Writer Style Guide

Thank you for your interest in writing for asp.netPRO. This publication is devoted to professional developers who use Microsoft’s ASP.NET (Active Server Pages.NET) technology to build Web-enabled applications and business solutions. It targets the professional ASP.NET developer, not the hobbyist.

To satisfy our readers, asp.netPRO will feature a wide variety of ASP.NET-related technical information. This includes monthly articles on topics such as (but not limited to):

• ASP.NET and the .NET Framework
• Migrating from ASP “classic” to ASP.NET
• ADO.NET, XML, and data access
• N-tier development
• Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit

Articles should focus on ASP.NET and directly related technologies. ASP classic will be covered only in the context of migrating from ASP classic to ASP.NET.

asp.netPRO contains two components: a monthly print publication available on newsstands and via subscription, and an online Web magazine (www.aspnetPRO.com). Most content that appears in the print magazine will also appear on the Web magazine. However, the online version will often feature content that doesn’t appear in the print magazine, e.g., daily news updates. In rare instances, an article may appear only in the online Web magazine and not in the print magazine. This occurrence won’t affect the payment rate you receive for the article.

Submitting an Article Abstract
We prefer that all writers submit an abstract prior to writing an article. We ask this for several reasons, not the least of which is that someone may already be commissioned to write an article on the same (or a similar) topic. An abstract is a short description of the article you’re proposing. It should:

• give a good idea of the topic and techniques you plan to address in your article, as well as its scope;
• convey enough information to allow our editors to accept or reject the proposed article;
• contain applicable contact information: phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address; and
• describe your writing and programming experience.

Common reasons for rejection at this stage are that the topic isn’t appropriate for the magazine, or has been covered recently. If the abstract is approved, you’ll get a “go ahead” from an editor. Then it’s time to start writing the article. It’s important to note that approval of an abstract doesn’t guarantee the resulting article will be published. The article itself must then go through an editorial process. Please submit article abstracts to submissions@aspnetPRO.com.

Article Length and Type
Minimum and maximum article lengths aren’t enforced. Take as much (or as little) space as you need to succinctly convey your topic. Longer articles may be serialized. Here’s the suggested word count for articles:

• Short — 1000-2000
• Average — 2000-3000
• Long — up to 5000

Try to balance the number of figures to the article length. For example, a 2000-word article might have 2-4 figures, whereas a 3000-word article could have 6-8. However, it’s also possible that a long article be almost entirely text, or a relatively short article be “figure-heavy.” Just try to keep in mind how the article will appear in the magazine and attempt to strike a balance.

In addition to regular articles, asp.netPRO publishes reviews and tips. Please let us know if you are interested in writing book and/or product reviews. Do not contact vendors about reviewing their products. Our staff will acquire books and products for review.

asp.netPRO also publishes short tips. You are encouraged to submit short tips of 50-500 words.

Formatting the Article
asp.netPRO accepts articles in Microsoft Word or rich text format (an RTF file). Please use as little formatting as possible, e.g., don’t use custom templates or styles, or headers or footers. Please keep non-graphic figures in the main article file, i.e., don’t place each figure (code snippets, etc.) in a separate file (except for graphics as discussed below). Typically a submitted article will consist of a Word document, several graphics files, and sample files.

Authors should provide color screen shots (in TIF format and at a resolution of 96 dpi or higher) and accompanying captions. Please set your display to the most colors available and the Windows Standard scheme. All screen shots need to be available as separate files, and the file names should match the figure captions in the text (e.g., Figure1.TIF, Figure2.TIF, etc.). Whenever possible, try to capture more of the screen rather than less; we can always crop the image. It’s especially important to capture all the edges of a window.

Note that all non-text objects in an article are referred to as “figures.” Please don’t refer to Figure 1, Listing 1, Table 1, etc. Instead (using the same example), refer to Figure 1, the listing in Figure 2, and the table in Figure 3.

We can prepare any special graphics, diagrams, or other custom touches that your article might require, e.g., a diagram that illustrates an object model hierarchy. You don’t need to send finished artwork; simply mock up a reasonable facsimile of what you want and we can probably create it.

Articles must be accompanied by all source code and any related files (e.g., configuration files, database files, and XML files) discussed in the article. We must be able to test the material, and may need to take additional screen shots. We also need to place all source that relates to an article on the asp.netPRO Web site (www.aspnetPRO.com) for readers to download.

Code listings are considered figures. If they run longer than approximately 50 lines, however, they’ll be considered a listing and run at the end of the article. Please limit source code lines to no more than 60 characters. Any code statements longer than 60 characters will be reformatted during the editorial process to fit in one column width in the magazine. In order to minimize errors introduced in reformatting code, we strongly suggest that you break long lines (using line continuation characters, if dictated by the programming language) before submitting an article.

