Submission Guidelines
Here are the things
to consider when you're writing an article for Vision:
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Read the guidelines (below) and follow them. If you
have a question about the guidelines, email me at
zette@longlines.com and ask.
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Don't write an article and send it off
without proofing. In fact, read it more than once. Let it sit for a
day or two, even if you are running late. I would rather have a well-edited late article than a messy one sent on time.
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I want anything that
has to do with writing, from how you think up a story to finding a
proper pen. If you love writing and have anything at all
that you can offer to other writers, consider writing 500-2000 words
for one of the upcoming issues. I am interested in all facets of writing, from
first-person experience articles to genre-specific how-to’s and
informational articles about your area of specialization – whether that
be history or science or nursing or long-distance running – and how and
where your specialty can be used correctly by writers. Write something
that will help other writers, and I'll be interested in taking a look.
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Do you have favorite writing-related books or web
sites that you think could help fellow authors? Consider writing a
short review of them.
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Did I mention reading the guidelines?
Writing for Vision is a lot easier than most
people assume, and a few of our writers have gone on to sell material
they first published in Vision, or to use the 'sale' as part of
a resume to get a job at some other publication.
So, let's work together and get the next
issues done.
Oh, and do go read the guidelines...
Starting in 2004. Vision began paying half a cent
per word for articles. That's not much money, and I'm going to be
asking a lot for that half cent -- both ezine rights as well as the
right to publish anything we choose in a POD 'Best of' Anthology at the
end of the year. By printing the anthology, we hope to make back the
funds that I will be putting into Vision to buy the articles and perhaps
even make enough to fund the following year's article acquisitions.
I will be limiting the number of articles
bought, and 2000 words ($10) will be the cut off point for payment. All
the other guidelines remain the same. I will be looking for articles on
theme-related, general writing and genre topics. If you have some
suggestion that you think might help another writer, consider writing it
into an article and submitting it to Vision.
We strive to maintain professional standards.
Manuscripts must be professionally formatted, as free from spelling and
grammatical errors as you can make them, and in what you perceive to be
final draft form. We will not welcome massive rewrites of a piece after
we have accepted it – when we accept it, we consider it pretty close to
finished, and will only edit it to our standards. If we feel that it
need massive rewrites, we won’t accept it.
If you have any questions, or wish to query
about an article, email
Vision@lazette.net
Please note that
Margaret Fisk is now the Features' Editor and will handle all the
review articles.
Articles must be at least 500 words with 2000
words as the 'soft' top. I'm willing to go over that count if the
article needs it, but payment stops at 2000 words.
Check your spelling and grammar! Also,
if you are from a country that does not use US spelling conventions, let
me know in the email. That will stop me from making several
'corrections' before I realize they aren't mistakes.
Place your Title AND YOUR NAME at the top of the
document. I hate having to go search through emails,
checking attachments, to figure whose article I'm actually reading.
Title
By
Your Name
Use one of these fonts: Courier, Courier New,
Times New Roman, Verdana or Arial, 12pt.
Double space your manuscript.
Do not indent .
I would like submissions to be made in either
Word Doc files, or .rtf files, and as attachments to the email. (I
believe that WordPerfect allows .rtf saves, doesn't it?) If you use
Works, a regular file will do, although (at least in the 4.5 version I
have), this program also allows for an .rtf file save.
A plain text copy (.txt) can be sent, but be
certain to mark any italics like this: *before and after the section in
italics*, and bold likes this: _before and after anything in bold._ If
you cannot do attachments, use the body of the letter as the last
resort.
Indicate book titles with italics. And yes,
that means if you are doing a Word doc or rtf that you can use actual
italics and not an underline to indicate italics. (This is not common
submission procedure, but it's far easier for me since I can cut and
paste to my wysiwyg web page editor.)
Do not use an underline for emphasis.
Underline on websites indicates a link, and people often send emails to
say the link is not working. Use italics or bold.
NO HTML code except for links, and those
written in this fashion: http://www.whatever.com/this.htm
Provide the ISBN #s and publishers for all
books mentioned or reviewed. Do this by adding the title, author,
publisher and ISBN# at the bottom of the file. The same is true for
articles -- be certain to cite them.
An additional note to
Word users: Turn off the 'smart quotes' option in Word, which can be found
under Tools-AutoCorrect and then the tabs AutoFormat while you type
AND Autoformat. Also uncheck the symbol replacement for --. While
Smart Quotes look really neat on the screen, they sometimes translate
to funny little squares that cannot be taken out with the
'find-replace' feature, but have to be hunted down by hand. If you
are submitting anything electronically, you will very likely hear back
from the editor on these. And remember -- a lot of print publishers
are now asking for electronic copy for their end as well.
We've been receiving very good articles, and I
hope that all of you look at the list of upcoming issues at the bottom
of this page and choose something you feel comfortable with writing
about.
We are also still looking for general
genre-related articles. If you would like to write an article on how to
research romantic settings, the proper use of codes in spy thrillers,
etc., let us know. The genres we like to cover in each issue are:
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Fantasy |
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Historical Fiction |
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Horror |
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Poetry |
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Romance |
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Science Fiction |
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Suspense & Mystery
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Young Adult & Children
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Young Writer's Scene |
I'm always
interested in any writing-related articles!
Thank you!
Lazette Gifford
Managing Editor
Questions? Queries? Submissions?
Email me! |
