Writer's Guidelines
Easy guidelines for freelance writing for Inside
Length of stories: However long it takes to tell the story. That said, the average length is 5,000 characters (about 1,000 words), though they do range from 1,800 to 10,000 characters. I prefer to use character count.
Deadlines: The Friday before the issue it will run in. Inside is published every Wednesday, so we go to press every Tuesday afternoon. The Friday deadline gives me time to edit, and to ask reporters for any needed clarification. Please check it thoroughly and be sure it is finished before you send it; that's much better than sending follow-up emails with corrections and additions for us to apply.
Payment: We pay $25 per story ($35 if you shoot a photo to accompany the story and we use it). This is for stories agreed upon in advance as opposed to unsolicited. Reporters benefit mainly by getting experience, clips of published articles, access to places and events, etc. They also get the editor's appreciation!
COMMUNICATION: The best way to communicate with me is through my personal email, jborgardt at hotmail.com. PLEASE UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BOOK FOR THIS. Put "reporter" on the subject line of any email you send.
Style: Please spell out days of the week, and abbreviate months except for April, May, June and July. Spell out numbers less than 10, as well as numbers that begin a sentence: Four hundred people attended the meeting.
Give the article a headline, or better yet, a couple headlines for us to choose between, with one being clever, dramatic or funny. Put the headline in "sentence style," which means, only capitalize the first word plus any proper nouns; no period is needed. Indicate a subhead with SUBXXX preceding it.
Put your name on the article in this format:
By John Smith
Special to Inside
For almost every topic, have a telephone number to contact for more information. Use: For more information, call (XXX) XXX-XXXX, ext. X. Always type telephone numbers with area code in parentheses. For Web sites, use: Visit www.chicagoshakes.com.
Run a spellcheck before submission of the article, and also make sure every name is spelled correctly.
Identify locations by street address, and use this format:
N., S., E. or W. for direction
Ave., St., Dr. or Rd. (must have this tag on a street name; refer to zip code guide available in Yellow Pages)
For aldermen, identify with this format:
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th)
For times and dates, use "2 p.m. Saturday, July 2." Be sure the p.m. is lower case and has periods. My preference is to have the time immediately precede the day, followed by the date. The times of noon and midnight do not need the numeral 12 with them.
When you get quotes at a meeting from people attending, be careful to attribute the quote to the correct name.
When you attach a jpg to an article, put a caption at the top of the article, in this format:
cutline:
Overturned
credit:
photo by Craig Gernhardt
Caption:
At 7 a.m. Sunday, July 10, an SUV blew out the rear tire and flipped over while heading northbound on Lake Shore Dr. at Foster Ave. The ruined tire can be seen in the photo. The driver was carried away on a stretcher by Emergency Medical Technicians and Chicago Fire Department personnel.
Ideas: Yes, yes, yes! Submit ideas for stories to me and I will let you know whether to go ahead and write it for us.
Coverage area: From Lake Michigan to Western Ave., and from the Loop to Peterson Ave. Within this area, Lincoln Park is our top focus. That's because we alternate weeks with publication of Inside and Inside Lincoln Park. The issue called Inside covers items of interest taking place in the whole coverage area; the issue called Inside Lincoln Park covers Lincoln Park only, as much as possible.
Camera: We have a digital camera that you can pick up on your way to an assignment.
Good luck. I hope this will result in lots of story proposals, freelance articles, and smooth communication!
Jeff Borgardt, Editor, Inside Publications
Length of stories: However long it takes to tell the story. That said, the average length is 5,000 characters (about 1,000 words), though they do range from 1,800 to 10,000 characters. I prefer to use character count.
Deadlines: The Friday before the issue it will run in. Inside is published every Wednesday, so we go to press every Tuesday afternoon. The Friday deadline gives me time to edit, and to ask reporters for any needed clarification. Please check it thoroughly and be sure it is finished before you send it; that's much better than sending follow-up emails with corrections and additions for us to apply.
Payment: We pay $25 per story ($35 if you shoot a photo to accompany the story and we use it). This is for stories agreed upon in advance as opposed to unsolicited. Reporters benefit mainly by getting experience, clips of published articles, access to places and events, etc. They also get the editor's appreciation!
COMMUNICATION: The best way to communicate with me is through my personal email, jborgardt at hotmail.com. PLEASE UPDATE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS BOOK FOR THIS. Put "reporter" on the subject line of any email you send.
Style: Please spell out days of the week, and abbreviate months except for April, May, June and July. Spell out numbers less than 10, as well as numbers that begin a sentence: Four hundred people attended the meeting.
Give the article a headline, or better yet, a couple headlines for us to choose between, with one being clever, dramatic or funny. Put the headline in "sentence style," which means, only capitalize the first word plus any proper nouns; no period is needed. Indicate a subhead with SUBXXX preceding it.
Put your name on the article in this format:
By John Smith
Special to Inside
For almost every topic, have a telephone number to contact for more information. Use: For more information, call (XXX) XXX-XXXX, ext. X. Always type telephone numbers with area code in parentheses. For Web sites, use: Visit www.chicagoshakes.com.
Run a spellcheck before submission of the article, and also make sure every name is spelled correctly.
Identify locations by street address, and use this format:
N., S., E. or W. for direction
Ave., St., Dr. or Rd. (must have this tag on a street name; refer to zip code guide available in Yellow Pages)
For aldermen, identify with this format:
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th)
For times and dates, use "2 p.m. Saturday, July 2." Be sure the p.m. is lower case and has periods. My preference is to have the time immediately precede the day, followed by the date. The times of noon and midnight do not need the numeral 12 with them.
When you get quotes at a meeting from people attending, be careful to attribute the quote to the correct name.
When you attach a jpg to an article, put a caption at the top of the article, in this format:
cutline:
Overturned
credit:
photo by Craig Gernhardt
Caption:
At 7 a.m. Sunday, July 10, an SUV blew out the rear tire and flipped over while heading northbound on Lake Shore Dr. at Foster Ave. The ruined tire can be seen in the photo. The driver was carried away on a stretcher by Emergency Medical Technicians and Chicago Fire Department personnel.
Ideas: Yes, yes, yes! Submit ideas for stories to me and I will let you know whether to go ahead and write it for us.
Coverage area: From Lake Michigan to Western Ave., and from the Loop to Peterson Ave. Within this area, Lincoln Park is our top focus. That's because we alternate weeks with publication of Inside and Inside Lincoln Park. The issue called Inside covers items of interest taking place in the whole coverage area; the issue called Inside Lincoln Park covers Lincoln Park only, as much as possible.
Camera: We have a digital camera that you can pick up on your way to an assignment.
Good luck. I hope this will result in lots of story proposals, freelance articles, and smooth communication!
Jeff Borgardt, Editor, Inside Publications
