Ideas, Inspirations & Tips

Wireless Review takes pride in providing our readers with editorial material that is useful, interesting and accurate. We designed the following set of author's guidelines to help you prepare manuscripts that match our editorial requirements and style. Although at first glance, the guidelines outlined here may look imposing, they are relatively easy to follow.

Editorial Direction Wireless Review, published by Intertec Publishing, a PRIMEDIA Company, is a semi-monthly magazine covering all aspects of the cellular and PCS industry. Our readership includes wireless carriers, service providers, engineers, technicians, dealers, agents, resellers and investors.

Our editorial calendar, also found on this site, indicates special feature discussions we have planned for the coming calendar year. Your first step is to contact Marcia Martinek, our senior editor, to discuss an editorial concept you might have. Her e-mail address is marcia_martinek@intertec.com.

Most business people associated with the wireless industry have a limited amount of time available to them. In order to interest these readers in our publications, we must deliver material that is on target, usable in their everyday work and interesting. We fill this need by following some basic guidelines in the selection and preparation of articles for publication.

General Style Wireless Review generally uses a tutorial style in presenting various topics to its readers. We want copy tight, without unnecessary verbiage. Generally speaking, the following guidelines should be followed:

Do not write a narrative manuscript. This style is appropriate in some publications, but not Wireless Review.

Do not use humor in a manuscript. We rarely have excess space to devote to humor in an issue. We seek to inform, not entertain, the reader.

Do not give your personal opinions, unless they are backed up with hard and convincing documentation. If you do express a personal opinion, clearly identify it as such in the manuscript.

Write about topics that provide useful information to the user or discuss an important developing technology. We are looking for articles that readers can use in their daily work.

Product photographs provided with articles should have a specific need to be there. If the equipment has a unique feature that can be seen in a product shot better than it can be described in the copy, it will be used. However, product shots seldom tell a story better than the writer can write about it.

Use the first paragraph of the story to draw the reader into the article. Avoid beginning the article with dry statistics or broad generalizations. Instead, pick something unique about the material to be presented that will pique the reader's interest. Tell the reader something with which he or she can identify.

Develop a short and interesting headline for the article. Avoid long and dry headlines. Search for a headline that will make the reader want to learn more.

Stick to the Point After narrowing the topic of your article, develop an outline. An outline will help you stay within the bounds of the topic. It also will avoid subject tangents, which can confuse the reader more than inform.

Information that you wish to include in an article that is not directly a part of the subject matter should be separated into a sidebar story. Sidebars can cover information that, if added to the main story, would take the reader away from the central point of the article.

The use of sidebars with a main article also gives the editor added flexibility in the article layout. Space limitation problems can likewise be corrected through the use of sidebar stories. Rather than being faced with an all-or-nothing proposition, the editor can use a sidebar to shorten a manuscript by eliminating the extra material, if needed.

Fill a Need The best article in the world is of little value if no one reads it. We have an editorial schedule that we are committed to meeting, and topics outside the pre-planned agenda are inserted on a space-available basis. You should, therefore, contact Wireless Review before proceeding with the development of a manuscript. The senior editor (marcia_martinek@intertec.com) should be consulted to determine whether the proposed subject matter is of interest, and, if it is, what timetable for publication might be anticipated. This feedback will greatly aid you in determining whether to spend time and effort preparing the manuscript.

Check Your Facts A technical writer can commit no greater sin than providing incorrect data. Any information included in a paper should be checked thoroughly for accuracy before it is sent to us. It's extremely important that any questions about the completeness or accuracy of a manuscript be worked out before the article reaches the magazine editor. If major changes are desired in your manuscript, you will be consulted and the edited copy will be sent to you for review. This review and revision process should not be considered criticism of your work. The idea of the procedure is to generate an article that is a credit to the magazine and to the author. A poorly prepared article will reflect poorly on both the magazine and you.

Artwork Considerations The planning and preparation of artwork for a technical magazine article is a consideration that is often overlooked, but one that is important to the ultimate attractiveness of the article to the reader. When preparing a technical manuscript, you should consider what artwork (photographs, charts, tables or schematics) could be included to make the presentation easier to understand and more interesting to read.

