ARRLWeb: The ARRL Author's Guide

Skip to page content · Home · Site Index · Site Search · Call Sign Search · Catalog · Join ARRL · QST · Members Only · Operating Activities · Licensing · News/Bulletins · Services · Education · Public Service · Support · Donate to ARRL · ARRL Info

View page with graphics

Join ARRL or Renew Your Membership! -- Ad

The ARRL Author's Guide

By Steve Ford, WB8IMY
QST Editor/ARRL Publications Manager

What Are We Looking For?

QST

Despite the common misconception, QST is not a technical or engineering publication. QST is a membership journal that appeals to a broad cross-section of readers. With that in mind, we're looking for articles that are likely to please the highest percentage of our readership.

An article that has the best chance of being accepted for QST is one that...

Presents a project or idea that is useful and engaging to most hams. Example: A description of an HF antenna that can fit in a small attic is useful and engaging to a large portion of our readership. A discussion of feedhorn design for 24-GHz transmitters is not (this type of article would be better suited to QEX, the QST sister publication).

Is written in a natural, conversational style. We like articles that speak to the reader as if the reader was sharing pizza with the author. Talk directly to the reader; make ample use of the word "you." If your text is sprinkled with words such as "thus," "therefore" and "shall," you need to go back to the drawing board.

Tells an engaging story. This applies primarily to general-interest articles. If you're writing a story about your amateur operation from a far-flung island, try to tell a good story. Give the reader a sense of what it was like to be there. The more you can paint a vivid picture in our minds, the more likely we are to accept your article. For example . . .

Weak: Our boat left the dock at 9 AM and it was raining.

Better: Wind and rain lashed our boat as it struggled away from the dock at 9 AM.

QEX

Unlike QST, QEX is a technical, engineering-oriented publication. In fact, we only accept technical articles for QEX.

We accept a much broader range of technical material for QEX than QST. As long as it is Amateur Radio oriented, we're happy to consider any technical article for QEX. That said, we still expect good writing for QEX; a conversational style will make your article stand out among the candidates.

National Contest Journal (NCJ)

This is a magazine for hams who love contesting. For NCJ we're looking for articles that run the gamut from reviews of hardware and software, to antenna designs, to stories about your last contest operation. A friendly writing style is particularly important for NCJ. Remember that you are writing for a tight-knit brotherhood of competitors who deeply enjoy what they do.

ARRLWeb

For the ARRLWeb we're looking for short (1500 words maximum), general-interest articles. Since ARRLWeb articles are short, we favor those that tell a particularly interesting story. At least one photo to accompany the story is mandatory.

What We Do NOT Accept

There are a several taboos that will result in immediate rejection of your article. These apply to all ARRL publications and the ARRLWeb.

Profanity. Please avoid even mildly profane words such as "hell."

Sexual content or discussions of any kind. This includes links to Web sites with sexual content or discussions.

Depictions of violence or other mistreatment of humans or animals--even in jest. This includes links to Web sites that depict human or animal mistreatment.

Personal attacks on other amateurs.

Comments demeaning to others based on gender, race, religion, age or nationality, or links to Web sites with such content.

Political discussions (other than the politics of Amateur Radio or those pertaining to Amateur Radio).

Preparing Your Manuscript

You can mail e-mail your manuscript to ARRL HQ as a word processing file attachment. Although our editorial departments work primarily in Microsoft Word, they are capable of reading other word-processing formats as well.

When preparing your electronic manuscript for e-mailing, please observe the following guidelines:

(1) DO NOT attempt to format the document to look like a magazine page.

(2) DO NOT embed images or illustrations within the manuscript. Send them as separate files.

(3) DO include captions for all images and illustrations within the manuscript file.

(4) DO make sure your name, call sign, postal address and e-mail address are included within the manuscript file.

E-mail your manuscript to: QST@ARRL.ORG

You also have the option to simply send your manuscript to us by postal mail. Typewrite or computer-print your manuscript, double-spaced, on one side of each sheet, and use 8-1/2- X 11-inch paper. Leave at least a 1/2-inch margin around all sides of the text on each page. The top of each manuscript page should have a heading. Include the author's name, a key word or two from the title, and a page number. It's is a good idea to make a copy of your article before sending it to ARRL HQ. (Material sometimes gets lost in the mail.)

Send your manuscript, including all drawings and photographs, to:

ARRL
ATTN: Editorial Dept
225 Main St
Newington, CT 06111

Important! Send material to only one potential publisher at a time. It is our policy to automatically reject any submissions that have been sent simultaneously to other magazines. Multiple submissions can only lead to copyright infringement problems for publishers.

ARRL Editorial Correction Policy

QST/QEX/NCJ: Corrections to errors in articles and columns will be posted in the next available issue. Minor corrections will appear in dedicated sections (such as the QST "Feedback" area). In the event that numerous, serious errors appear throughout an article or column, either the entire article or column, or a truncated version thereof, will be republished in the next available issue.

