Life & Work with Janet Garcia of The Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janet Garcia

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve loved video games all my life. Growing up, I developed an affinity for writing as well. But it wasn’t until my Junior or Senior year of college that I started writing about video games. At first, it was just for fun. I reviewed mobile games on a volunteer basis. I liked it so I went on to write for another site, still for free, but this time about the wider gaming landscape: writing news and reviews of console games.

Sometime after that, I started a podcast with my friend Jess. At this point, I was really falling for the field of games media but I was about to graduate with a teaching degree so I tried that out first. In my dream world, I’d be able to balance both but it was too hard to make significant progress as a writer and content creator while teaching so I quit after a year or so to pursue games media.

6 years later, I’m still here and still in love with it. I have my own website (pentopixels.com), a Patreon to support my work, a Twitch channel for streaming, and I guest on several podcasts (The MinnMax Show and Remap Radio). On top of that, I also have my own podcasts (The Indie Council and The Gangcast). Lastly, I do mock reviews for studios who want a sense of how critics will react to their game before it is out.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Gut reaction: hell no. Longer reaction: actually, it hasn’t been too bad.

The games media landscape is dire. Exploitation runs rampant and there are seemingly fewer jobs than ever. I know a lot of people’s stories and I can’t help but be grateful for how my career has gone. I started doing this line of work, exclusively, in 2018 and haven’t had to stop. I’ve never had to work a side job. So while I am not where I’d like to be financially the fact that I am out here, living, and even taking a vacation here and there is sadly a blessing most only dream of.

The hardest part of my career was when I was first starting out: writing 100 news stories a month for $500 before taxes and writing reviews for $25 a game. My rent was $600 so it was tough to even make that. I was constantly borrowing money from my brother and then repaying it if I ever got a good gig so I never got to enjoy a dollar I made during that time. I was broke, exhausted, and ruining my credit score.

As far as other hardships, besides financial, it’s a lot of work. Games can be 20-40 hours long and there are a lot of games to play before you even get to sit down and write, edit, record, etc. So it’s a lot of work so that you can do more work and by the time you’re done you’re already behind or missed out on other work.

There is always more you can be doing so you have to figure out when to push yourself and when to stop.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a game critic, content creator, host, and video game consultant. I’m most known for podcasting because I’m currently on 4 podcasts and have podcasted throughout my career so a lot of my audience first learned of me that way. But a runner-up is my writing on my website Pen to Pixels.

One of my specialties is video game consulting where I write a mock review for a game before that game goes out to press. I think it’s a peak example of all my skills coming together at once: game criticism, writing, and general communication (when it comes to follow-up Zoom calls or emails asking for more insights on the project). Studios use mock reviews to get a sense of what critics might say in their reviews and how the public might receive a game and they use it to strategize marketing beats and even make changes to the game before they send it out.

I’m most proud of my writing and, while I haven’t done as much of it as I’d like to, my ability to make engaging short-form videos (when I can find all the editing hours).

I think what sets me apart from others is my drive and intensity. If I could keep working without taking a break I probably would.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
You can email me at [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pentopixels.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Gameonysus

Image Credits
Ally Almore