Our most valuable articles come from technical professionals who write from their own experiences. Through the network System iNEWS provides, these computing practitioners offer their fellow professionals field-tested techniques and practices that have helped them in their work. If you're a seasoned writer with many publication credits, great! But even if you've never written for publication before, your professional experience is a valuable resource; we can help you share it with our readers.

Please direct your questions about our acquisitions process and send proposals, outlines, articles, and utilities to Vicki Hamende (970-203-2824) at vhamende@pentontech.com.

We're Glad You Asked

If you have an idea for an article, please let us know. An e-mail sketching your proposal will help ensure that what you have in mind focuses on a topic we want to cover.

Your proposal should include an abstract/outline that describes the article's topic, scope, major points, and organizational plan. Please add a short bio highlighting your technical background. The information you send should include:

1. Your name, address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address
2. The working title of the article
3. The expected audience (technical novices, experienced professionals, technical managers, or a combination)
4. A few sentences stating the article's main focus and key supporting points, including a statement of the article's benefits to the reader
5. A list of the examples (i.e., code, illustrations, and figures) you plan to use to support your ideas
6. The date you can submit the finished article to us

The abstract/outline should be sufficiently detailed so that a technical reviewer can clearly understand what you intend to cover. For example, if one subtopic will involve a discussion of various approaches, please list those approaches.

If you have a number of potential topics in mind and want guidance on which one to pursue first, please send us an e-mail listing your proposals with a few sentences describing each one. We'll respond to you with our suggestions.

Getting Started

One easy way to begin is to send us a brief technical tip (300 to 1,000 words) for our Tech Corner department. We also look for useful, well-documented programs to publish as Load 'n' Go pieces. If you've developed a utility you'd like to share but don't want to write an accompanying article, consider just submitting the code. We look for efficient algorithms with no bugs, and we require adherence to accepted standards. Your program should be submitted electronically, accompanied by a brief explanation (1,000 to 1,500 words) of the utility's benefits, a description of how it works, and suggestions for its operation.

If you'd rather share your opinions than your code, please consider contributing to our guest viewpoint column. We need well-reasoned, thought-provoking pieces (1,000 to 2,000 words) about issues of interest to the System i programming community (programming practices, management concerns, new technologies, future trends, and so on) or the larger computer industry (computer-related social, environmental, economic, and political issues). You may submit responses to previously published opinions or write viewpoints covering new ground.

Feature-Length Attractions

Perhaps you have an idea for a feature article (no more than 4,000 words) that you're eager to tackle. If so, you have a variety of formats from which to choose. System iNEWS publishes technical tutorials, "how-to" articles, technical management advice, discussions of software engineering principles, programming fundamentals, analyses of news and trends, case studies, and product reviews (see "Case Studies and Demo Booths in System iNEWS," below). Analyzing a few back issues of the magazine will help you better understand what we're looking for in each of these categories. Regardless of the format you choose, contact us first to make certain we are interested in your topic.

Keys to a Successful System iNEWS Article

If you've ever coached a computer operator through error recovery over the telephone, you have some idea of what it's like to write a technical article for System iNEWS. You can't sit down at the keyboard with your readers and show them what your article is trying to say. You have only the English language to convey your message. To get your point across successfully, you should take extra pains to be clear, concise, and complete in your explanation and to use active rather than passive voice.

1. The first step when planning your piece is to choose your audience. System iNEWS uses a mix of articles to serve its readers, who range from technical novices to experienced technical professionals (including programmers, analysts, engineers, operators, consultants, and System i managers). Knowing your audience helps you decide what content to include, what level of detail to use, and what tone to select when presenting your information.
2. Next, you need to organize the presentation of your information. A detailed outline is vital to keeping your article focused so that every section and each example clearly contributes to your article's purpose. Your piece should have a clearly defined introduction, body, and conclusion.
3. The introduction outlines the problem and its solution. You should be certain to specify clearly the benefits of reading the article. Promise the reader that good things are coming and orient the reader to expect those good things within a certain framework. If there are conditions under which your technique is not appropriate, let the reader know that, too.
4. In the body of your article, you should describe in detail your solution to the problem stated in the introduction. The text should be organized in a way that is interesting yet easy to understand. For instance, a "how-to" article might discuss the most general information first and then present information about tasks in the sequence in which the reader must perform them. A case study might present information and tips in chronological order. Whatever sequence of presentation you choose, be sure that it is logical and fits your material. Also, remember to use active rather than passive voice.
5. The conclusion returns to the promise made in the introduction. Now that the reader has seen and evaluated the information you've presented, he or she will be ready to grasp all its implications. This is your chance to summarize the essential points you've made. Your work may suggest important future trends, letting the reader know what these trends are and suggesting how he or she can take advantage of them. Motivate the reader to use your information in the real world.

