Tips on Submitting Articles for Publication
Author: Michael Pastore

One of the most inexpensive ways to drum up interest in yourself, your business or your products and services is to write articles. The Internet, of course, has an unlimited amount of space to publish articles and almost as many publishers, whether on the Web or on e-mail.

Most sites that allow authors to submit articles (InternetDay included) review the submissions, edit the articles and then schedule them for publication. On the outside, it may seem like anyone can write an article for publication, but there are certain things to keep in mind that will not only increase your chances of being published, but will also portray you and your company in a positive light. Not only do your articles market your business, but they market yourself. Once you've established a relationship with a site's editor, and have shown you can continually submit well-written articles, your chances of being published increase considerably.

Here are some tips that I've compiled from my own experience as an editor who reviews and edits submitted article contributions. Every site is different, but I've tried to stick to general points that should apply anywhere on the Net.

·                     Make the article as professional as possible.
Keep in mind that you're likely competing with other authors and articles for space on an online publication. As a general rule, the better the site or newsletter, the more contributions it will have. And that means only the best will be chosen. If there's an article that doesn't need much editing next to one that does, which article do you think the editor is going to choose? Do not write a long ad for your business. The best articles are largely unbiased and discuss an area with which the author is familiar, not just their product or service.

·                     Stay away from gimmicks that belong in advertising copy. Forget the ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation points!!! Exclamation points should almost never be used. You're not trying to hawk something in a radio ad, you're writing an intelligent article that will benefit your readers, so why are you yelling at them? Every industry has trade publications that feature informative articles not unlike yours, and you don't see capital letters and exclamation points in such magazines. The same rules apply online.

·                     Don't write like you talk.        A casual style is OK, because you don't want to make your article impossible for readers to understand. If they need a dictionary handy to understand it, they won't stick around long. Don't close a paragraph with: "Do you understand that? Good, let's move on." a) You're not going to get an answer, b) It's not a lecture and c) it's a little condescending to the reader. Don't swear, don't over do it with the contractions and don't tell a story in your article by starting every sentence with "Well,..." (Well, they told me I should start my own e-zine, so I had to look into buying software. Well, let me tell you, some of it can be expensive..."

·                     Don't be a nag over most changes.    It's OK to ask editors to run major changes by you for approval, but editors are usually professionals. Don't argue over commas and especially don't argue that they've destroyed the tone of your piece by removing all your exclamation points. The better the editor, the better he or she will make you and your writing look. Take note of the changes that have been made -- that's how you learn.

·                     Ask about style and submission guidelines.  This serves two purposes: 1) it makes for "cleaner" copy (fewer errors or style issues, which means less work for the editor and a higher likelihood of getting on their good side), and 2) it shows that you are taking an interest in making your article appropriate for that specific site, as opposed to writing a general article and sending it out to 1,000 sites. Remember, if you ask for style and submission guidelines, follow them. Some of the basic style issues that will come up in most articles submitted to Internet publications include capitalization and hyphenation (Internet or internet, online or on-line, email or e-mail, etc.).

·                     Follow basic grammar rules. You'd be surprised how often articles can be submitted with Words that just Start with Capital letters in the Middle of sentences. It's probably been awhile since most people took a grammar class, but capital letters are still reserved for the start of sentences and for proper nouns ("Internet," by the way, is a proper noun). In addition to capitalization, the most common grammatical errors involve possessives and contractions (especially the possessive "its" and the contraction "it's"). There is always confusion surrounding "there", "their" and "they're".

·                     Keep your writing brief.                      The whole idea of the Internet is to disseminate information quickly. There's little point in having readers find an article that is several pages long or requires the reader to scroll down forever. Some publications (including InternetDay) like to use bulleted or numbered lists, which make information easy to digest. Keep your paragraphs short.

And finally...

·                     Be an editor yourself. Use your spellchecker, and have someone else read your article before you send it. If there's no one available, put the article aside and return to it the next day with a fresh set of eyes.

If you're interested in reading more about improving your writing, here are some links that may interest you:

·                     The Poynter Report, Summer 2001: Seven Habits for Highly Effective Writing http://www.poynter.org/special/poynterreport/

·                     Tips on Writing Effective Articles  http://www.sitetipsandtricks.com/art/a090199c.html

10 Tips for Writing Powerful Articles         http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Pollock9.html