Understanding Editorial Guidelines
by:
Bonnie Jo Davis
Editorial guidelines, as well best-known as writer's guidelines, are the rules set forth by publishers for causative authors. In order to have your article taken seriously you must review the guidelines prior to submission. It is as well advisable
that you review previous editions of the publication to get a better feel for the types of articles favored by the editor(s).
Outlined below are the typical issues covered in editorial guidelines on
with their definitions and any additional information you should know.
Length of article: The minimum and maximum word count of articles considered for publication. Online articles are commonly expected to be 750 to 1,000 words patch off-line publications wish often accept a longer article.
Topics: The subjects of articles accepted by the publication. Ne'er
submit an off topic article as this is really annoying and may result in further submissions from you being banned.
Illustrations/Photographs: Several publications require/accept illustrations or photographs and wish commonly specify the size and format required for acceptance.
Editorial style: Consistency and accuracy governs the use of a style designated by the editorial department of a publication. Many a publications require the use of the Associated Press Stylebook which covers spelling, capitalization, grammar, punctuation and usage.
Author Photograph: Several publications require or accept a photograph of the author commonly enclosed
with the submission of the article. Guidelines wish often cover the size and format of photographs.
Byline length: As well best-known as an author account or resource box. Several publications have certain requirements for length, characters per line and what or how more contact information can be included.
Payment: Your byline is often the only payment you wish obtain for your article. However, several publications (particularly those in print) pay for articles by the word or per article.
Rights: Governs whether or not the publication wish accept innovational or reprinted articles, how long they plan to use the material and whether the article can be used elsewhere at the same time.
Query requirement: A query is a letter written to the editor that proposes an article topic and asks permission to submit. Several publications require that you query the editor (by e-mail, fax or mail) prior to forwarding your article.
Submission methods: Methods of submissions may include via fax, e-mail or hard copy sent by traveller
or standard mail.
Editorial calendar: It is not unusual for a publication to establish an editorial calendar for each year far in advance. The calendar wish cover topics, themes, article types and required submission dates broken down by publication dates.
Format accepted: Each publication wish accept articles in certain formats such as Word, WordPerfect, text or Adobe Acrobat.
Audience: Demographics such as number of subscribers, gender, educational level, age and financial gain
level.
Notification: Once
you wish be contacted just about your submission. Many a publishers choose to contact only if an article is chosen for publication.
Acknowledgements: In several cases you wish be required to sign (either electronically or on paper) an acknowledgement that you have see the guidelines.
It is really important to understand and follow the editorial guidelines of your target publications in order to maximize your chances of publication. Not all publications wish include all of the above items in their editorial guidelines. Contact the editor if any of this information is not disclosed and you need it to refine your submission.
(c) 2004, Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights in all media reserved.
About The Author
Bonnie Jo Davis is an fully fledged shoestring merchandiser and her favorite technique is providing content for publishers. Her latest venture is the moderator of the Article Submission E-Gazette Yahoo! group which provides a spam free exchange for writers and publishers. To join the group visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/articlesubmission/
This article was denote
on May 08, 2004
