If you’re a writer of any kind or genre—fiction, poetry, journalism, creative nonfiction, etc.—you’ll be happy to hear about the many potential markets for your work in Second Life —way too many to list in a single article, in fact!
In this post, I focus on a periodical market that’s distinctively Second Life and the subject of my last post: magazines you can read like a book while in this 3D virtual world. In that post, I talked about how to read an inworld book.
Above, the THiNC headquarters in Second Life displays the two components involved in “printing” a book: a laid-out book and a printing press. Below, another popular printing press is the IntelliBook Factory. This press uses a similar process, but automates a few more of the steps.
But how do these books get “published”? Simple: inworld books and magazines (i.e., those manufactured like a book you read virtually) are “printed” on “printing presses” invented by the Gutenbergs of Second Life.
Strange, you may be thinking, given the mass, weight, and size of a first-life press. But not really! I grew up in a print shop (my parents published the local newspaper and did job printing at their shop). I played and worked amidst the letterpresses, Linotype machines, and later, offset presses. When I learned about the SL printing process, it actually reminded me a lot of the presses I grew up with (minus the ink-blackened hands, burnt fingers from hot type, and overpowering chemical smells, of course!)
Most inworld magazines and books I’ve seen in Second Life were printed on one of two presses: the THiNC Printing Press or the IntelliBook Factory. The steps for printing on the THiNC press are amazingly similar to the old letterpress operation. It’s only the method each step uses that’s so different:
| Step: | THiNC Printing Press: | Letterpress: |
| Set the type and graphics using: | computer software | metal movable type |
| Lay out each page via: | graphics software | placing metal type into a wooden forme |
| Make a mock-up of the book by: | dragging the electronic files into the 3D master book | creating a papier mache mold of each page’s forme |
| Transfer the mock-up to the press by: | “rezzing” the master book and placing it on the press | clamping the papier mache mold onto the letterpress (one page at a time) |
| Activate the press and print by: | right-clicking your mouse on the press | pushing levers and buttons that move the big rollers (while standing clear of moving parts!! |
So how “real” are these magazines? As real as the cold, hard cash they usually pay contributors! Here’s a quick look at the inworld magazines I’ve encountered in Second Life, most of which do pay their writers!
Literary Journals
Among my favorite are a couple of awesome literary journals:
AnonLiterary Magazine:
According to their call for submissions, AnonLiterary is a monthly publication that aims:
- “To celebrate freedom of speech, freedom of anonymity, and the best writing from residents of Second Life
- “To celebrate our freedom of anonymity in Second Life
- “To celebrate the best fiction, poetry, essays and plays written by the residents of Second Life”
“Material we are interested in publishing includes short fiction, poetry, essays, plays, commentary, experimental forms, and whatever you dream up that we like. Each month will also include a centerfold of the finest erotica SL writers have to offer.”
AnonLiterary also pays for published work. “We pay our writers L$500 a page at this time (we know, it isn’t much, we just want you to know that you are indeed highly valued!). We want new stuff that hasn’t been published before, with rights to publish in-world and online, exclusively for a month.”
sLiterary Magazine:
sLiterary Magazine is another highly regarded literary journal, “a biannual magazine that publishes tasteful and highly selective fictional stories relating to the metaverse of Second Life.”
sLiterary is also paying market, advertising these rates: “For prose, expect payment from L$1 – L$10/word, depending on length and quality. Poetry, from L$100 and up.”
General Interest Magazines
Several other excellent magazines publish a variety of nonfiction articles on many facets of Second Life. Some also publish a small amount of fiction and poetry in each issue. The ones I’ve discovered include:
- 1st Touch, a quarterly periodical that publishes freelance articles offering “inspiring, original work focused on touching our readers through their own experiences with our content.” To see a copy of 1st Touch, you’ll need to pick it up inworld. 1st Touch has a website, but the magazine is not available online (at least not yet).
- The Best of SL, a monthly publication “which celebrates and honors those who have excelled in ANY field in Second Life.” Payment for writers is unknown, and their website is still in development. To view a copy of the magazine, you’ll need to go inworld.
- FreeLife Magazine, a twice-monthly general interest publication, is actively looking for “authors, journalists, photographers, and Second Life experts in News, Business, Fashion, Music and Entertainment to write for the magazine.” FreeLife’s website calls it “the new virtual magazine born in and for the most popular metaworld: Second Life. FreeLife is entirely edited by its inhabitants who tell juicy stories about what happens in their second life: news, events, protagonists and much more.” You can view back issues of FreeLife online.
- Reveal Magazine is a monthly publication of “Stories, News, and Opinions About the Virtual 3D World of Second Life.” Although no payment information is available, it’s a great outlet for publication credits, at least. “Stories, poems, photography, art, fashion, role-play, music, and events are a few of our subjects,” according to the magazine. Reveal Magazine provides an online version of each issue, as well as an inworld one.
Other Inworld Publications
Because Second Life”printing” allows for gorgeous, slick magazines, many of the inworld periodicals focus on style and design. Writers who are interested in freelance or staff writing jobs in Second Life should also take a look at these:
- inV—the men’s guide to fashion, music, and living in Second Life, available in dispensers throughout Second Life
- Second Style
- Runway
The primary rule is the same in both the virtual and real world: Be sure you check submission guidelines and read an issue or two before submitting your work! Some magazines post guidelines on their websites; others in their publications.
Second Life is massive, so I’m assuming there are other inworld publications I know nothing about! Also, SL reflects first life: magazines appear and disappear from the scene on a fairly regular basis. So I’m asking you to let me know if you find other “inworld” magazines and journals, or if you learn any of the ones listed are no longer being published! Please post a comment with that information!
In upcoming posts, I’ll describe other types of SL writing markets, including website-based periodicals, contests, and book publication, so stayed tuned! And if you hear of one you want to know more about, let me know—post a comment here!
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As I know Second Life Inworld Publications are becoming very popular , For your request some major publications for SL:
Girls Night Out with iVillage
Second Style
The Second Life Herald
Wired Travel Guide for Second Life
In the Grid
Some of them are very nice
If you have a chance, check out the Virtual Worlds Press Club release on Media In SL.
@Straw Handbags: Thanks so much for the publications list. There are a few I’ve not heard of before, so I appreciate the referrals.
@Nazz: Thanks, I did discover the the Virtual Worlds Press Club — after I wrote this post. It’s great, and I do plan on writing about it in an upcoming post. Thanks for letting me know about it.
Joan