LDD Today Writer's Guidelines
LDD Today, the technical journal for Lotus software, is located on the Lotus Developer Domain Web site. Our goal for LDD Today is to tap into the technical user communities and publish articles that directly meet their needs. Our articles describe concepts or tasks that are not ordinarily described in depth (or at all) in the regular documentation. We want to explain how to apply Lotus technology as a solution to real-world problems.

Typical LDD Today issues include:

• Feature articles that describe technical concepts about Lotus software, discuss the software's features and functionality in depth, and/or explain the steps for completing specific tasks using Lotus products
• Interviews with Lotus software developers who talk about their area of expertise
• LDD Exposed articles that explain how we run the site using Lotus technology
• Tips for using, administering, and developing applications for Lotus software, as submitted by our readers
• Our complete archives, which are available by issue, by author, by date published, by language, by technical level, and by product

Submitting article ideas and proposals
You can submit article ideas and proposals using the Content Submission form.

An article proposal should include:

• A brief explanation of what you want to write. Your article proposal should have an appropriate topic and shouldn't duplicate another article already published in LDD Today, or its predecessor, Iris Today.
• The reasons why you think other readers will benefit from your article and why you're the right person to write it.
• An outline listing each topic that you'll cover in the article. This helps you develop your thinking and lets us know exactly what you plan to cover.
• Your contact information (including e-mail address) so that we can contact you.
• Optionally, the sample database or sample code, which might accompany the article.

Note: We won't consider an article that you've already published elsewhere. We want your unique work.

If we're interested in your article proposal, we will contact you via e-mail. We will work with you on scheduling the article for publication, and assign a deadline for your final draft.

Style
In general, LDD Today articles follow the same style guidelines as the Lotus documentation. We differ from documentation in that you can use a more straightforward, journalistic style. Use interesting leads, relate personal experiences, and stay targeted on a specific topic. Write in a clear, informal style. Use active voice and a positive tone. Add some spice to the article by including at least two graphics or screen shots, and by using subheads to lead the reader through the article. You can be creative with these headings—they can be task-oriented, interrogative, or descriptive.

Preparing your article
You can create your article using any word processor, but the LDD team will format the final version in Notes. If you use WordPro or Microsoft Word, make sure to turn off SmartQuotes.

LDD Today articles—including text and graphics—usually run about 12 to 15 screens of information, and typical word counts range from 3,500 to 5,500 words. If you have more than 15 screens of information, or your word count exceeds 5,500, see if some of the information could be covered in a sidebar or if you there's a way to divide your material into a series of articles. Some appropriate items for a sidebar might be a glossary of terms, statistics, examples, and so on.

The "meat" of your article should typically include the following sections:

1. An overview or at-a-glance section that introduces the article, including:
   – An interesting lead paragraph that pulls the reader in
   – A brief description of the feature and/or task
   – A brief synopsis of what the article will cover
   – Guidelines or prerequisites for the article and the assumed technical experience of the reader
   
2. An in-depth section that fully describes the subject, such as:
   – A detailed feature description
   – Reasons why the user would like this feature/what it's meant for
   – How the feature was designed or developed (what the challenges were; how these challenges were met)
   – Associated graphics, diagrams, charts, tables, or code samples
   
3. A steps section (if describing a specific task), which includes:
   – Specific steps for completing a task—make sure the why of each step is explained
   – Appropriate screen shots, where necessary
   
4. A customizing section (optional), which might include:
   – A description of how or why users might enhance the technique for customization at their site
   – Any necessary troubleshooting information for the feature or task
   
5. A summary that wraps up or reviews what you have just explained.
   
6. An author's biography, which might include your title and where you work, how long you've been working with the technology you are writing about, related education/background, and perhaps, your hobbies or the things you do outside of work.

Note: Whenever possible, include the URL for links to related information—especially articles published in earlier issues of LDD Today (or its predecessor Iris Today), related product documentation, pertinent IBM Redbooks, and any product/marketing information from Lotus.

Creating graphics for your article
When writing your article, you should come up with ideas for at least two graphics, which may include:

• Screen captures
• Tables
• Conceptual diagrams
• Flowcharts
• Graphs

You'll need to include these ideas for graphics when you submit the final draft of your article to LDD. If you have graphics tools, you can submit samples as GIF, JPG, BMP, Photoshop (PSD), or PZD files. A brief sketch and description are acceptable if you do not have artistic ability or the tools. In most cases, our professional graphic artists will re-create the graphics for actual publication.

Note: In general, don't use a screen capture to display code. It is too difficult to read, is not accessible via screen readers (and therefore, to those who are visually impaired), and will not be visible to users who view the article with graphics turned off in their browser. So, put the code into the body of the article, and refer to screen shots to illustrate what users might expect to see.

Submitting your article to LDD Today
The final draft of your article is due six weeks before the scheduled date of publication. Final draft means that the article is complete as far as you are concerned. When you submit your final draft, make sure to include two suggested titles, at least two ideas for graphics, and a brief author biography. Also, provide brief introductory sentences for all graphics.

Once you have submitted the final draft, the LDD Today editorial staff will carefully go through the entire article. At this time, we may rewrite sections of your article to make it clearer and adjust the wording of the article to fit our style. In addition, we'll get the article technically reviewed. We'll send you the edited draft for your final review, or if the article needs more work from you, we'll send it back with suggested changes for you to make.

Payment and rights
Payment for articles varies according to the article's complexity, length, quality, and original research. Payment is determined by the LDD Content Manager, after the article has gone through the editorial process. All writers are paid, and payment is made upon publication.

All the articles published in LDD Today are copyright protected. This means that no part of the article can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the LDD team. If LDD publishes an article that you submit, that article is a "work made for hire," as defined in Section 101 of the Copyright Statute; and Lotus/IBM owns the submitted article. This prohibits you from publishing the article in any other publication.