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Contributor's guidelines
Read these guidelines
before making your submission
What
do you want?
How do I know
if you want it?
Do I have
to be a professional writer or artist?
Do I have to
be from Brisbane?
How much do you
want?
Where will my
work appear?
Where do I
send contributions?
What about
graphics?
Will my work
be changed?
Can I use a pseudonym
(alias)?
Will you accept
handwritten contributions?
What else should
I include?
Do I retain
the rights?
Will I be paid?
Tips on writing
for the web
Legal stuff
What sort of material
do you want?
Anything fresh, innovative, exciting,
thought provoking, funny, sad or otherwise interesting,
whether informative, educational or entertaining.
We will consider for publication any
work of fiction, non-fiction or art which broadens
understanding of our lives and each other.
We will not publish any material promoting
hatred or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,
race, gender, age, religion, class or physical or
mental ability.
Interaction is the key to community
so we particularly welcome original material that
stimulates spirited debate, dialogue and discussion
in our chat rooms, for instance:
Reviews, reactions, views, personal
experience pieces, humour, comics, cartoons, drawings,
short stories, songs, yarns, interviews, poetry, feature
articles, biographies, news, coming events, critical
analysis, profiles, travel stories, off-beat stuff,
quirky snippets, motivational bits, how-to articles,
video clips, sound bytes, animations, game demos or
other interactive bits and pieces.
How do I know
if you want my contribution?
Email a query (a short summary of the
piece you'd like to submit) and a one-paragraph biography
(including your qualifications/motivations) to director@brizcomm.com.au.
If our editors like your style and subject
matter, we'll give you the go-ahead.
Do
I have to be a professional writer or artist?
No, but it helps the editors if you're
semi-literate.
Diversity in background, subject matter
and writing styles only enriches the site.
Many of our writers are amateurs and
have not previously contributed to a magazine.
We do not bias acceptance of material
on how many times you have been published.
If it's good, you have a good chance
of being accepted.
Do I have
to be from Brisbane?
No. Laid-back Brisbane merely provides
a non-threatening, scenic backdrop for our global
community meeting place.
How much should
I write?
Less than 50% of what you'd write for
print.
Count the words on a typical brizcomm
layout to gain a feel for web length.
The first paragraph of your article
should be basically a summary or introduction to the
piece, with the work continuing on the subsequent
four pages (maximum).
Anything over that and you'll probably
lose your readers anyway.
If you think your readers will return
for another installment of an extra-long piece, you
can divide the article into two.
If it's really good, we'll serialise
it as a regular fixture.
Where will
my work appear on brizcomm?
Contributions will be published under
appropriate categories with a short author bio where
relevant.
Articles may be archived when new content
is published, allowing you to refer readers back to
previous works through hyperlinks.
Where do
I send contributions?
Email submissions to director@brizcomm.com.au
in the body of your message (just copy and paste the
text).
If you have to send your work as an
attachment, first save it as plain text or in rich
text format.
Send each submission as a separate email
and include your one-paragraph biography with each
message.
What about
graphics?
Send graphics in JPEG or TIF format
(EPS for logos) to director@brizcomm.com.au or in
hard-copy format by snail mail to PO Box 2026, Bardon
4065 (along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope
for return).
Will my
work be changed?
Submissions will be edited for punctuation,
grammar, coherency and potential legal problems.
Before sending in your work, please
proofread and Spellcheck (we abide by Australian spelling
conventions in accordance with the Macquarie Concise
Dictionary).
Contributions may be cut slightly to
fit layouts but we'll return it to you for any major
slashing or other radical changes.
Can I use
a pseudonym?
Of course, but please state clearly
which name you wish us to use as your byline.
If you don't supply an alias, we'll
assume you want us to publish under your real name.
Will you
accept handwritten submissions?
Only if absolutely necessary. We'd much
prefer you typed it, double spaced, and sent it by
email or on floppy disk.
What else
should I include with my submission?
Don't forget to include your name (or
pseudonym), e-mail address, personal web page address
(if appropriate), contact details, a one-paragraph
biography, the word count and any graphics (photos,
cartoons, drawings etc). If you'd like to include
a photograph of yourself, fine.
Do I retain
the rights to my work?
brizcomm reserves first electronic
publishing rights with the right to archive the material
indefinitely in any electronic medium. Fourteen days
after publication, copyright returns to you (see Legal
stuff for further details).
Will I be paid?
brizcomm does not pay readers for contributions.
Your words will be published under your byline, or
a pseudonym if you prefer, which will link to your
email address.
TIPS
ON WRITING FOR THE WEB
How does writing for the web differ
from writing for print media?
For a start, web users don't read, they
scan (or skim), picking out keywords, sentences and
paragraphs of interest while skipping over the rest.
Usability studies have also found that
people read from computer screens between 25 and 40%
slower than from paper.
Don't expect web users to read long
continuous blocks of text. They will scroll to about
four screens of text before becoming frustrated and
losing the plot.
Another difference between the web and
traditional print media is that online writing is
non-linear, allowing readers to link forward to other
passages or back to archived articles.
Where possible, break long passages
into chunks and provide a brief table of contents
(as hyperlinks) at the start so readers can download
only those pages they want to read.
Try to keep each "chunk" or page to
less than 1.5 screens of text.
How should I structure my non-fiction
article for the web?
Journalists have long relied on the
"upside-down" pyramid to capture the busy
reader's attention in the first sentence and the format
suits impatient web surfers.
If you hook your readers from the start,
they will continue reading for supporting and background
information.
Unlike print journalism, on the web
you can link between sections of an article, allowing
the reader to jump to archived articles.
Each page is built as an inverted pyramid
but the entire article seems more like a series of
pyramids.
This is a new writing style. We're all
pioneers. If you know a better way, go for it.
What about fiction?
Your style is your trademark so show
it off. Write as you like, but remember to keep the
length to less than 50% of an equivalent piece in
print.
What other techniques can I use
to help make my copy scannable?
-
highlight keywords (eg through hypertext
links to other pages/articles, bold text, large
pullout quotes, graphics, tables of contents)
LEGAL
STUFF
COPYRIGHT
brizcomm reserves first electronic publishing
rights with the right to archive the material indefinitely
in any electronic medium (no financial compensation
may be sought for possible future reproduction of
work in this manner by brizcomm). Copyright of all
material reverts to the author or artist 14 days after
publication. All contributors indemnify brizcomm against
any possible lawsuit and agree to provide solely original
material that does not infringe on the rights of a
third party. Previously published material will be
printed only if clearly not subject to copyright restrictions.
Please tell us if your article has already been sent
to another magazine, print or online.
IT'S YOUR VIEW
Opinions expressed in this web site
are those of the individual authors or interview subjects,
not necessarily those of brizcomm, its editors, staff
or service that supplies web space for, or access
to, brizcomm.
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS
As the publisher, brizcomm reserves
the right to decline or remove any submission from
the web site without prior notification, discussion
or debate.
MISSING IN ACTION
The publisher does not accept any responsibility
for material sent which may be lost or stolen and
cannot cover freight, postage or handling of material
sent.
ETHICS
Contributors acknowledge that an independent
publication needs to raise capital in any way or manner
that the business sees fit to survive. Editorial and
advertising, however, will remain clearly separated
at all times. Non-newsworthy, blatantly promotional
submissions with the sole intent of "plugging" a commercial
service or product will not be published within editorial
space (but you're welcome to take out advertising
space).
© 2000 brizcomm pty ltd
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