Write for us - Contributor Guidelines
Market position of this magazine
Caritas has been out for two years and has received unprecedented subscriber and market feedback, ranging from senior executives in non profit organisations, their advisers and certain government ministers. We even managed to persuade the Prime Minister’s wife, Sarah Brown to do an article for us (November 2008), not to mention the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland (July 2008). And all three Ministers for the Office of the Third Sector have made appearances. Caritas is aimed at chief executives, finance directors and other senior members of executive boards and boards of trustees of not for profit organisations, along with advisers to the third sector. Relevant government and public sector individuals will also receive this magazine.
As at the end of November 2008, this magazine has been available online with archive fully searchable and with full links out to relevant reference documentation. As a Caritas author, your details will be picked up by search engines as we are using SEO technology in the new site.
CaritasData is well known for its high quality financial and profile information and we are extending its brand attributes to cover practical management information for this audience. Key features of this magazine include:
- A business-like approach which understands charity structures and trustee dynamics – a senior management magazine for charities covering all the core disciplines rather than just one.
- Essential reading for students of the emerging charity disciplines in business schools and professional bodies
- Strong compliance theme so that back issues are used as reference, enabling readers to distinguish between best practice and absolute requirements
- Regular research and analysis feature based on CaritasData data.
- Engaging and highly readable. We are aiming towards an Harvard Business Review approach for the Third Sector (as opposed to a Management Today).
- Circulation to around 7,500 senior charity executives, trustees and their advisers.
Submitting Articles
Articles should be submitted by email to cdann@wilmington.co.uk either as attachments (Microsoft Word documents or simple Text documents) or pasted into the body of the email.
For ease of identification, please make sure your / the author’s name appears clearly at the top of the article. Please also ensure you provide:
- A brief description of yourself / the author(s) (e.g., John Smith is a partner of Smith & Co, Chartered Accountants, specialising in Not for Profit organisations).
- Your / the author’s contact details (postal and email addresses, telephone and fax numbers).
- A good quality photograph of yourself / the author. If photos are scanned in, they should be scanned at least at their original size, at a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) and saved in either jpeg or tiff formats.
- A 200 word biography and contact details for our records. Our authors are very important to us and internal records of their areas of expertise ensure relevant approaches for articles!
Word Count
The maximum standard lengths for Caritas articles are:
- 800 words (one printed page). Note only Viewpoints, CFDG, ACEVO and First Person features are one page. All other features are a minimum of two pages.
- 1,600 words (two printed pages)
- 2,400 words (three printed pages – but please note this is an unusual length and only justified in exceptional circumstances.
As a general rule, it is better to write under the limit given in your commissioning note and stretch if necessary rather than write above the agreed limit and cut. It also gives us greater flexibility with the design and makes it easier to fit additional material such as tables, boxes, etc.
Drawing Readers In
There are a number of magazines aimed at the third sector and this one differentiates on grounds of offering have to have management information within its articles. Making sure that your article is read and re-read is crucial. This means capturing your reader’s attention from the start.
Style
- OPENING LINE : if there is one sentence you need to spend time on, it’s this one. You have to hook your reader. For instance, avoid “Earlier this year the Government changed the tax rules”; these readers are likely to be familiar with a major tax change or new piece of legislation; your role is to make them want to read this article on it. (note: this is different from the Standfirst which gives a broad introduction to the article including the author’s name and sits immediately below the headline; the Standfirst is usually written by us once the article is in place on the page).
- TELL A STORY : it’s not because you are writing on a compliance topic that you should not bring the subject to life. There is no such thing as a ‘dull but important’ development; if it’s important, explain why – preferably in the first paragraph - and you will already be half-way there.
- BE CONCISE : readers’ time is as precious as yours, and few will be inclined to spend time wading through an article which is not sharp and to the point. For the same reason, avoid overly long sentences. At worst, your name and ours could be remembered for the wrong reasons.
- SALES PITCHES: Very occasionally, authors have misread the opportunity to contribute to a prestigious management magazine and have submitted what can only be termed ‘advertorial’. Please do not become one of them.
