publish the article. If an article is not published by Dark Magenta, then copyright remains with the author, and the article may be published elsewhere.
If you are happy to continue then the next stage is to consider the subject matter and content of your submission. There are a few pertinent questions you need to ask yourself about the article you are planning, before you begin typing.
Is this article about the Inquisitor game?
This may sound frightfully obvious, but Dark Magenta is a publication about the Inquisitor game system. We do not accept submissions focusing on any other game system, Games Workshop based or otherwise. Furthermore, we are not interested in articles outlining the exploits of inquisitors or others in games of Warhammer 40,000, Battlefleet Gothic, or Epic 40,000. While these games may, of course, be mentioned in articles, the body of the piece must be about the Inquisitor game system.
What should I write about?
We have a wide selection of article subjects that we would consider to be acceptable. A deliberately inexhaustive list, given in no particular order, is:
- Battle Reports, Scenarios, or Campaigns.
- Modelling, Painting or Terrain Building Masterclasses.
- Personal Opinion, Letters or Replies to previous articles.
- Fan Reviews of events, tournaments etc.
- Imaginative Character Archetypes.
- Fan Fiction in an Inquisitor context – think Eisenhorn, not Gaunt’s Ghosts.
What shouldn't I write about?
Articles suggesting 'official' new core rules (e.g. “I think the awareness rules should work like this…”) or rewritten versions of the game are not needed as these are already covered by the Fanatic Studio Rules Review process. If we choose to enter into this area in an unofficial capacity, articles will be by invitation only.
Articles that simply list long tables of new skills or equipment with no context are boring – don’t do it. If you have an idea a new skill, weapon or piece of equipment, insert it into a larger article where it is appropriate.
Don’t give us articles transposing standard Warhammer 40,000 troop types into Inquisitor. Saying, “Here are my rules for a Tau Fire Warrior”, will not get you published.
How long does the article need to be?
There is no stipulated word count for a Dark Magenta article – you are free to take up as much space as you see fit to get your point across. Please note, however, that articles submitted to Dark Magenta are read by three levels of editor before being fully accepted. If any of these editors gets bored reading your piece, then it won’t get accepted! In other words, use as many words as you need, not as many words as you want…
Terms and Conditions
Important - Please read and make sure you understand the following points before submitting your work to us.
- All material submitted to Dark Magenta for publication is only accepted on the assumption that, if published the copyright in the article is unconditionally assigned by the author as beneficial owner and with full title guarantee to Dark Magenta.
- We also reserve the right to edit and/or amend all material as we see fit.
- If you do not wish to assign copyright in this way, please do not send us your submission.
- Note that the act of submission in itself does not guarantee publication.
- The editor's decision is final.
- Articles that are not published will be returned to the author, and the copyright of said article remains with the author in such cases.
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Is it appropriate to and in keeping with the game's background?
As the Fanatic Studio point out, Games Workshop has spent many years developing and refining its award winning Intellectual Property (background, characters and other intangible images and text), and we have no interest in damaging that.
More than any other game, Inquisitor players have a deep-rooted love of the Warhammer 40,000 mythos and imagery, which is why they play a game that lets them delve deeply into that mythos. Every member of the Dark Magenta editorial board is a fanatical Inquisitor gamer, and we will not accept articles that we deem to jar with established background canon.
Do you accept articles about 28 mm Inquisitor gaming?
There is no hard-and-fast rule about this. In general, we would like, and will favour, articles that deal with the “correct” scale for Inquisitor – 54mm. Pictures accompanying articles, for example, should show 54 mm models. Any scenarios or campaigns that are clearly not designed for 54 mm scale will most likely be rejected.
What we are quite happy to accept would be discursive articles looking at the pros and cons of 28 mm Inquisitor, for example, or arguing the case for one or the other.
Basically, if your article in 28 mm scale could in any way be construed as a Warhammer 40,000 piece as opposed to an Inquisitor piece, then we’ll reject it. If in doubt, write articles that are clearly designed with 54 mm gaming in mind.
How do I increase my chances of getting published?
To have an excellent chance of us accepting your submission, be able to show that you’ve tested your ideas to some degree, and be sure to write a “complete” article. For example, if you’re outlining a new character archetype, a basic submission would be the background, the random stat-lines and a sample character. A considerable improvement would be to include pictures of the converted model for your sample character, and a true winner would be to also include a conversion article, outlining how you went about putting together and converting the model you’ve shown.
Pictures are always going to improve and help an article, be they of models,
a battle or a convention you’ve attended. Please, make sure they’re of a decent
quality, though…
What if I’ve submitted to Fanatic Online?
This is an important consideration – according to the submission guidelines outlined for Fanatic Online, if you have submitted an article to them, regardless of whether or not it has been or is going to be published, then they own the copyright for that article.
Therefore, if you have submitted an article to Fanatic Online, we cannot accept the article for publication in Dark Magenta.
How do I submit work to Dark Magenta?
The first step is to type out your article. We prefer work submitted in Mircosoft Word but will look at submissions in any compatible word processing programme (i.e. a .doc or a .txt file) We do not accept hand written or typed submissions - we will need access to a digital copy of your work.
All articles should be written in English.
Make every effort to set out your article neatly and consistently. A badly-presented article can mean that an editor finds it hard to follow what you’re saying, and therefore rejects your work. Please give every article a title, followed by the author's name then a brief description of the article's subject. You may then launch into the body text of the article itself.
Any picture scans, maps or diagrams should accompany the submission as separate files. Do not embed them in the Word file although indicate in the text of the article where they should go (use of a different coloured font helps). When taking your pictures think of the composition - make sure that the majority of models are facing toward the camera and, most importantly, the picture is in focus.
Pictures should be submitted as JPEG files.
Once you have decided on the topic and typed it out in the correct formatting, then you need to go over it a couple of times with a red pen. Never submit a first draft! Microsoft Word has a passable spelling and grammar check function – use that even if you do nothing else! It is best to go over the entire document at least twice, and you may with to try leaving your work for at least 24 hours and then reading it through fresh eyes. Getting a friend to read and critique the article is also an excellent idea. Be aware that an article full of spelling mistakes and bad grammar will most likely be rejected!
In the same manner as Fanatic Online, authors are invited to include a small biography for inclusion in the article, with an accompanying photo of themselves if they please.
Once you are happy with your article, the submission process is easy:
- Send your article as an attachment (along with any images) to submissions@darkmagenta.co.uk.
- Put the article title in the subject line, accompanied by a brief description of the article in the body of the e-mail.
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