Okay you’ve wandered around in Somnium Space and feel inspired to start writing for the Somnium Times. Before starting however, follow the general rules below:

You can write about a wide variety of topics, including but not limited to Business, Finance, Technology, Architecture, Entertainment, Events, Fashion, Tutorials, Games, Travel/Tourism, Culture, Art. We all have different interests and it would be best if you choose a few topics you are most passionate about and focus on them. For example, if you are into architecture, write about the wonderful, strange, funny builds you see when you roam Somnium. If you are into crypto and blockchain, write about finance and technology, Cubes, transactions, marketplace. You can also write more reflective pieces, for instance on the impact of VR in general and Somnium Space in particular. Or maybe you are into games? Perhaps you enjoy traveling? Why not see Somnium Space through the eyes of a ‘world traveler’?

You cannot write about Somnium Space features, plans, ideas or anything else that is not publicly announced by Somnium Space/Artur. Note that what Artur writes on Discord is not considered public. If we at Somnium Times are in doubt about whether information should be published or not, we will always consult Somnium Space. Worst case we will not publish your article. As a rule of thumb, leave company news to Somnium Space and do not write about that. Responding to publicly announced company news (for example on Twitter) is of course allowed. For example you can review new features, interview people about the news, etc.

Articles promoting a specific venue, grand opening, concert, etc., will not be accepted under this ‘Talented Writers Fund’ program. This doesn’t mean you can’t write about places and upcoming events in general, but for articles that serve promotional purposes, please reach out to us on Discord and we will help you.

Stick to the general vision and appeal to common sense by Artur and Somnium Space. We accept articles that are informative, positive and help the Somnium Space and Somnium Times communities. We consider ourselves an in-world news agency that covers topics relevant to Somnium Space. We’re not in the business of critical and comparative (e.g. covering multiple VR worlds) journalism. 

If you use text from another site or page always make sure you mention the source of the text. For instance, it is okay to use a paragraph from Wikipedia as long as you under that text indicate the source. Include the link to the page.

If you use an image that you haven’t taken yourself, make sure to ask for permission to use it. Many images that are uploaded to the Somnium Space Discord channels can be useful, but it is good practice to DM the person who uploaded it and ask whether you can use it.

We at Somnium Times do the final formatting of the article. However, please follow some basic rules:

Not too short, not too long – It really depends on the article how many words you need. Some are better of with fewer words and lots of media, while others require more words and less media. As a rule of thumb keep the text between 500-1500 words. If we believe the article is too short and could use some more text, we will get back to you on that.

Always do a spelling and grammar check – Nothing is more annoying and time consuming than correcting spelling and grammar issues that could have been avoided easily by doing a spelling and grammar check. English doesn’t have to be your native language and we’re not judging anyone for mistakes. But basic spelling and grammar issues can easily be detected by Google Docs.

When you are ready to submit make sure you contact us on Discord as described on this page.

Once our staff has acknowledged your wish to get an article published and has DM’ed you, you are ready to submit your article (never do this in a public channel). You are required to submit the following:

• A link to a Google Docs document containing your article – The link should allow our staff to make comments and/or edits

Note that any media (pictures, video’s or links to those) should be part of the document as well. You do not have to spend a lot of time on formatting as final formatting will be handled by us. However, make sure you embed media at the proper locations in your article so that we know how and where to use them.

Remember: Never share the link to the Google Docs article with anyone else than a Somnium Times staff member and only in a DM.

Be very aware of the fact that some time will pass from you submitting your article until it gets published. We will publish at our discretion. Of course, we will look at the topic covered and if we deem it useful to get the article on the front page quickly, we will not hesitate to do that. You do not have to wait for getting your reward in the form of Somnium Cubes. Once we accept your article we will pay you, regardless of when we publish it.