Additional content
- FIGURES : if chosen carefully, figures such as flowcharts, tables, diagrams and statistics, are perfect companions for your narrative and will help make it “speak” more effectively.
- KEY POINTS : a short summary of the main points of the article, regulatory issue, practical impact, dos and don’ts etc. are also very useful as a separate box on the side of the article. Make sure you count this as part of your overall word count. (note: this is different from your Conclusion).
- CASE STUDY : articles don’t always lend themselves to case studies but for longer articles (1,800 words), consider including a case study to lift the narrative. This would take 350 words off your main article but help make your point more relevant. We usually show these in a separately shaded box. However, sometimes entire articles can take the form of a case study, provided the elements of Problem, Issues, What you did and Solution with new procedures are included.
- REFERENCE MATERIALS : where possible please indicate the provenance of references that you make (although the Charity SORP is well known, there maybe specific guidance or practice notes available from certain bodies. We need to know where from as the articles link to the source materials when they go online (the links are added by us). Sweeping statements with no evidence just don’t work and I have had to reject articles that are light on provenance.
- IMAGES: although we source images as part of our magazine design process, you may have particular images you feel would suit your article. These should be described in your covering note so we can brief our designers.
- Bear in mind that boxes, tables, flowcharts, pictures, will reduce your word count – another reason to keep a tight rein on your style and an eye on the word limit.
Providing added value
Providing added value
Your article should provide added value. This will depend on the format of the article:
- News-based or topical articles: aim to provide insight into the topic you are discussing. Do not merely re-state the facts and outcome of a case(s), or the provisions of a Bill or proposal: explain why certain developments (latest case, new legislation, official guidance, etc.) are important, what the implications might be, what practical steps charity professionals should take.
- Practical articles: if writing a practical article, make sure the steps or processes are clearly described and identifiable with clear 'action points' for each and explain the risks if a particular step is not gone through properly. Examples of charities who have dealt with a particular issue are great illustrations – these don’t always have to be a case study but can be a short quote confirming your point.
- Update/round up articles: updates should highlight the most significant legislation and regulation and other development in the area. Keep the summary of the facts and the actual core regulatory material to a minimum. Concentrate on why the compliance issues you have selected are important. Your conclusion should provide a final snapshot of the state of regulatory obligations facing charities as a result of these cases or developments and, if possible, indicate what the next stages might be or the impact on practice.
Keeping in touch
Once you have written an article for Caritas, do keep in touch. We rely on experts like you to prompt us about specific developments in the sector (although we pride ourselves on our research competencies!). Many firms have managed to get a soundbite in our news pages by emailing me a really relevant and useful news release. So please contact me (see below) if you have any ideas for news items, articles or even something I should be addressing in my Editorial. Don’t forget that I also edit the legacy magazine, Codicil and the fundraising magazine, Charity Funding Report and there may be opportunities to appear in that. Wearing another hat, I also edit an online HR fortnightly bulletin: www.news.thepeoplebulletin.co.uk and some of my Caritas contributors have enjoyed additional exposure after minor tweaking of an article originally aimed at the voluntary sector.
Fees
We do not pay for contributions unless agreed otherwise before publication. This magazine with its Caritas brand is a unique opportunity for contributors and senior charity professionals to share their expertise. Some authors have asked me to contribute to their charities…but my giving is my own affair and nothing to do with my employers.
Copyright
Your article remains your copyright but the condition of supplying articles to us is that we publish them on an exclusive first publication rights basis. This means that your article cannot be released for any other publication or website without express permission from Waterlow Legal and Regulatory. Permission is granted on a case by case basis. In practice we are happy for articles to appear on your own websites one month after they have appeared in their print form in Caritas – and eventually – online. PDFs can be supplied upon request.
Any queries?
All editorial queries: Clarissa Dann, Editor: 020 7324 2322
cdann@wilmington.co.uk
Advertising sales: Rebecca martin, Sales Executive: 020 7549 2559
rmartin@wilmington.co.uk
Further reading:
http://www.journalism.co.uk/features/story3065.shtml
http://www.economist.com/research/styleguide/