Photographs should be of high quality. Instant (Polaroid-type) photos are rarely of sufficient quality to be used in a magazine. If possible, photos should be taken with a 35mm camera. If color photographs are to be submitted to the magazine, slides are generally preferable to prints. Black-and-white photos should be submitted in an 8 x 10 glossy format (smaller sizes also are acceptable). We can work from electronic files. If you send electronic files, pleasse send .tif or .eps at 300 dpi.

Graphics, charts and tables should be accurately drawn and clearly labeled. Mistakes can be made in the creation of technical art, and particular attention should be paid to such matters. Technical art should be kept as clear and concise as possible, without unnecessary components or notations.

Suggested captions also should be provided for the artwork submitted as part of a technical article. The caption should both identify the artwork shown and justify its inclusion in the article. A skillful blending of artwork and descriptive captions can make an article stand out to the reader and, consequently, receive greater attention than might otherwise be expected.

The Mechanics of the Process There are several rules to remember when submitting material for consideration. The manuscript must be typed, double-spaced, and only long enough to cover the topic adequately. The maximum length is difficult to say because topics vary so widely; however, any article in excess of 2,000 words would have to be of above-average quality to rate the space. There are, likewise, no firm guidelines for inclusion of artwork or graphics. It's a good practice to include extra photos or technical art with the manuscript so the editors can pick and choose the ones that best fit the article and space available.

Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication, you will be required to sign a release form that basically states that the material is original and is your own, and that the magazine has full rights to use it and edit it as necessary. If you wish to retain certain rights to the material, this point must be ironed out ahead of time.

Checklist for Manuscript Mechanical Requirements Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced, with sufficient margins at top and sides.

Include a short and interesting suggested title on the first page.

Include subheads (no more than three words) to mark divisions in subject within the narrow focus of your article.

Type your name, address, telephone number and social security number in the upper right-hand corner of the first page.

Graphics Photographs

Color photography is preferable to black-and-white. If you do have color art, actual photographs, slides or color transparencies are welcome. We cannot reproduce printed copies. If you wish to send your file digitally, it should be at least 3 inches wide and have a resolution of 300 dots per inch. We accept .tif or .eps files only.

We can accept digital files via e-mail, zip disk or CD.

Try to include people, even if the photos support equipment-oriented editorial. Show someone operating the unit or working on it. But avoid posed shots.

Keep the photographs separate from the text, and number each photo (on the back) so that it will match up easily with its caption, which should be put on a separate sheet of paper.

Drawings & Figures

We don’t assume you are an artist. Block diagrams, schematics and drawings can be submitted in pencil and in rough form. Our art department will give them the professional touch. But they must be easy to understand.

Keep the artwork separate from the text and number each piece (on the back) so that it will match up easily with its caption, which should be put on a separate sheet of paper. If the artwork is referred to in the text, it should be identified as Figure 1, 2, etc.

Captions

All photographs, schematics and drawings should include captions. They should be succinct, but the reader should be able to cull a synopsis of the article from them without having to refer to the article. Many readers read only the captions and look at the photographs. The captions should lure them into the article.

Type the captions on a separate piece of paper. Don’t attach individual captions to individual graphics.

Give a credit line to each photo if there is more than one photographer. Biographical Data If you are submitting an article to us for the first time, we require that you include a short note on your background in the industry. If you have had articles published in other periodicals, state that also.

Turnaround Time The length of time that can elapse between when you submit an article for publication and when it appears in print can vary greatly, depending on the particular article. Because of the length of time required to produce a magazine such as Wireless Review, the minimum turnaround time is about six to eight weeks.

When an article arrives from an outside author, it is reviewed (usually within two weeks) to see if the manuscript is generally acceptable for publication. We will then notify you by letter or phone whether we can use the material, and, if so, when it might be published. Please keep in mind that this date is only an estimate and is subject to change, depending on the editorial requirements of the magazine.

Because of the volume of articles used in each issue of our magazine, you may not be contacted between the time we first review the manuscript and the point at which it goes into production. However, if extensive editing changes are necessary, we will send you a copy of the edited version for review. If circumstances make it necessary to delay the article's estimated publication date, we will try to notify you. If you are interested in the status of a manuscript that you have submitted, please feel free to call us and inquire.

A magazine such as Wireless Review is built on readers. Readers that have come to depend on us for useful, accurate and timely editorial material. Our valued readership is maintained through effective articles and a strong team of authors.

We thank you for your interest in Wireless Review.