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Submitting articles to Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine

(Formatting guidelines)

Thanks for your interest in writing an article for Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine. Up front, we have to tell you that we don’t pay authors. But we will publish your contact information and a small bio box where you can describe what you do. We’ll need your photo also, to go with the article.

Submit a proposal first!

To make sure you don’t waste your time writing about an unsuitable topic, or one that has already been covered or assigned; always submit a short proposal first. E-mail it to our managing editor Rich Hall (rich@pocketpcmag.com) with your proposal. It doesn’t have to be long, but it should include a specific , focused topic sentence:

• Bad example: “I’d like to write about utility programs.”

• Better example: “I’d like to review the five best utility programs.”

• Even better: “I’d like to review the top five utility programs that help you organize information on the Pocket PC.”

Note: We generally don't give assignments to new authors. Instead, they send us a proposal with the specific ideas they have for an article.

Word length and due dates

We’ll get back to you on the proposal and if necessary, help you refine the topic. Once we’ve agreed on a topic, we’ll discuss article length and due dates. Please note that we cannot guarantee publication of any article or the specific issue in which it will be published.

Different types of articles

There are a number of different types of articles published in the magazine. But all have one thing in common: they are tightly focused on devices using Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system. These include Pocket PCs (with ot without phone capability) and  Smartphones. Articles focusing on other PDAs or comparing Windows Mobile devices with other PDAs are better suited to other publications. We focus on Windows Mobile! With that in mind, here are some of the different types of articles you could write:

User Profile
This is where you write about how you use your Windows Mobile device in daily life. It can be a general article, in which you write about all the different things you do with your Windows Mobile device, or it can be focused on a specific use—for example, how you use the Windows Mobile device to help you as a teacher, lawyer, salesperson, etc. Try to avoid the obvious (e.g., “I use my Contact manager to manage my contacts). Instead, focus on unique ways you do things, tricks you’ve discovered, add-on software that helps you, etc.

How To
This is where you write about how you do something specific. For example, you might write an article titled “How I keep my data synchronized while I’m on the road,” or “How I manage my finances with my Windows Mobile device.” The focus of these articles tends be narrower than the user profiles described above.

Tips and Tricks
Most of these tend to fall into the “how to” category. A tip is a very short, tightly-focused, self-sufficient nugget of information. You can write about something neat you discovered about the Windows Mobile device, or a neat feature of the built-in software. Tips should not be about obvious features. For example, we wouldn’t expect you to write a tip about using the Start menu, unless you had discovered an unusual feature associated with the Start menu that most people didn’t know about. We are open to tips about freeware programs, but prefer not to publish tips about commercial software programs, unless there is something unique or highly unusual about it. Generally, tips are not over 200 words.

Product Reviews
This category includes reviews of software programs, hardware accessories, and occasionally Windows Mobile devices. We prefer reviews from people who already have a specific product and have used it for a while. They tend to give more practical feedback. Another possibility is an article comprising a series of short reviews of related products. For example, you might submit an article titled “Five classy cases for the Pocket PC,” or “Track your finances with these three Smartphone programs.”

Interviews
A question and answer session with a specific individual who is closely associated with Windows Mobile devices. For example, we’ve published interviews of Windows Mobile game developers and with the person at Microsoft in charge of developing the built-in applications that ship with the Pocket PC.

Enterprise articles
Can include any of the above article types, but focused specifically on enterprise use or developers of enterprise solutions for Windows Mobile devices. We are always looking for good material from experts, such as reviews of new applications. We are particularly interested in profiles of how Pocket PCs and Smartphones are actually being used in organizations (health care facilities, service organizations, educational institutions, etc.). We also publish articles about strategy and implementation issues involved in using Windows Mobile devices in companies, as well as new Windows Mobile-related technology impacting the enterprise. We also publish articles about software development with an emphasis on material that has broad applicability to Windows Mobile developers. Address questions and submissions for the Enterprise section to
Nathan Clevenger, Enterprise Editor, Nathan.clevenger@smartphonemag.com

Vendor-submitted articles can be problematic because of lack of objectivity. However, we will consider articles by industry experts regardless of affiliation if the approach is objective and informative.

Some things to keep in mind

If you are able to work for the love and fun of it, go ahead and submit a proposal. When you write your article, keep these points in mind:

1. You are writing to a group of readers who tend to be intelligent professionals, but who are not necessarily experts in the topic about which you are writing. Please define unusual terms when necessary and try to avoid jargon.

