Guidelines for Writing Hokum

Hokum Home does accept submissions to any of its content areas.

Needs

The goal of Hokum Home is to provide free, top quality information about writing. While you can contribute to any of the areas on Hokum Home, I am primarily looking for articles and tutorials. Topics I would really like to post include, but are not limited to, the following:

Learning new skills
Industry specific information, including insider perspectives
Tips for writing
Tips for editing
Tips for generating ideas
Project management
Accomplishing specific tasks using a specific product
Inspiration
Anecdotes, particularly funny ones about writing, technical writers, or the writing life

Format

Hokum Home uses a familiar, informal writing styles with occasional humor. I would like to keep with that style. The information Hokum Home provides should be well researched and/or tried. Please familiarize yourself with Hokum Home, its writing style, and its format before you submit. I reserve the right to edit anything I put on my web site for accuracy, content, style, and anything else I think should be changed. I'll let you know if I change anything major.

Articles

I will review articles for fiction writing, technical writing, and anthropology. Discussions are intended to provide advice or insight into their topic. Discussions should be no more than 1500 words in length. All articles should include the following sections in this order:

Title - Short, descriptive phrase, such as "Learning How to Write", or that poses a question, such as "How Do I Become a Writer"
Introduction - One paragraph that explains what the article is about
Content - Actual body of the article. The content should be divided into multiple sections, each no more than three paragraphs long. Each section should have a title that begins with a verb in gerund form, such as "Picking Up Skills." The sections should be presented in a logical order and relate to the main topic of the article.
Wrap Up - One or two paragraphs that summarize the article and provide a word of wisdom or two.

Tutorials

Tutorials should show users how to accomplish a specific task using a specific product. The product should be related to writing or used by writers. I'm really interested in tutorials for OpenOffice.org, RoboHelp, and any Microsoft applications, though any software is acceptable as long as it is used by fiction, business, or technical writers. Tutorials should be no longer than 10 steps unless you have good reason to go longer. Please do NOT include graphics unless I request them. Tutorials should include the following sections:

Title - Short, descriptive phrase that begins with a gerund, such as "Creating Transparent GIFs"
Introduction - One or two paragraphs mention the product, explain the feature, and explain how that feature can be used in a real-world situation. The introduction should also include a one to three sentence summary of the procedure the tutorial details.
Steps - Number steps that walk the user through the task. Each step should cover only one task. Where necessary, include notes or tips that explain what the software does in reaction to the user, such as "The Paint Dialog box appears."

How to Submit

Queries are welcome, but you do not have to query first. If you send a query, include the introduction and a detailed outline of your submission. You can also send complete material.

Please send all material to hokumhome@freehomepage.com in plain-text (TXT) format embedded in the body of your email. Include the phrase "Writing Submission" in the subject line. Please do NOT send anything formatted in HTML. It will be deleted without being read.

Please allow at least one month for a response on all queries and submissions. If accepted, your material will be posted on the following site update. Hokum Home updates about once a month, but it may take longer in some cases. This site is my hobby. I'm the only guy working on it. I have kids. I have a job. I have stories that I want to write. I have a spouse I love spending time with. In short, I have a pretty full life, so be patient. If your submission is not included in the appropriate site update, let me know (in a nice way) and I'll look into it.

Payment

As I said before, this site is my hobby. I don't make money off of it even with the bookstore (I still have to pay fees for the URL and ISP after all). I'm also a writer. These two facts mean that I can't provide a financial reward for anything you submit to Hokum Home. I will, however, provide space for your email address, a 100 word bio, and a link to your web site at the bottom of your contribution. You can use any submission to this web site on your resume as well.

The most important thing to remember is that by contributing to Hokum Home, you will be contributing to ether-knowledge of the Web. As Ron Kurtus from School For Champions writes "The most obvious reward you can get from your contribution of material is the pleasure and satisfaction of expressing yourself and being able to have your thoughts published to the world and being able to help others learn."