MCRS Newsletter Submission Guide
What to Write
The first step in turning in a submission to the newsletter is to figure out what you'd like to write about. If it's a feature like a cute rabbit story or a letter about the newest addition to your family, thinking about the following questions might get you started:
- If bunny is newly adopted, how has your rabbit adjusted to his or her new home?
- What are bunny's favorite foods, toys, and things to do and explore?
- Who plays with bunny?
- What surprises you about your bunny?
- What does bunny do to make you laugh?
- What trouble or adventures has your bunny gotten into?
If you're contemplating writing an informational article instead of a feature, think about what other members might find interesting. Generally, articles on things like rabbit care, behavior, health issues, nutrition, litter training, housing, toys and play, bonding, treats, and spaying/neutering are popular. Look through previous issues of the MCRS newsletter or the House Rabbit Society Journal for ideas, and consider your own experiences. If you're not sure if your idea is right for the newsletter, feel free to email the newsletter coordinator at News@MNHouseRabbit.org to ask for feedback before you start writing.
How to Write It
When you're ready to get started, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
- We're only able to take electronic articles – those created using a word processor and sent via email – since retyping takes a lot of time.
- Make sure to put a title at the top of the article, along with your name and email address (and position if you're a MCRS staff member). It's really easy to lose track of whose article is whose without this info!
- It's easier for us to fit your piece into layout if it's a convenient size. A 1/2-page article should be about 600 to 650 words, a 1-page article should be about 1,000 words, and a 2-page article should be about 2,000 words. Because of space constraints, we ask that you keep your article to 2 pages or less.
- Don't embed images in word processor files; send them as separate files, instead. More info on file formats for images is given below.
- Abbreviate Minnesota Companion Rabbit Society; always use MCRS (notice the space) instead. This saves us lots of room!
- If you have a note for the editor who will look at your piece, put it at the top of the article, in an attention-getting bold or red type, rather than in the middle of the text. This way it won't end up slipping into the newsletter by accident!
- Avoid using "see page XX" notes, or "see the picture at right" notes, since XX could be overlooked and end up as XX in print, and the picture could easily end up above the article!
- Try not to use ampersands (&) in the text of an article. Spell out "and" instead.
- Use italics for emphasis, rather than ALL-CAPS, bold, or underlining.
- Avoid using excessive formatting in your article, since we'll apply formatting to it to keep it in line with the newsletter's style.
- At the end of your article, list all of the bibliographical info for any sources you used. Include the author, title, location of publisher, publisher, and date of publication.
- And last of all, please use the spellchecker on your word processor, since it'll save us a lot of time!
What to Do When It's Written
Once you're done writing your piece, email it to the newsletter coordinator at News@MNHouseRabbit.org . The coordinator will send you an email acknowledging receipt as soon as it's received. If we decide we’d like to include it in the newsletter, we'll try to fit it in as soon as possible. It may take a few issues, though, depending on space availability and how your piece fits with the rest of the newsletter's content. We'll edit your article for spelling and grammar errors and to fit it into layout, but you probably won't see it again after you send it to us until it's in print. We may email you if we have a question about it, though.
When you send us your submission, remember the following.
- The newsletter comes out in December, April, and August. The deadline for newsletter articles is six weeks before the newsletter's anticipated release date. If you miss a deadline, send your article in anyway, since we can always use it for the next issue!
- The deadline for last-minute changes – usually things like updates to an adoptable rabbit's status, which take minimal effort to fix and won't disturb the layout – is always three weeks before the newsletter's anticipated release date.
- Articles should be sent as a Word document (.doc) or Rich Text File (.rtf). It doesn't matter whether it's a Mac or PC file.
- We can accept pretty much any high-resolution image file, but we prefer .tif files at 300 dpi (dots per inch).
- Send each article as a separate file, rather than putting multiple articles into one document. Similarly, send each image as a separate file rather than embedding them in a word processor file, since it's really difficult for us to extract these.
- Name all associated files similarly. For example, you might send an article called buntoy.doc, along with buntoypix1.tif and buntoypix2.tif. Remember that it's the first three letters that matter the most!
- Name all associated files similarly. For example, you might send an article called buntoy.doc, along with buntoypix1.tif and buntoypix2.tif. Remember that it's the first three letters that matter the most!
Thanks for your help with the newsletter! It's our members who make possible everything that we do!
