Before submitting an article topic, please check our Article Index to make sure it hasn't already been covered.

We offer several types of features, including:

All About the Town...

A detailed feature covering a town or city of interest. This is the one place where we do a "roundup" of sites within a town or city. Even so, we would rather cover just a few important historic sites within a town than try to touch briefly on a lot of sites. Each site covered should include some history of the site and a look at what the visitor can expect to see today. Length: 2000-3000 words.

A Great Day Out

These features focus on specific, individual destinations, such as a castle, museum, manor, or other distinct location (e.g., Stonehenge, Hadrian's Wall). This feature can also include more than one attraction if they are related and in the same area. The location should be of sufficient merit to justify taking a day trip to see it (hence "A great day out"). Length: 1500-2000 words.

Worth a Stop

This is the ideal section for sites that you might not go out of your way to see, but would be glad to look at if you happen to be in the area. This might include smaller museums, monuments, castle ruins that you can't actually enter or explore, etc. Length: 500-1000 words.

Miscellany

This category of articles covers topics that don't fit into a specific "destination" piece, such as articles on "the ghosts of..." or coverage of a historic topic that may involve several destinations (such as the border reivers or the smugglers of Kent). This is also a good place for "best of" roundups (e.g., best stone circles of...), seasonal articles, and articles covering local traditions. Length: 1000-2000 words.

Travel Tips

This section looks at helpful "how-to" tips for the traveler, such as where to stay, travel safety, how to get around, and interesting things to do (e.g., conservation holidays). These should generally be aimed at the non-resident tourist. Length: 1000-2000 words.

Photos:

Good photos are a definite plus. If you don't have photos of a location, consider contacting the local tourism authority for photos. Generally, they will provide you with a CD-ROM of photos. However, most tourism offices ask you to return this CD-ROM, so we recommend that you copy the CD and send us a copy, and send the original back. In some cases we can also obtain photos from Britainonview.com; we may check for photo availability before accepting an article. Photos must be CLEAR and SHARP. We only accept digital photos. To submit SAMPLE photos with your article, please reduce the size to 6 inches along the longest dimension and a resolution of 72 ppi. The best way to submit photos for review is to place them in a folder, "zip" the folder, and send the folder as an attachment.

Reprints

We will consider reprints that fit into any of the areas listed above. We only accept material electronically. If you have a hard-copy that you'd like to submit for consideration, please retype it and send it to us as a Word file.

"History" means more than saying, "this town has a rich history..." Get the details -- the events, people, and places that made a location significant. Make the history come alive in your article, and link it to specific things that the visitor can see.

We are not interested in "roundup" articles that show the author strolling down a street and noting all the interesting buildings along the way. ("To the left, you'll see the house where Dickens wrote... and on the right, the tea-shop made famous in...") We are not interested in modern attractions such as nightclubs. Basically, we're looking for writers whose idea of the ideal vacation is to visit 20 museums in 10 days.

Some basic do's and don'ts:

• Don't use first-person unless it's really necessary. If you've had an interesting experience, by all means share it. But don't force the reader to watch YOU visiting the site ("as I strolled down the wall, I noticed the carved stones and couldn't help but think of the ancient hands that had once touched these same walls...") Step out of the scene and let readers see it for themselves.
  
  
• Don't try to cover every single attraction in a town in 2000 words. Focus on the most important aspects of the location.
  
  
• Don't go overboard trying to create "atmosphere." We get too many features where someone tries to evoke the sense of mystery and wonder of, say, Merlin at Tintagel, and in most cases it just comes across as hokey. If a place has "atmosphere," describe what MAKES it atmospheric.
  
  
• Do include websites and additional sources of information. When listing a website, include the site's NAME -- not just the URL. Include links to other nearby attractions if appropriate. Definitely do include the website of the attraction discussed in your article, if there is one.
  
  
• Do tell readers how to reach the destination, especially if it's difficult to find. Map coordinates or GPS coordinates are advisable for locations "out in the countryside," such as standing stones that are off the beaten path.
  
  
• Do be sure to tell us what county your destination is located in. Keep in mind that this site is edited by an American who isn't likely to know!
  
  
• Do put your name on your submission. You'd be amazed at how often I dip into the file to find an article that has NO name or contact information on it -- and then have to backtrack through my correspondence to figure out who wrote it. That's basic Article Submission 101, folks!
  