A key point about writing for System iNEWS is to be as specific as possible throughout your text. Information processing is a business filled with abstract ideas. To communicate your thoughts effectively, you should provide plenty of accurate technical detail and illustrate your points with examples, figures, screen captures, and free-format program code — all clearly labeled and carefully referenced in the text. It's better to include too much well-organized detail rather than risk including too little.

If your article has executable code, make certain that the code works — not only under normal circumstances but also under abnormal conditions. For example, if your program expects an object name in its first parameter, make sure the program can handle object names of all types, invalid object names, and even a missing object name.

It's important to reread and revise your text. Prune away unnecessary words; fill in any gaps. Have a fellow professional evaluate your article to let you know what's clear and what's not, where an example might emphasize a point, or where a transition is needed to clarify the article's direction. His or her suggestions can help you strengthen the article. You should also make certain you have dealt with any feedback you received from a review of your abstract, outline, or earlier draft by System iNEWS technical editors. When your article is in topnotch shape (and your code is tested and debugged), it's time for . . .

The Big Send-Off

Please e-mail the article to Vicki Hamende (vhamende@pentontech.com) as a Microsoft Word document, numbering the pages but otherwise using as little formatting as possible. Also, please send any accompanying items or code to Vicki as separate files rather than embedded in the article. Figures, screen shots, etc., should be sent as JPEGs. Code and tables should be sent as text. Please use your discretion and consider our space restrictions when determining how many accompaniments to include with your submission. Please send biographical information that we can use with your article and also attach a recent digital photo if possible. For more information, please contact Vicki via e-mail or phone (970-203-2824).

The Final Steps

We'll let you know when we receive your article. If we accept it for publication, we'll send you a standard copyright form to sign and fax back to us. The editing process, which begins with a technical review followed by an editorial review, takes a few weeks. Our goal in editing is to work closely with you to ensure clarity, accuracy, and a consistent editorial style. You will have a chance to see your edited piece before it is published.

Although we earmark articles for specific issues of System iNEWS, the final decision-making process is affected by the size of each particular magazine, which we often don't know until close to the publication deadline. We'll do our best to print your article in a timely manner.

Once we know for certain the issue in which your article will appear, we will mail you a check prior to the publication of that issue. We offer $0.25 per published word up to a maximum of $900 to authors who are writing for us for the first time. We offer $0.30 per published word up to a maximum of $1,000 to authors who have written for us before. We also pay $0.50 per line for executable code and $10 each for illustrations, diagrams, and figures other than screen captures. We offer a flat rate of $300 for utilities submitted without text. If the utilities include text, we pay $300 plus the $0.25 or $0.30 per-word rate. We pay $500 for guest viewpoints.

Remember the other rewards you'll receive, such as the thrill of seeing your words in print and the satisfaction of knowing that you have helped your fellow professionals.

Case Studies and Demo Booths for System iNEWS

Each day's mail includes at least one announcement about a new or improved System i software solution we think readers would like to know more about. We can't test them all, so we encourage you to share knowledge you have gained about midrange products through everyday business use. If you are interested in having a case study written relating to a particular solution, please contact John Ghrist, our senior products editor, at jghrist@pentontech.com. Vendors who want to write about their own products can produce what we call a Demo Booth.

Demo Booths

Demo Booths provide practical, technical looks at application development and system management/operation tools. In Demo Booths, software vendors explain working examples that use their products to solve common problems. The vendors speak for themselves — System iNEWS technical editors referee submissions to eliminate promotional material, but vendors select their own problems, solutions, and styles of presentation. Demo Booth examples provide a brief introduction to tools that may help readers in their own environments. A Demo Booth should be approximately 1,000 to 1,200 words.