Internet.au
Address: internet.au magazine
78 Renwick St,
Redfern 2016
Country: Australia
Contact: The Editor
Email:
editor@ia.com.au
Webpage: http://ia.com.au/
Guidelines:http://ia.com.au/writersguide/guide.html
Phone:
Fax:
'What makes an internet.au writer?
Our reviewers should generally be part of the target market for both
internet.au and for the area they are writing about. They should be familiar with what businesses need, and with the features of competing
products in the same market. For product reviews, we're not looking for hackers, programmers (unless the product is a programming tool),
journalist or freelance writers (sorry guys). We want reviewers with
impressive credentials as professionals who use computers and the Internet in their work. Of course, for net.site reviews or technical
articles, if you know your stuff, that's all we need. For lifestyle features, you should have professional experience or demonstrable hobbyist
obsession with your topic.
internet.au reviewers should be heavy users of material in their expert
categories; they need to know the issues and the products involved in their category. In general, the more technical the area, the more
technical their background should be. In addition, a reviewer needs to be able to write well, and to be well
organised.
How to become an internet.au writer
Aspiring writers should contact the Editor. All articles are
commissioned: we publish no work sent on "speculation", but are
always happy to receive samples of work accompanied by outlines or proposals for articles. Please do not send fiction. Send your CV and an
example of your writing style (if you like, have a go at reviewing a product you are familiar with) to:
The Editor
internet.au magazine
78 Renwick St,
Redfern 2016
AUSTRALIA
Stuff you need to know
There are a number of different sections in the magazine which you may be asked to write for. At this stage, the main three will be: features, product reviews/comparisons, and technical articles.
Features
internet.au publishes at least three features each month. These include, but are not limited to, a Lifestyle feature, a Business feature and a Technology feature. Again, topics for these are chosen by the Editor, but suggestions are welcome. For the most part, a Business feature will be a comparison of a type of product for businesses or an analysis of a business issue; a Technology feature will be an analysis of a new technology or an overview of the impact a new technology is having on the net; and a Lifestyle feature will cover how the Internet has affected or is affecting a particular area of everyday life.
Reviews
internet.au publishes individual reviews of products when the product is
unique, and does not fit into a category for comparison; when a product is the first of its kind; when a product has made a big splash in the
industry and the next overview of that category is more than three months away. Reviews should be written in a professional and objective
tone, although they can have humorous aspects to them. If the product
is software, take screenshots as you go. It's much easier. If it's hardware, we will usually already have, or be able to obtain,
transparencies or slides of the product.
Tutorials
Tutorials differ from Technology Features in that they have an obvious
instructional tone. Tutorial come in three sizes: beginner, intermediate and advanced. They should always speak to their target audience, both
in topic and tone. In other words, if you are explaining the basics of a type of net access, don't use jargon too much, while if you are
explaining a high-end networking concept, don't spell-out what TCP/IP
stands for. Tutorials should outline the purpose of performing the task,
give a step-by-step description of achieving the task, explain menu items or relevant jargon if necessary, and give a sample session or
script if useful in illustrating the concept. Screen shots of relevant programs should be provided with the article. If no program is really
directly connected with the topic (for instance, if you are outlining an
underlying technology) we can arrange for illustrations.
Writing Guidelines
Outline
In some instances, the Editor will ask that you submit an outline for an article. Do not begin work on the story or review until the Editor has approved the outline.
Deadlines
internet.au is a monthly magazine, so deadlines are tight. We are
committed to timely coverage and to giving our readers the earliest possible knowledge of a computer product. Thus, writers are given
a firm review date -- usually two to four weeks from commission -- so we can meet our goal of being the first to publish information on important
new products and issues.
The completed review must be in the hands of the Editor by midday on
the day of the deadline. Missing your deadline causes us many scheduling problems and may result in your forfeiting payment. Unless
prior arrangements are made, we will expect the deadline to be met -- it is your responsibility to warn us in advance of any other commitments
that may affect your delivery date.
Length
Features tend to be between 2000 and 3000 words. Reviews will usually
be one page long, and around 600 words, although major new products may sometimes get 1000 words. Tutorials will be between 1000 and
1500 words depending on the complexity of the topic. Experienced
contributors will sometimes be asked to assist with other kinds of story,
for which you will receive a separate brief from the Editor.
We have a fixed number of editorial pages and must cover a reasonable
cross-section of products every month, so the word limit set by your commission letter should be adhered to. If you feel the review deserves
more than the commissioned length, please contact the Editor ASAP, as rescheduling will be required. We won't pay you extra for
uncommissioned words.
Reviews are always edited to ensure they convey the required
information in the optimum space. We want you to write creatively and engagingly, but remember that the reader has bought the magazine
to learn about the product. The more cuts we make to your story, the more editing time it requires, and you will be paid less in the long term.
Delivering your article
Your article must be submitted in an electronic format. Typed,
handwritten or faxed manuscripts will not be accepted.
If you are e-mailing your submission, please include it as an attachment
rather than pasting the text into the message.
If you are submitting a disk, your submission should include a printed
"hard-copy" version of your story, with the graphics and formatting, so that we know how you intended the story to be read.
Regardless of which way you choose, all files should be labelled as
follows: your initials-review name. Therefore if your name if Jessica Gordon, and you are reviewing Junkprogram 4.0, your article should be
titled JG-Junkprogram 4.0. If you are using Windows 3.1, the first two letters of the file name should still be your initials.
The article should be a text or word processor file, with no graphics or
formatting other than simple bolds and italics where necessary. The screen dumps and captions should be separate files in the folder. DO
NOT PLACE SCREEN DUMPS IN TEXT FILES. Importing screen dumps into your review means we have to export them out again
(cursing you as we go) and adding the caption to the bottom of the screen dump in your graphics program just makes them difficult to edit.
Having read this guide, you now know most of what you need to know
to write an article for us. For more information you can read our tips for better writing. As we've already said, we don't accept uncommissioned
writing for publication. That means your next step is filling in our form
and sending us a sample of your writing, with a note telling us what
type of article you'd like to write. If there is a particular product you want to review, tell us, but we can't guarantee you will receive it.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Last updated on 4 July 1999
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