Things You Need To Know About Writing for Information Outlook
How To Submit the Finished Article
Information Outlook is SLA's monthly professional magazine. It is written primarily by and for information professionals. Its objective is to provide timely coverage of information management issues relevant to special librarians in a global environment. Information Outlook interprets the news and covers trends and issues that affect information professionals.
If you know of something interesting that has been done to improve a special library, solve a problem, prevent trouble... If you or a colleague have done something out of the ordinary that you'd like to share with your colleagues... We want to hear from you.
Things You Need To Know About Writing for Information Outlook
If you have an idea for an article, please don't just write it and submit it.
The first thing you should do is send an e-mail to editor@sla.org that describes your topic and your qualifications for writing about it.
If we think your article will work in Information Outlook, we'll get back to you with questions, suggestions, or comments. We may ask you to refocus it so it will fit better in the magazine. We may want to discuss sidebar articles to add more information to the main topic. We'll probably ask if you can provide photographs, tables, or charts to illustrate the article--plus a headshot of you.
If we don't think your article is appropriate for Information Outlook, we'll get back to you with that news too. Either way, we should respond in four to six weeks, if not sooner.
Except for articles written specifically for topics on the editorial calendar. There are no deadlines. We don't schedule an article for publication until we have received at least a draft version.
To schedule an article for a specific issue, we need to have it eight weeks prior to publication. For example, September 1, for the November issue. Earlier is better. You'll find we are usually flexible about submission dates--so please ask.
If it's a complex article, we may ask for interim submissions so we can continue to have the same expectations about the finished product.
A note to vendors and service providers: In many cases you may have the best and most current information on a topic. We invite you to share that expertise with our readers, to advance the body of knowledge of the profession. But--we insist that your articles do not promote your business or claim that your product or service is the best or only solution to a given problem.
Finally, we want original articles. Please don't submit articles that others have published or that you have submitted to other publications.
Topics
When you propose an article, make sure you can relate the topic to the specific needs of special librarians.
Information Outlook readers represent companies of all sizes. Readers work in large libraries with large staffs and as solo librarians in small companies. Their experience ranges from senior professionals to beginners just out of school.
Information Outlook readers want to read articles about new techniques, new ideas, new trends. They're interested in articles about search engines, knowledge management, international issues, copyright law, technology, innovation. They're interested in articles on administration, organization, marketing, and operations. They're interested in growing their organizations and in planning their careers. They want to know what works, and what doesn't work. They want success stories. They want to know how to confront problems and how to avoid them. They like case studies.
Information Outlook is not a scholarly journal. We prefer articles written in a more conversational tone, as if the author were telling a story. Some tips:
- Try start the article with an interesting story rather than with a formal introduction that summarizes what the article is about. You do not need to include a formal conclusion that summarizes the article's contents.
- We like bibliographies and lists of additional materials on the same topic as the article.
- We don't like endnotes or footnotes. Attributions should be included in the text of the article. Specific citations may be used parenthetically at the end of the quote. Subsequent references to the same work need only include the author's name and date of publication.
Everything is for the Reader
The reader is the most important person. Our goal is to produce an editorial package that will be a delightful experience for the reader. So please consider the following:
- The article should include something new, something different, something important. When the reader is finished, he or she should feel smarter than before.
- Try to put yourself in the reader's shoes. He or she may not be familiar with the jargon or acronyms that are part of your daily work. Explain the jargon. Spell out the acronyms.
- The length isn't important. The article should be as long as it needs to be--and not a word more or less.
- Starting an article with an anecdote that illustrates the main point can capture the reader's attention quickly.
- If an anecdote won't work with the article, make sure the opening sentence is to the point and grabs attention immediately.
- Try to anticipate and answer the questions a reader might have about your topic.
- Use examples.
- If your article covers material that may not fit well in the main body of text, you may want to expand it in sidebars. Sidebars make articles appear more inviting to readers--and give our designer more options in putting the pages together.
- We don't follow the usual rules for paragraphs in essays or other papers. Short paragraphs make an article look more readable. Think one to three sentences per paragraph.
- Subheads and bulleted lists enhance reader interest by breaking up columns of text.
Overall, think of articles you've read that have been interesting and others that you abandoned after reading only a few words. You want yours to be more like the former than the latter.
How To Submit the Finished Article
Please don't submit an article on paper. Send the manuscript as an e-mail attachment. Files in Microsoft Word will work best. Don't worry about fonts or page setup. We'll reformat the article to fit the magazine's style. Pictures should be in high-resolution .jpg files and should be sent as separate e-mail attachments along with the article.
More things you'll need to know:
- Include your byline exactly as you want to see it in print.
- Include at the end of the article a sentence or two about who you are, what you do for a living, why you're qualified to write the article.
- If you submit pictures with the article, please include caption information to identify the activity or the person.
- Pictures and other graphic material should not be inserted into the text file. Label all graphic material--Figure 1, Figure 2, and so on. When referring to the figures in the text of the article, use parentheses, as in (See Figure 3).
- Don't include footnotes. If you need to attribute something, do it within the body of the article.
- If we edit your submission extensively, we'll make sure you get to see it before press time.
- We will ask you to assign all rights to the article to SLA. If you prefer some other rights arrangement, let us know. We probably can accommodate you. When you submit your article, please print our online copyright form and mail it to: Information Outlook, 331 S. Patrick St., Alexandria VA 22314.
- You don't need to compress your materials in a zip file before submitting them. Of course, if you need to to save time and bandwidth, please do.
If It Isn't a Full-length Feature
- If your unit has a special event, we may be able to get it into the Information Outlook calendar. Remember, though, that we're working two months in advance of the publication date. If the event is scheduled for June and you want it mentioned in the May issue, we need to receive it by March 1.
- Letters to the editor always are welcome. Please make sure you include contact information. We won't publish anonymous letters.
Some Notes on Style
We use the Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition. If you don't have one, don't buy one just on our account. Most of the Chicago rules are the same as you learned in English 101.
We don't follow Chicago in all cases, there are some specialized styles for SLA. Our style guide is online for your convenience.
For More Information:
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Information Outlook
SLA
331 South Patrick Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3501
Phone: +1.703.647.4919
E-mail: editor@sla.org
Last modified on April 2008
Feedback form
