WRITERS' GUIDELINES

The essential focus of The New Fly Fisher magazine, in keeping with our TV show, is education. Every feature, no matter what the slant, must have a strong teaching/informational component. For instance, a destination/experience feature on fishing the Bow River should include pertinent, detailed technical information, not only on appropriate gear, streamcraft and techniques, but also on the fish and the fishery (including timing and importance of target forage species). Access information should also be provided, including a map(s).
Slants for features should fit one or a focused combination of the following four categories:
1. Personal fly fishing experience in specific destinations, not only in Canada and the USA, but also in other parts of the world.
2. Tactics and techniques in fly fishing and tying.
3. How to target specific species.
4. Famous fly fishers/tyers and teachers of fly fishing/tying.

CONTENT
1.The text should be information-rich and aimed at the average to above average fly fisher, except for pieces specifically catering for the beginning fly fisher. Humour and reflection are more appropriate written as shorter pieces, such as found in "Wandering Aengus” at the back of the book.
2. Local and regional information on fishing and tying should, wherever possible, be extended to regions and situations beyond the location/setting featured.
3. Advertorial should be avoided, although references to brand-name equipment and specific lodges or guides, etc. can be used where they are appropriately integral to the text.
4. Where possible and appropriate, diagrams and sketches should be provided to illustrate gear and rig assembly, and technique. Artistic merit is not necessarily a factor here (although appreciated), as we have our own graphic artists who can work from rough sketches
5. Maps should be provided wherever appropriate with key features highlighted, especially access points
6. Writing should generate a strong sense of place and experience
7. Main features range from 2000-4000 words. "Wandering Aengus" and similar shorter pieces range from 800-1500 words. Occasionally, we use very short fillers. Because we put much less text on a page than print magazines, the longer a feature, the more photos are required. Therefore, feature writers should submit many more photos than they would for a print magazine—at least 30 for a major feature. At this time, we do not encourage photo essays.
8. Writers should include a bio of 50-70 words

STYLE:
The last thing we want is to have everybody conforming to one particular writing style. What is important is that each piece of writing should have an individually distinctive mark—the "voice" of the writer. At the same time, style should always be appropriate to content and purpose. Within these broad parameters, we expect the following
1. Clear organization. In most cases, we use sub-headings to organize material into manageable, reader-friendly blocks. Avoid long, rambling paragraphs.
2. While we’re not interested in "me and Joe went fishing” stories, description, dialogue and anecdote are important for generating a sense of place and recreating experience. In most cases, however, the function of these will be to provide an imagination-stimulating context or framework for communicating information. In regular features, description, dialogue, and anecdote should always be selected with economy and be appropriately integrated with the purpose and focus of writing
3. We make extensive use of sidebars for fly patterns, where to stay, how to get there, techniques (with diagrams), equipment, etc. Always try to provide these.
4. At this point, we do not require writers to conform to any specific style manual. Provided the writing is lucid and coherent, we prefer to let writers individualize, allowing style to be determined by purpose, content, and the writer’s unique "voice”

CONVENTIONS
1. Although our operation is located in Canada, our audience is international. Consequently, choice between Canadian and American spelling is flexible. What is important is that writers be consistent within each piece of writing.
2. Do not double space after periods. There should be a single space after all punctuation marks
3. Hyphens and dashes. To separate words within sentences, use two joined hyphen strokes without spaces (e.g. "…trout—the most…"). Do NOT use a single hyphen stroke with spaces (e.g. "… trout - the most…").
4. Signal a new paragraph with two strokes of the "Enter/return" key. Do not use indentation
5. Do not use headers or footers
6. Use single spacing.
7. Use Times New Roman #12 for everything. Please don't mix font styles or sizes
8. Submit in Microsoft Word.
9. We prefer to receive submissions as E-mail attachments. DO NOT SEND PLAIN TEXT FILES.
10. Do NOT incorporate photos within the text. Add them as separate attachments.
11. Do NOT use automated formatting applications, such as multiple spacing or automatic double spacing after hitting the "enter” key—just basic text flow.
12. Format should be left hand justified throughout. Never use full justification.
13. Do NOT capitalise the initial letter of the names of species of fish, animals and birds. It’s "brown trout” not "Brown Trout”.
14. Include your full name and address (including E-mail) and phone number at the top of the first page only of your manuscript.

PHOTOS
1. Professional quality photos are essential. As an E-zine, we have the space to make our features rich in illustration. Consequently, please submit at least 30 photographs for a single feature—preferably more. There should be a varied selection of scenic, people, fishing, fish, flora, and fauna shots in both portrait and landscape formats.
2. Captions should be attached to all photos.
3. For photographic technical specifications, please check our Photo Guidelines at …...

QUERIES / RETURNS:
We take most submissions on speculation. Please give us at least four weeks to respond to queries and on-spec submissions, especially if it's close to publication time

RIGHTS / FEES:
1. We buy all rights.
2. We pay up to $450 for major features with quality supporting photos and graphics, and between $100 and $200 for shorter pieces, such as "Wandering Aengus".

For more information, email: editor@jencor.ca