Singles Proposal Guide

Singles Proposal Guide

In keeping with the mission of Play Story Press™ to engage in an impactful dialogue with scholars, practitioners, and the general public by publishing timely, well-researched, and thoughtful analysis of the impact of play and story and their significance in society, we have our Singles imprint.

These are “why it matters” books. Singles give authors a chance to take academic research, practical case studies, or keynotes and other talks, and bring them to a wider audience.

The ideal single is written by an expert who has an idea they want to explain but who isn’t interested in (or ready to write) a book-length project. In other words, Singles are akin to novellas in fiction or chapbooks in poetry. They exist somewhere between a long New Yorker article and a concise book, or roughly 8,000-25,000 words. (But the length can — and does — vary.)

Elements of a Single

A strong Single will be authoritative in substance, but casual in writing style. We expect these Singles to have a basis in scholarly, creative, or practical research, but these aren’t academic journal articles. Instead, the Single is meant to bring that knowledge and authority to a wider audience.

As such, Single authors should:

  • Write in the first-person
  •  Address the central thesis for a general audience
  •  Focus on the impact of the thesis or idea for a general audience

Single authors should not:

  • Use a great number of in-text citations, footnotes, or endnotes
  • Focus on literature review, methodology, or findings
  • Include a great number of charts, equations, and tables. (Stephen Hawking’s editor once famously said about A Brief History of Time that the scientist would halve his audience with every equation he used. Only one equation — E = mc^2 — appears in the book.)

Well Played Single

In conjunction with the Play Press Singles imprint, Well Played supports Singles as well. While the Well Played Journal continues to release calls for participation for thematically cohesive issues on a regular basis, Well Played Singles can be proposed and submitted at any time.

There are three elements of a Well Played Singles:

  • Focus on a specific game
  • Through a rigorous in-depth analysis of the gameplay experience
  • While also articulating why the game is important and matters to the field and culture at large.

Authors interested in proposing a Well Played Single should follow Play Story Press Submission Guidelines and Well Played Style Guide and submit a brief proposal first, and then once approved, write and submit a Single for review, edits, and publication.

Contributors are encouraged:

  • To provide a historical and cultural context for the game and analyze sequences in a game in detail;
  • In order to illustrate and interpret how the various components of a game can come together to create a fulfilling playing experience unique to this medium; and
  • They should they should articulate why the game is important and highlights the value of games.

Please note, singles aren’t long academic research papers, you don’t need to do a literature review or detailed methodology overview. These can be included in an appendix, but Well Played Singlesise about the experience and importance of playing games.

As with the three Well Played books and journal issues, the term “well played” is being used in three senses. On the one hand, well played is to games as well read is to books. So, a person who reads books a lot is “well read” and a person who plays games a lot is “well played.” On the other hand, well played as in well done. So, a hand of poker can be “well played” by a person, and a game can be “well played” by the development team. And Jose Zagal articulated a third way of considering well played in an ethical sense. So, players should consider how to play well in terms of not cheating, and developers should consider how to make games that treat players respectfully.

Contributors are encouraged to look at video games through these senses of “well played.” So, with well played as in well read, contributors are looking closely at the experience of playing a game. And with well played as in well done, contributors are looking at a game in terms of how well it is designed and developed. And with well played in an ethic sense, how players and developers are acting ethically around creatiing and playing games.

Video games are a complex medium that merits careful interpretation and insightful analysis. By inviting contributors to submit singles that look closely at video games and the experience of playing them and their importance and value in our culture, we hope to expand the discussion, and show how games are well played in a variety of ways.

Pitching Your Single

If you have an idea that you think might fit, please send Play Press Editors an email.