Earn money online - Guidelines' Guidelines. (Is there an echo in here?)

Guidelines' Guidelines. (Is there an echo in here?)
by Ed Churnside

Every freelance, magazine writer reads a lot of submission guidelines. Because of a current project, I see more than most, about 50 per week. While the national glossies have it down, smaller publications are often missing vital information and ezines (electronic or internet magazines) are usually terrible.

While guidelines containing spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors are amusing, incomplete guidelines are a more serious problem. They generate a lot of inquiries and inappropriate submissions wasting the editor's valuable time. Poor guidelines often force me to submit to a better documented publication. (I will usually Email questions for a paying market but stamps cost money and I don't waste time on freebies.)

Print magazines that have not already done so, should get their guidelines on the internet as soon as possible. No credible publication can afford not to have some on-line presence. The whole SASE business is an interesting tribute to a bygone era that only wastes time and money. On the web, writers will use the current guidelines in preference to ones they received five years ago. The internet also provides an easy access to an international community of writers.

Ezines almost universally have on-line guidelines but they need to get them up to par: just because an ezine does not pay, does not excuse sloppiness. If the editor cannot edit her own guidelines for accuracy and completeness, why should I trust her with my work?

The following two sections provide detailed help in writing and setting up guidelines. The Tips provide a quick list of do's and don'ts when putting guidelines on a web page: almost every guideline I have seen could use this advice. The Outline provides a structure and a fairly complete list of the information needed in a good guideline. I hope this helps editors and writers alike establish better communications that will lead to better submissions.

Tips for on-line-guidelines.

Don't get fancy: there is no need for a guideline page to be pretty. The less graphics and formatting used the better. Plain text is easier for the writer to download and save.
Don't put vital information only in graphics. While it may look nice it won't show up in search engines, bookmarks or saved copies.
Don't put vital information only in the frame either for the same three reasons.
Put the magazines full name and "Magazine Submission Guidelines" in the Title. This information will show up in bookmarks and search engines. This will make it easier for writers to find them.
Remember a search engine will show the Title and a few lines so make the start is an advertisement for the magazine.
Date the title and the heading.
Make sure that staff names, Email addresses, etc. are on the guideline page even if this information is elsewhere. Don't make writers cut-and-paste when they save a copy.
Make sure the guideline page has a link back to the top page. Don't rely on the browser's back-button. Writers entering from a bookmark or search, need the link.
Register with services like the Guide to on-line Guidelines (http://www.snafu.de/~gadfly) and Inkspot (http://www.inkspot.com) who maintain guideline databases.
Contact the major search engines to make sure the main page and the guideline page are cataloged.
Writers should always save a copy of guidelines. A hard copy can be referenced when not on-line and gives some basis for argument if the rules change during submission.

Here is an example of how a fictional magazine's guidelines might start. If I found this one in a search, I guarantee I would go there.

<HTML> <TITLE> Widget's World Submission Guidelines (Dec 25, 1998) </TITLE> <BODY> Widget's World Submission Guidelines. Dec 25, 1998. Widget's World is a monthly ezine which pays up to $30 for articles, stories and poems about the love and use of widgets. We enjoy working with new authors and every submission receives a personal review....

An Outline of Submission Guidelines.

Overview. A 3-4 line piece of self advertising which is useful in on-line guidelines. See notes and example above.
Name. It is amazing how often this is omitted.
Topic. What is the magazine about?
General Comments. What are you looking for in a general sense? Save specifics for the following sections.
Don't say, "Send only your very best writing." For Atlantic Monthly it is an appropriate comment but a magazine that pays $10 for 5000 words should expect to be near the bottom of the food chain. http://www2.theatlantic.com
Don't say, "Read the last five issues for style," unless they are archived on the internet or commonly available in libraries. One local magazine wanted $5 plus $2 postage per back issue. It would have cost me $35 to research a $2 poem -- no thank you.
Readership. Who do you think reads your magazine?
How do you publish: print, ezine, newsletter etc.? Don't assume I know. I may find your information out of context.
What is the frequency: monthly, quarterly etc.? This is especially important for ezines.
Rights: what are you buying? I believe that it is the clear definition of the rights wanted that distinguishes a true ezine from a glorified home page. Writers should NOT submit material without knowing rights even to a non-paying market.
For Print it's usually FNASR (First North American Serial Rights) or FSR (First Serial Rights).
For ezines try FER (First Electronic Rights), FR (First Rights), One Time Rights -- copyright stays with author, Limited Archive Rights, etc.
Do NOT ask for ALL rights unless you are paying big bucks. For $4000 Omni Magazine can have all rights and the body part of their choice. I have seen vanity ezines that expect them for free. http://www.omnimag.com/fiction/datlow/guidelines.html
Writer's Market has a good section on rights. Available from http://www.BarnesandNoble.com
Copyright. Tell me my work will be protected. You don't really need to but tell me anyway -- I'm paranoid. See Brad Templeton's "10 Myths about Copyrights" for a lot of useful information about internet rights. http://www.temple tons.com/brad/copymyths.html
Do you like new writers; work with a few; prefer experienced writers; or use agents only?
When do I get paid: on acceptance, on publication, royalties or non-paying? If it is royalties, then explain the basis. If non- paying, then say so explicitly. I file non-paying magazines separately from semi-pro; please don't make me wade through the guidelines looking for your terms.
Rate: how much do you pay?
Use flat rate or per word (per line for poetry).
If you use a weird unit like per page or per column inch, then give an approximate per word equivalent.
Make sure currency is clear if posting on internet: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA are all English speaking (more-or- less) and use dollars.
If you have different rates for different material, put the rate information in the relevant section.
Personal Review. A personal review is a big plus. If you give one for every submission, make sure you say so loudly.
Simultaneous Submissions: do you allow them?
Reprints: what do you allow and at what rate? Do you want a photocopy? What do you want if it was published on web?
Email Submissions: Do you allow them and what about queries?
The less you pay, the more you should consider allowing Email submissions. An 5000 word story costs about $2 to mail. For less than $30 it is not worth the risk.
Consider allowing short, low paying items like fillers and poetry to be emailed.
Consider allowing queries to be emailed.
Never let Email submissions come to your normal address. Set up a separate account. You can get a free Email account from Yahoo if you need one. http://www.yahoo.com
What do you want in the Email title: department name, column name etc.? Email programs like Eudora can provide automatic folders. http://www.eudora.com/
Byline. Tell me if you do not give a byline.
Lead Time. What's the average time to publication?
Seasonal Lead Time. What's the lead time for seasonal items?
Review Time. How long before I start bugging you?
Kill Fee. How much do I get if you change your mind?
Freelance Percentage. How much is written by freelancers?
Circulation. How many do you distribute and where?
This is important when planning reprints.
For an ezine say how many hits per issue.
Cover Letter: do you want one? What should it say?
Author's bio. Do you want one? How big? Do you want a photograph?
Published clips. Do you want them?

