After some delay, the Red Letter writing kit is now available. The text of the kit is pasted below. You can also find a PDF version of this kit at http://redletter.therubyjournal.com/download/redletterkit.pdf.
If you would like to propose a feature or write a column, send email to writers@therubyjournal.com.
Red Letter is a technical journal for professional Ruby developers. Published monthly, Red Letter aims to promote the adoption and use of Ruby, evangelize new projects, expand the skills of all Ruby programmers, and spark creativity and conversation.
Each issue of Red Letter includes three feature stories, at least six regular columns, and a variable number of one-page "lightning" stories and reviews. Each feature story is at least 3,500 words; each column is at least 2,500 words; a lightning story is no more than 900 words. Compensation for each type of story is shown in the table below.
Feature: $500
Column: $350
Lightning: $200
Author payments are made within 30 days after an article has been published (either online or in print, whichever comes first). No payment will be made without the receipt of a valid invoice. Invoices must include your name, address, tax identification number, the name of your article, and the agreed upon fee. Furthermore, invoices must be submitted within 30 days of acceptance of your final draft.
All payments are made electronically via PayPal unless prior arrangements are made. Published authors are also awarded one-year subscriptions to Red Letter.
Articles must be delivered as ASCII text, using simple markup to realize Red Letter's typographic conventions.
Each article's copyright remains the intellectual property of the author. However, each author agrees that Red Letter will the first and exclusive publisher of the original content, agrees not to re-publish the content for a period of 90 days following publication by Red Letter, and further agrees that Red Letter has the right to re-use the content perpetually and without limitation.
(The precise legal mumbo jumbo concerning rights of the author and those of Red Letter will be found in the Red Letter Assignment Letter, which will be available online shortly.)
The Writing Process
Articles written for Red Letter are developed in four stages: proposal, outline, first draft, and final draft.
A proposal can be formal or informal, but you must (at a minimum) identify the topic, explain why the topic is important, and list the three to five key crucial conclusions you hope readers will reach after reading the story. Conclusions might sway the reader's opinion or represent important technical information.
To propose a story, send email to writers@therubyjournal.com. You may also propose a series when a single story doesn't suffice. A series is particularly effective when you want to introduce readers to elaborate or complicated material.
Use the outline to realize the arc of your story. A good outline should include all of the following elements:
+ An objective that explains the goal of the article.
+ A series of meaningful major headings that divide the article into thematic or topical sections.
You can also use major headings to delineate complexity: early headings might reflect simplicity, while later headings show gradual increases in sophistication. (In other words, you might think of your story arc in terms of complexity: motivation, context, review, and introductory material first, specifics and proving your conclusions later.)
+ A list of conclusions made in each section.
+ A list of simple sentences that explain, reinforce, and substantiate each conclusion.
+ A catalog of figures, listings, and screenshots used in your article.
You must complete a proposal and an outline and have the outline approved before you begin writing.
The first draft is a complete article, and should very closely reflect your proposed outline. The prose in the first draft should achieve the stated objective and relay all of the conclusions. It is especially important to bridge smoothly from one section to another.
The first draft is also an opportunity to engage with your editor. Embed questions in your text (using brackets) if you want clarification, direction, or critique.
If a first draft varies greatly from the proposed outline or requires considerable editing effort and rework to meet Red Letter standards, your article may be cancelled. The decision to cancel an article is at Red Letter's sole discretion. Articles may be cancelled after your first draft is accepted and before publication. In that case, you are entitled to a "kill fee" equal to one-half of the agreed upon fee. (If you fail to complete a final draft and your article is subsequently published nonetheless, you are entitled to only one-half of the agreed upon fee.)
To provide paid subscribers with early access to all Red Letter content, all drafts are made available on a protected portion of the web site. Readers may comment on drafts.
The final draft is a finished story, including all figures, images, code, mark-up, and prose. The final draft is edited for clarity, punctuation, style, and is prepared for publication by the pre-press department.
Writing Schedule
Once a proposal is accepted, your outline is due one week later. After the outline is approved, a first draft is expected within four weeks. After receiving feedback on your first draft, you have one week to make all final changes and submit all materials (code, figures, images, etc.)
Writing Tips
Articles in Red Letter should be clear, direct, and eminently readable. Write informally, addressing the reader as "you." Use contractions, humor, personality, and good style to engage your reader.
Here are some other helpful do's and don'ts:
+ Do write in present tense and in active voice. Be informal, but clear.
+ Do use line numbers to refer to code in listings, especially if a listing is particularly long or complex.
+ Do use sidebars to provide additional exposition that would ortherwise detour the attention of the reader. Sidebars are useful for lists of references, project histories, technical minutiae, warnings, and more.
+ Do provide all of the information required to explain your topic. If necessary, refer to existing Red Letter articles to provide additional information. You can also refer to other articles on the web, as appropriate.
+ Do provide URLs to all projects, products, sites, and references you refer to in your article. Place the URL in parentheses immediately after the first reference to the resource.
+ Do provide pointers to additional reading, if appropriate. You can also propose exercises or even quizzes at the end of your article to encourage further experimentation. (Please provide solutions as well.)
+ Do write a fun, short biography for your byline. Please provide an email address or URL where you can be reached. You may also send a (tasteful) icon to include in your bio.
+ Don't write in passive voice. Be direct and give the reader instructions. (For example, don't write "Clicking on the button opens the window." Instead, write "Click on the button to open the window.")
+ Don't write sentences that begin "Please note that".
+ Don't waste valuable space repeating material that's already appeared in Red Letter.
Miscellaneous instructions
If your article includes other assets, be sure to follow these production specifications:
+ Screenshots must be provided as PNG or JPG images, and should be captured at the highest screen resolution possible.
+ Code and other resources that accompany your article must be provided in a tarball or gzip archive. Include everything required to reproduce the application or system described in your article.
+ If you would like us to produce a professional-looking figure or illustration, please email or fax a readable sketch to your editor.
Writing Opportunities
Red Letter is currently looking for writers to helm monthly columns and create feature stories. Columnists are expected to create a plan for and write at least six columns. Columns are due on the first of every month and 30 days prior to the publication of the next issue of Red Letter. Available columns include:
This Month in Ruby
Stay tuned to "This Month in Ruby" for a monthly summary of releases, updates, and milestones.
The Ruby Newbie
You keep hearing about how great Ruby is -- it's time to try it. Cross over into Ruby with this monthly hands-on guide.
On the Fast Track
Ruby on Rails is revolutionizing the development of Web applications. Stay on the "Fast Track" with these expert tutorials.
Rubric
Expand and polish your skills with some expert advice and insight from the best and brightest Ruby developers.
Shiny Gems
Before you reinvent that wheel, try one of the great packages that extend Ruby.
In addition to columns, you may propose a feature story or consider creating a proposal and outline for any of the following topics:
+ The Top Twenty Ruby Programming Mistakes
+ Hardening Ruby Applications
+ Building Ruby Applications with rake
+ Ten Debugging Tips
+ The Future of Ruby
+ Developing Ruby Applications with the Eclipse RDT
You can also be paid to organize the community and events pages and chair the monthly Ruby quiz. Send proposals, and inquiries to writers@therubyjournal.com.
Typographical Conventions
The conventions for type in Red Letter will be published shortly.
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Sam Flywheel
Publisher
The Red Letter: The Ruby Journal
url: http://redletter.therubyjournal.com
email: sam.flywheel@therubyjournal.com
aim: sam.flywheel
skype: sam.flywheel