Author's Guide
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What Is Considered for Publication?
- Instructional "how to" and "guidelines for" articles are preferred. They should be nonpromotional in nature. Company/product names are edited out of articles except in occasional situations, at the editor's discretion, in which the use of a proprietary name is unavoidable for clarity.
- The editors look for objective, educational, technical articles to help metal forming & fabricating practitioners learn about techniques, tooling, machinery, and management concepts.
- Articles should be impartial and should not describe the benefits of certain products available from certain companies. They should not be biased toward the author's or against a competitor's products or technologies. The publisher may refuse any article that does not conform to this guideline.
- Articles must be exclusive to FMA Communications, Inc. No other magazine inside or outside the U.S. may publish the same, portions of the same, or similar versions of the same article submitted to FMA Communications for publication. Notify the editor if the article has been published previously or has been submitted to another publication. The publications and web sites with which FMA Communications does not want to duplicate editorial include, but are not limited to: American Tool, Die and Stamping News, Coil World, Fabricating & Metalworking, Forming & Fabricating, Gases & Welding Distributor, Industrial Laser Solutions for Manufacturing, International Sheet Metal Review, Job Shop Technology, Machine Design, Metal Center News, MetalForming, Modern Metals, Robotics World, Sheet Metal Industries, Tube & Pipe Technology, Tube International, Welding Journal, Welding Design & Fabrication, www.aluminum.org, www.aws.org, www.ewi.org, www.hydroforming.net, www.metalworkingpenton.com, www.naad.org, www.ndx.com, www.pma.org, www.sme.org, www.steelnet.org, www.steelspider.com, and www.twi.co.uk.
- Articles should include advantages and disadvantages, applications, and guidelines for cost-efficiency, safety, productivity, etc.
- Case studies are written primarily by the magazines' editors with the goal of being instructional tools rather than promotional pieces for any company/product. Company/product names are used when necessary for clarity, and impartiality is always strived for. Case studies submitted by outside authors will be considered only if they have educational merit.
- Please ask an editor to provide you with our separate guidelines for case studies, applications, and product highlights articles.
- Feature articles pursued by FMA Communications Editorial staff for possible publication are scheduled tentatively based on anticipated space availability and editorial planning. Feature articles may at any time be rescheduled or pulled from an issue if space limitations or layout changes require such action. The editors will make every effort to reschedule feature articles as soon as possible; however, no feature article is ever guaranteed for publication. In addition, some feature articles will be pursued to keep on hand in our "holdover" inventory for last-minute layout changes or other needs; again, efforts will be made to use feature articles in a timely manner.
What Graphics Are Needed?
- One clear color image should be submitted to use near the title. We prefer artistic or action shots rather than machine or product photos. Photos that prominently display your company/product name may be altered to eliminate the company/product name to maintain our nonpromotional format. For drawings, please provide clean black-and-white line images, either on paper or electronically. Do not add shadings or screens.
- For graphics, we can use high-resolution .jpg, .eps, .tiff, or .pdf files saved in at least 300 dpi; we also can use slides, photos (prints), or transparencies. (For electronic files, each graphic should be saved as its own separate file and should be formatted for Macs only.) We cannot use .ppt (powerpoint) files, graphics embedded in Microsoft Word, electronic files formatted on PCs, negatives, brochures, or color photocopies/printouts.
- If your article contains illustrations, label them at the appropriate reference points within the text as "Figure 1," "Figure 2," etc. Be sure to include a caption for each illustration. Components of drawings should be clearly labeled.
What Happens When the Article Is Submitted?
- Before writing, contact an editor to help you get started and establish a schedule and word count.
- Please submit text of articles via e-mail or computer disk in Word or generic text format.
- Your article will be edited to ensure it adheres to our editorial policy and style. This may require rearranging text, removing text, or asking for additional information. This does not reflect on your writing abilities. Our publication staff retains the right to determine the content of the article as it appears in the magazine.
- After being edited, your article will be reviewed by our copy proofer, then returned to you for review and approval. We make any corrections needed, then the article goes into production. You will always know what is going to be published. We will send you extra copies of the issue in which the article appears.
- Manuscripts may be reviewed anonymously by industry peers to ensure technical accuracy and objectivity; their suggestions may be incorporated into your article.
FMA Communications, Inc. cannot guarantee that an article will be published or a photo or cover shot used, and the publisher reserves the right to refuse any article or artwork.