Non-Fiction.

Minimum and maximum number of words
Rate if different to overview.
Number of articles bought per issue
Topics allowed in addition to main topic
Type of article: how-to, humor, inspirational, etc.
What not to send.
Do you give assignments?
Do you pay expenses?
Are queries required?

Fiction.

Minimum and maximum number of words
Rate if different to overview.
Number of stories bought per issue.
opics allowed in addition to main topic.
Genre: fantasy, romance, mystery, science fiction, etc.
What not to send.
Are queries required?

Poetry.

Minimum and maximum number of lines
Rate if different to overview (Poetry is usually different.)
Number of poems bought per issue
Topics allowed in addition to main topic
Format of poems: Free verse, light verse, haiku, etc.
What not to send.
How many poems can I submit in a batch?

Columns. For each column you should state:

Name of column.
Minimum and maximum number of words
Rate if different to overview.
Number of items per issue
Description of column

Filler.

Minimum and maximum number of words
Rate if different to overview.
Number of fillers bought per issue.
Topics allowed in addition to main topic.
Type of article: anecdote, short humor, etc.

Photographs or Artwork.

Description. What do you want? What don't you want?
Color. BW or Color?
Format. Transparencies, prints or computer graphics?
Format for Email or floppy: BMP, JPG or GIF, etc.?
Size: 3.5x5", 8x10", 800x600 pixels, etc.?
Type: 35 mm, Digital, 16 color bitmap, etc.?
Model releases required?
Captions required?
Rate?
Rights. Usually One Time Rights for photographs.
Send graphics only with articles?
How many items allowed per submission?
Always include a reminder not to send originals.

Contact Information

Staff. List the publisher, managing editor, submissions editor and section editors if appropriate.
Address. Ezines should give a postal address but usually don't. If the page disappears while owing you money, how are you supposed to contact them?
Phone.
Fax.
Email address. You may mention Email submissions here.
URL.

Printed Manuscript Format.

Many people think that standard format is 12 pt courier double spaced (poetry single spaced), single sided and underline for italics. Legal name, address, phone number and Email address go at top left of first page. Word count (line count for poetry), rights offered, copyright and "disposable" go at top right of first page. Title, "by" and pen name take up 3 lines centered 1/3 of the way down the first page. Name, abbreviated title and page count go at top of each page after first.
Don't change this format without a good reason. If you do, spell it out explicitly.
If you expect a lot of bibliographic or reference material you may want to indicate the style you prefer. You may refer to books like The Chicago Manual of Style (available from http://www.amazon.com) or style websites like: http: //succeed.che.ufl.edu/help/style/style_abstract.html http://www.lehi gh.edu/~inhelp/footnote/apa.html

Email Format.

How do I send you my document? You should accept major word processing files as attachments: it's more convenient for everyone. The other two common methods -- ASCII attachments and pasting into the Email -- both lose formatting information. If you must use these methods, publish standards for how to indicate bold, italic, etc.
What should I put in the heading? (See prior note on automating your Email.)
If you want HTML coding embedded in documents then you should provide an example or refer to style guides like: http://www.ability.org/hstyl e.html http://www.fairfield.edu/ ourstyle.htm

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Ed Churnside is a freelance writer, programmer and web designer. While he has written articles on subjects as diverse as Internet etiquette, astronomy, woodworking and bunnies, Ed, a self-confessed computer wizard, is probably best unknown for his programming. "About 50% of Americans have used programs I designed," he says enigmatically and grins. Winner of the prestigious Atari Consumer Products Award, Ed now spends his time writing articles and short fiction, programming shareware and freeware, and maintaining several web sites. He can be reached at Wulf@DragonQuest.com or via his website at http://www.DragonQuest.com

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