2. Keep the structure of your article simple and the information well organized. We occasionally get first drafts that look like the writer just put down ideas as they came to him. That’s a great way to get your ideas on paper, but you can end up repeating yourself or splitting up your ideas. Before you send us your first draft, look it over to see if you need to reorganize it or delete repeated information.

3. Keep your article focused on the topic we’ve agreed on.

4. Your content should be respectful both to the audience and to the subject matter (no “attitude”). Bring out the good points in any product you review. As appropriate, include areas in which the product could/should improve, and things for users to watch out for. If a product has no good points, we shouldn’t be reviewing it.

5. When you write the article, it might help to think of yourself as a “knowledgeable friend.” Imagine that someone you know and like has asked your opinion about something, or asked you how to do something. Or maybe you’ve discovered something interesting that you want to share with the friend. Don’t be literal about this. That is, don’t make it a letter to your friend. But write in a friendly, not-overly-formal style.

6. As already mentioned, we’ll also need a good recent photo of you and a short (less than 200 words) bio, which will appear in the article. Include an e-mail address where readers can contact you.

7. The fundamental criterion for any article is “practicality.” That is, each article should be useful to a significant segment of the readership. The more universal the content, the more likely it is that it will get published.

Our articles are written in-house, or by volunteer enthusiasts or individuals who are trying to establish themselves in the Windows Mobile arena. We do not pay freelancers. However, if you do wish to write an article or two, something, to get “published in Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine” on your resume, let us know. We understand that you support yourself with your writing and if you decide not to work with us, we certainly understand.

Author's use of submitted articles

The pre-edited version of a submission remains the property of the submitter and the submitter may use that version in any way he wishes whether or not Smartphone & Pocket PC uses the article. Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine retains all rights to edited submissions to use it in the magazine, on-line, on a CD, or in any way it sees fit. If the author wishes to use the edited version of the article, contact hal@thaddeus.com. Normally we are quite liberal on allowing an article to be re-used.

Formatting guidelines for the first draft

The first draft is mainly about content. Don’t bother putting a lot of formatting in a first draft. Indicate titles, subtitles, headings, and captions as described below.

• Title of the article (one per article).

• Subtitle of the article (one per article). This is sometimes called the “summary blurb” and is found below the main title. It further explains the article and draws the reader in. It is not necessary if you have a strong main title.

• Subheadings for sections within the article. For example, in an article that reviews a number of different software products, you might have a subhead for each software program. If there are five main sections in a single review, you would have five subheadings.

• Second-level subheadings. If there are multiple sub-sections within a single subheading, you can specify second-level subheadings. We rarely use third-level subheadings.

• Include graphics where appropriate; each graphic in an article should have a caption.

Some other formatting points:

• Bulleted and numbered lists are acceptable. Bulleted lists are an especially good way to organize a lot of little bits of information. Numbered lists should be used when sequential order is important. For example, in a list of steps the reader should follow.

• Tables are a great way to organize and compare similar products, but they can also be overkill if you have only a little information to present. Tables are by no means mandatory and most of the articles we publish do not have tables. However, if you decide to include one in your article, the easiest way to deal with a table is to create it in a spreadsheet program such as Excel and send it to me as a separate document. Indicate in the first draft Word document where the table goes.

• Captions should be associated with all graphics in the first draft. Captions should be able to stand alone from the text. It is OK to repeat information from the body of the article in the caption. It’s better to overwrite your captions; We’ll cut them down if necessary.

• Images: You may embed images into the text of a draft, but you should also send me the original image files separately. These image files should be in .tif, .jpg, or .bmp format whenever possible. Further, you should reference the file name of the image with the caption for the image in the document. For example, a typical graphics reference would look something like this:
  

  <TombRaider1.jpg, caption>
  
  Fig. 1: Tomb Raider definitions have hot links to related words.

• Web references: Whenever you mention a product for the first time, include the developer’s name and a Web reference in this format: Name of product, name of developer (web reference). For example: “The best productivity utility I’ve seen is NewProdGem, from BestSoftware (www.bestsoft.com).” Please be boringly consistent about this format—the name of the product, followed by the name of the vendor, followed by the URL in parentheses.

Word documents preferred

We use MS Word for editing purposes. Please save your documents in that format.

Finally, don’t worry about (or spend much time on) the actual graphic design of the article; we have a graphic artist who does that. However, if you have suggestions you want to pass on, please place them in angle brackets. For example, if you think a particular picture needs to be at the top of the first page, you might put the following next to the image: <place image by article title, top left first page>

Smartphone & Pocket PC magazine Copyright © 2008 Thaddeus Computing Inc