Programming Languages
We anticipate the majority of readers will use VisualBasic.NET (VB.NET) as their primary development language, and expect that most articles use VB.NET examples. While we’ll certainly consider articles employing other languages (e.g., C# and JScript.NET), VB.NET is the preferred language. We encourage articles written using VB.NET with parallel examples in C#.

The capitalization of keywords should conform to the conventions of the language used in the article. Even though VB.NET is a case-insensitive language (case doesn’t really matter to the compiler), you should capitalize the keywords for VB.NET examples as they’re capitalized in the Visual Studio.NET code editor. For case-sensitive languages such as C# and JScript.NET, you should use the syntactically correct capitalization for all keywords.

Writing Style
All material should, of course, adhere to the normal rules of good writing. Here’s a quick list:

• Each article should have an introduction and a conclusion.
• The level of detail should flow from general to specific.
• Organize your article, keeping like ideas together.
• Provide smooth transitions from one topic to the next.
• Avoid clichés, e.g., “best thing since sliced bread.”
• Avoid sexism. All developers aren’t males and all users aren’t females.
• Use the exclamation point sparingly; frequent use weakens its power.
• Be technically accurate! Although we attempt to test all material before publication, you should make every effort to ensure the techniques you present are sound. Your terminology must be equally sound.
• The bulk of any article should be explanatory text; code listings and bullet items don’t make an article.
• Write to an audience at a particular level of expertise. In general, we wish to avoid beginning programmer articles.
• This type of writing is jargon-filled by its nature. Please don’t add unnecessarily to the techno-babble, e.g., use “procedure” not “proc”, “application” not “app”, “dialog box” not “dialog”.
• Control the scope of the article; don’t try to tackle too large a topic, or introduce a train of thought without concluding it in some fashion. Please feel free to refer to the Microsoft documentation if it helps to make the topic clearer or can provide background information outside the scope of the article. Also, feel free to use previous asp.netPRO articles for the same purpose.
• Try to avoid the use of first person (e.g., “I’m writing this article to point out ...” should be “This article points out ...”). Also refrain from using the “storytelling” style of writing (e.g., “This caused me to sit back and scratch my head for a while ...”).
• Keep the article in the present tense.
• Don’t put a subheading over each paragraph. Subheadings are great for demarcating sections of an article or to help with transitions, but don’t rely on them for every transition.
• Be precise in your writing. For example, there’s a big difference between a class and an object. Such items shouldn’t be referred to interchangeably or ambiguously.
• Use comments frequently in your code. For example, the purpose of an algorithm obvious to you may not be obvious to readers. Comments help explain your code and make it easy for readers to move between the code listing and the explanatory text in the article.

Important Note: It should go without saying that the material in your article must be your own; plagiarism won’t be tolerated. At a minimum, any writer guilty of plagiarism will be banned from writing for the magazine. If an important part of your article comes from an idea you read somewhere else (e.g., a book) use the source as a reference. This doesn’t diminish your contribution, and in fact, adds credibility to your material. If a portion of an article is excerpted from a book you authored, then please credit the book at the end of the article.

Deadlines
Deadlines are one of the more important aspects of publishing. Although submitting an article before the deadline doesn’t guarantee it will be published in a particular issue, missing the deadline guarantees it won’t. Having said this, it’s important to stress that it’s far better to submit an accurate, well-written article than to meet a particular issue’s deadline. There’s always next month.

Here’s the deadline schedule through 2007:

Issue	Deadline
January 2007	10/20/06
February 2007	11/24/06
March 2007	12/22/07
April 2007	1/19/07
May 2007	2/16/07
June 2007	3/23/07
July 2007	4/20/07
August 2007	4/20/07
September 2007	6/22/07
October 2007	7/20/07
November 2007	8/24/07
December 2007	9/24/07

Submitting an Article
All articles must be submitted via e-mail. We don’t accept articles by any other means. E-mail article submissions to submissions@aspnetPRO.com. If needed, you may submit supporting materials (e.g., roughed-out diagrams) via fax or postal mail.

Messages and general contact:
Phone: 916.379.0609 x16
Fax: 916.379.0610

Mail supporting materials to:
asp.netPRO
Acquisitions
5105 Florin Perkins Road
Sacramento, CA 95826

Author Biography
Please include a short, one-paragraph bio that will appear at the end of your article. At your discretion, it can contain a brief description of you and your organization. It should provide some way for readers to contact you (e.g., e-mail, phone, etc.), although this isn’t required. If you’re a book author, it’s also a good opportunity to mention the title and how readers can obtain a copy.

Payment
asp.netPRO pays for articles depending on their length and state of completion. In this context, “completion” indicates how well prepared the article is for publication. For example, does the writing quality meet the standards described above or does it require polishing? The state of completion affects the amount paid for the article and its chances of being published.

Thank you for your interest in writing for asp.netPRO. We’re looking forward to working with you.

Microsoft, Visual Basic, Visual Studio, and .NET are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.