  
• Do include a one-paragraph bio with your submission.

Response time: 1-2 weeks

Publication lead time: 1-6 months

Payment is on acceptance. We offer payment by U.S. check, PayPal, or Amazon.co.uk gift certificate.

Rights:

• Original articles/photos: First publication rights and exclusive electronic rights for three months after "official" posting (when the article goes "live" on the main table of contents); nonexclusive electronic rights for nine months thereafter, followed by indefinite nonexclusive archival rights.
  
  
• Reprints: Nonexclusive electronic rights for one year, followed by indefinite nonexclusive archival rights.
  
  
• After one year, authors may request the removal of material from the archives.
  
  
• If, after the actual launch of the site, an original article has been held for more than six months after acceptance, the "three months exclusive rights" clause is waived and we retain only the nonexclusive electronic rights to the piece, leaving the author free to resubmit the material elsewhere. Authors are always free to resubmit reprints elsewhere.

NOTE: Articles may be posted to the web before they officially go "live". Once an article is physically posted, you are welcome to reference the URL; however, the clock doesn't start ticking on the rights listed above until the article has actually been announced on the front page as "new this month".

Copying and Plagiarism: Put simply, if you are caught copying material from other sources, don't bother submitting anything else. Ever. I've got a pretty good eye for stolen material, and a very low tolerance for such antics. Plagiarism includes "borrowing" or "paraphrasing" large chunks of someone else's material without attribution or permission. Do not assume that because material appears on a town's "tourism" website, it is in the "public domain."

2) MS Word attachments are preferred. If submitting a manuscript in the text of your e-mail, please be sure that you've removed smart quotes and other special characters from your document before cutting and pasting. For more info, see my article, "Preparing E-mail Queries," at http://www.writing-world.com/basics/email.shtml.

3) Include your full contact information on your submission cover e-mail (including address), and PLEASE PUT YOUR NAME ON YOUR MANUSCRIPT ATTACHMENT!

4) Please include a brief, one-paragraph author bio with your submission.

5) When submitting a manuscript, if you have photos, please include thumbnails or reduced-size files with the submission. The best way to do this is to place the photos and manuscript in a folder and then "zip" the folder (using WinZip or DropZip), then e-mail the zipped folder as an attachment. When sending photos, please include a list of photo captions. For more information on reducing photo files, see below.

Digital photos don't have to be "perfect" -- we can do a lot with Photoshop, including brightening up photos taken on dark days, sharpening photos that are out of focus, and adding a bit of color to dull, drab photos. (There are limits, however.)

Please submit low-resolution files or thumbnails with your manuscript. I prefer to receive photos at a resolution of 72 pixels/dpi. If you are not sure how to convert "raw" photo files taken directly from your camera to low-resolution photo files, please review your camera instructions and/or the software that probably came with your camera. If you have Photoshop, the process is very simple:

1. Open the original photo (tiff, jpg or "raw" file)
2. Select the entire photo and "copy".
3. Open a new file. In the new file size menu, change the resolution to 72 dpi. Click "return."
4. Paste the photo into the new file.
5. Go to the "layer" menu and select "flatten image."
6. Save it as a jpg.

Note that, at least in Photoshop, it is necessary to actually "copy and paste" to change the resolution. You're generally starting with a very small photo at very high resolution. If you simply change the resolution of the original photo, you end up with a small photo at low resolution. By copying and pasting, however, you end up with a nice, large photo at the lower resolution -- which makes it much easier for me to either use it as is, reduce it, or crop in on a particular portion of the photo.

If you are unable to reduce the resolution of your photos, please e-mail me to discuss alternatives.

Prints and Transparencies

If you have prints or transparencies, and are unable to scan them yourself, I can scan them for you. However, this takes time, and will affect the fee paid for the article. I will also deduct any fees required to mail the photos back to you. Therefore, my recommendation is that you scan such photos yourself, or find a friend who can do it. (Scanners are getting very cheap and easy to use; if you only want to scan prints, you can get a decent scanner for $100 or less, while one that accepts transparencies can be found for less than $200.) You can also take transparencies or negatives to a photo shop and have a photo disc made, which will (a) give you a permanent electronic file for your own use and (b) protect your photos from loss or damage during shipping. (If you wish to include postage for the return of your photos, remember that it must be U.S. postage.)