Neopian Times Knowledge and Pointers
Mar 18, 2019 12:54:44 GMT -5
Kengplant, Twillie, and 3 more like this
Post by Huntress on Mar 18, 2019 12:54:44 GMT -5
Whoops, I meant to make this thread well over a week ago and it's probably way overdue as it is. It's occurred to me that for a Neopian Times Writer's Forum, we really don't have a single consolidated thread for the ins and outs of navigating the (often messy) world of NT submissions. The closest we have is the NT No-nos thread, which is mostly about discussing specific cases and largely guesswork since we no longer have NT staff onboard.
Basically, I'm trying to see if we can turn "general knowledge" and "things we've learned the hard way" into a single thread of reference. Specifically, I mean things like:
And then there's information about things that are and aren't allowed in the NT, for which there's a convenient Help page that I dug up via convoluted roundabout means and thus could probably use linking directly. Although I've gotten the impression that they're not very well versed in their own rules and workings these days, so things that used to be no-no might now soar past the radar; I've particularly seen more technology slipping into comics.
Other resources:
Comic Resizing
NT No-nos
Basically, I'm trying to see if we can turn "general knowledge" and "things we've learned the hard way" into a single thread of reference. Specifically, I mean things like:
- Square bracket formatting - when formatting your story, use [ ] instead of < > because the submission form will snack on angle brackets like they're, iunno, carrots or something. Neopets also has a basic HTML guide to learn text formatting; just be sure to replace their carrot brackets with square for any NT entries.
*brick'd*
The exact opposite was advised in the Editorial of Issue 858 and people suspect that to be misinformation.
- Images - If you'd like to include images in a written submission, simply place the image's url where you'd like it in the story. The editor will take care of formatting, so you don't need to worry about that part. Images outside of Neopets can be used.
- Comic thumbnails - the form snacks on those as well. Submit a thumbnail link in the comments section instead. They can be .png as well as .jpg or .gif, and there doesn't seem to be a file size limit for them.
- Submission times - aka how long should I wait before I can start worrying? Currently, Stone is trying a new format where the submissions backlog is cleared every two weeks after a new issue is published. This means that if you submitted something in the two weeks before a publication and did not hear back, you will want to resubmit. Do note, however, that people have reported their entries still being in the system preventing them from resubmitting with the same title, so you may need to slightly modify the title for a resubmission.
- Holdovers - There are currently no holdover or rejection messages, and instead any submissions not accepted into the latest NT issue will be cleared out and need resubmitting.
- Contacting the editor - How to contact creative contest staff update (source: TNT Stone)
- broader questions that multiple people would benefit from hearing the answer to, such as questions concerning submission timeframes or themes and content, had best be sent through the Editorial
- neomail should be reserved for individual situations such as problems to fix with specific entries, keeping in mind that an answer may take time as staff are all fairly busy
- questions regarding the Neopian Times can be addressed to tnt_stone and tnt_adler
- questions regarding other writing contests can be addressed mainly to tnt_adler.
- Comic series continuity - According to the 976 Editorial, comic series are not guaranteed continued publication while running, and they may be skipped between weeks. The most common reason for skipping is coinciding with a holiday issue and not matching its theme. For now, you can try theming each part to their anticipated week if need be.
- Non-English entries- Non-English entries are currently allowed in the NT.
- Technology- As of Issue 946's Editorial, technology is being allowed in Neopian Times submissions. The NT rules page hasn't been updated yet, but after messaging Mac asking about this, they said they'd pass that info on to the person responsible for editing the page. They also said that they're pretty liberal when it comes to what kind of technology, but that you can ask if you're unsure about including something.
- Your ad here - aka what else is there in the same vein that I might not know about but is useful intel for hapless authors?
Other resources:
Comic Resizing
NT No-nos