Submitting an article to the Alternative Nation online magazine section is just like starting a thread - it really is that easy and open to everyone.
Note: this is a walk-through guide to the submission process, for information on what AN publishes as articles and other hints & tips on what to submit see <somewhere not written yet> 1.
Choose a relevant magazine area; the list of links across the top of each page is the best place to start.
If you are uncertain about a music article's best suited area from the list just opt for "Alternative".
2.
Click on the New Article button near the top of the page:
This will take you to a version of the familiar new thread process.
The first difference is the Header Image Section:
We'd like you to upload a 100x100 pixel image here that will serve as a nice avatar icon for your article. If you're reviewing a single or an album using the cover image is almost always the best & easiest idea.
If you are unable to upload an image or can't find one suitable don't worry - submit your article without and an Editor will source an image before publication.
Next up is an expanded title area:
Title - this is the important part here, the others are optional. Try to label what you are writing about, add
Album: or
Movie: or something suitable as a title prefix if necessary
. Byline - here you can add a quick few words (no more than a dozen or so) to sum up or describe what you are writing about, it will appear directly under the Article Title and above your username.
Synopsis - is generally unused on AN but feel free to provide a quick synopsis of the article if it's lengthy enough to warrant it!
The
main message area works exactly the same as for creating posts, use any formatting you like but experience has shown that plain and simple works best, any fonts or colours used will be stripped out and inline images are unneeded for most article types.
Any
extra images you have can be added as attachments, try to keep them to 200 pixels wide though other wise they'll have to be resized or removed by an Editor.
3.
When you're done, hit Submit New Article. You'll be shown a thank you page and redirected to the magazine forum area you submitted to.
An Editor will look at your article within two or three days normally and after any tidying will approve it for publication.
Sometimes articles are held back to be used later or require some reworking by the original author before being suitable, if this is the case an Editor will PM you to let you know what's happening.
And finally, thank you for submitting work to Alternative Nation. Participation from the member community is what we've always liked best and what will always remain the most important part of our site
