Manumission

Style and submission guide

This guide is intended to help ensure that we can edit your submission with as few changes as possible, and to provide a reasonably consistent tone across the various articles. We do not require that you all write in exactly the same way; your own voice is important, but we do want to have something approaching a house style, where possible.

AI usage

We expect your writing to be your own, created using your brain, not AI. We reserve the right to reject any submissions that we believe were created using generative AI.

Tone

We prefer an informal tone; this is not an academic journal. However, please avoid using slang that may not be understood by all our readers.

You can – and usually should – refer to yourself in the first person as “I” or “me” rather than abstract terms such as “this reviewer.”

Unless you are speaking for an organisation, it’s best to avoid using “we,” unless you clearly explain who the “we” is, for example, “as a community, we need to be more aware of disability.” Avoid being overly didactic; it’s unlikely that everyone will agree with every opinion, so it’s better to be clear that you are offering one, rather than asserting, or appearing to assert, that you know the “one true way.”

Cynicism and sarcasm have their place; use them wisely and sparingly. Criticism should be constructive – we would prefer people to be inspired by ideas or ways to change and improve, rather than than depressed at the state of whatever you are writing about.

Depending on the topic, some references to technical or academic material may be necessary. If this is the case, please supply us with links that we can make available via the QR code at the end of your article. Links should be gathered together at the end of your submission, one per line.

Copyright

We do not seek to claim copyright of your work; it belongs to you, and you are free to publish it elsewhere. However, if you have written for us, we would prefer that you not publish material on your own website, or in other publications, for at least one month, and preferably three, after we have first published it.

If you wish to publish the final version of your article, which may have been edited, we will supply the edited text on request.

We will not grant third parties reproduction rights to your material, and will refer any such enquiries to you.

If we have commissioned you on a commercial basis – which we hope to be able to do in due course – different copyright rules may apply, and will be clearly indicated in any commercial commission. The overall copyright of each issue, which includes the layout and design, belongs to SubDirectory Ltd.

Credits

Material does not have to be credited to your full name, or even your real name. Please let us know how you would like to be credited, and if possible please provide a short (no more than 50 words) biography, which can be included on the contributor list for the website.

Headlines and stand-first

If you have a preferred headline or title for your piece, and a preferred stand-first, please include these at the top of your submission. Note that for reasons of space and layout, we may need to alter these.

Photography

If you supply photography or other images with your article, please indicate their source clearly. We need to provide appropriate credit to photographers and other artists, and ensure that we have their permission to use material. If you have sought permission for use of an image, please send us a copy of that permission.

Pull quotes

We may use pull quotes to break up the page and draw attention to particular sections of your article. If there are particular things you feel may be suitable for this, please feel free to indicate them.

Submission

Please submit your material in a widely readable format. You may use Word (.doc or .docx), Open Office/Libre Office (.odt) or plain text (.txt). Please do not submit material as PDF.

Matters of style

Abbreviations

Please avoid using abbreviations derived from Latin or other languages, such as ie or eg. Instead say “That is” or “For example.” If an abbreviation may not immediately be obvious, it should be written in full the first time it is used, with the abbreviation in brackets afterwards (the opposite of acronyms).

Acronyms

Acronyms like BLUF, RACK, CNC should be written in full after the first occurrence, for example “BLUF (Breeches and Leather Uniform Fanclub).” Subsequent occurrences can simply use the acronym.

Foreign phrases

Please avoid these, unless absolutely necessary. A sentence like “He has a certain je ne sais quoi” may not be understood by all readers. You should be able to find an English language equivalent.

Numbers and ordinals

Numbers from one to ten should be spelled out in full, as should their related ordinals (eg, “fifth, eighth”). Numbers above twenty should be presented as digits. You can use your discretion for numbers between 11 and 19.

Spelling

If possible, please use UK spelling.

Trademarks and brand names

Please try to avoid using trademarks and brand names improperly; this can cause a lot of unnecessary work responding to hungry lawyers. For example, using the word “biro” is almost guaranteed to generate a letter from the representatives of BIC, reminding us that we should refer either to a “BIC biro” or to a “ballpoint pen.”