Note: Items published in QST's Feedback also appear on the ARRLWeb (www.arrl.org/qst/feedback). Items appear on the Web on or around the 1st of the month, a couple of weeks before most members see the issue of QST.

ARRL Web News Items and Features: ARRL Web News items or features found to contain errors will be corrected and reposted as quickly as reasonably possible. Corrected items will indicate clearly that they have been corrected, and will indicate the date the correction was made.

ARRL Books: Major corrections in ARRL books will be posted as soon as possible to the ARRL Product Notes section of the ARRL Web at www.arrl.org/notes/. Corrections to the books themselves will be made at the next printing or edition.

Photographs

We can accept color prints or slides.

We can also accept digital images if the resolution is sufficient. Generally speaking, this means using at least a 1.2 megapixel (or greater) camera with the image resolution (sometimes referred to as "image quality") set at maximum. This is usually the setting that allows your camera to store the LEAST number of pictures. For digital images, the resolution must be at least 300 dpi when the image is sized at 4 X 5 inches or larger. Consult your image-viewing software. It should have a "properties" function that will give you the specifications of any image. If in doubt, our Graphics Department will evaluate the image to ensure that it is of sufficient quality for publication.

All photos, digital or otherwise, must include captions. Tell us what is going on in the photo, where it was taken and so on. If people are shown prominently in the photographs, you must supply their names and/or call signs. Don't write directly on the front or back of prints. Type photo credit or descriptive information on a piece of paper and tape the paper to the back of the print, or use adhesive-backed notepaper.

DO NOT send images captured from Web sites, or scanned from magazines, newspapers, catalogs or other media without obtaining the written permission of the author, Webmaster, company, etc.

DO NOT send prints made on color laser or inkjet printers. The color quality is not sufficient for us to use.

If your camera has a date-stamping function that adds the date automatically to every photograph, TURN IT OFF when shooting photos for possible publication.

Illustrations

Sketches and/or schematic diagrams you supply should be as clear as possible so that our technical illustrator can work directly from them. We do not require professional line drawings from you. Even pencil drawings are acceptable if they are clear and legible.

All illustrations must include the following:

Component labels and values (for example: C3 -- 10 mF)

Dimensions of all construction components (PVC tubes, wires, aluminum tubes, etc)

Text captions that clearly describe what is being shown. NOTE: Schematic diagrams must include captions that list ALL part values. You must include source information (company name, address, telephone, e-mail etc) for all active devices (transistors, ICs, etc).

Illustrations in AutoCad are acceptable.

Microprocessor Codes

If your project includes a microprocessor or other device that functions with instructions that you have written, the object code must be made available in HEX format at no cost to any reader who requests it. You can supply the code to us for distribution from the ARRLWeb, or you can distribute it from your own site or via e-mail. QST will not accept a project article unless the object codes are freely available to the public.

If Your Article is Accepted...

If your manuscript is accepted, you will receive a notice by mail. Articles accepted for publication become the property of The American Radio Relay League, Inc. Before we can prepare a manuscript for publication, we must have your written permission to do so. This is the purpose of the author's release form, which is sent to you along with the acceptance letter. The release form specifies that the material you have submitted is original, except as noted; has not been submitted or published elsewhere, except as noted; and contains suitable credit for circuits or ideas borrowed from already published material. Please be sure to include your social security number on the release form. If the material falls within our compensation guidelines (later in this Guide), and you are a US citizen or resident alien, we must have your social security number before payment can be made.

We will schedule your article for the next available issue, but please note that schedule changes are often necessary and that it could be up to one year before your article appears in print.

When your article is ready for publication, we will either post, fax or e-mail a copy to you (in Adobe PDF format). This will be your "proof" copy. Check it carefully for errors, then contact us as soon as possible with any necessary changes.

Compensation

The League compensates authors of certain material published in QST according to these guidelines:

Payment will be made for QST articles and Hints and Kinks items. Payment for articles will be at the rate of $65 per published page, or part thereof, including photographs, drawings and other related material. For QEX the rate is $50 per page. Authors of Hints and Kinks items will be compensated at the rate of $20 per published item. Feature stories for the ARRLWeb are purchased at $25 per story. We do not pay for material published in NCJ.

Payment will be made upon publication. ARRL and IARU officials (officers, directors and vice directors as well as officials of IARU member-societies), and authors of ARRL National Convention articles are not eligible for compensation. For authors who are presently under contract to the League (such as Contributing Editors), the provisions of the contract, and not this policy, apply.

If Your Article is Rejected...

The first thing a budding writer learns is to not take rejections personally. Magazines decline articles for a wide variety of reasons, but they have nothing to do with the personalities of the authors. (Rest assured that we consider each article for every possible League publication venue available, including books.) If we decide not to use your article, you will receive a notice by postal mail. Printed materials, illustrations and photos will be returned.

The best advice in the face of a rejection is to simply re-package the materials and send them to another publication. There are other amateur magazines available, and what may not appeal to one publication may appeal to another.

Attempting to argue your case with the editors will only result in bruised feelings. The decisions of the ARRL Editorial Committee are final.