Departments

Our goal for e-Fido.net is to create a quality and timely e-zine for dog owners. We're hoping to draw both readers and advertisers from around the world. Initially our efforts will be concentrated for North American audiences although we will publish anything from around the world that fits our editorial content. 

The main mission of e-Fido.net is promoting common-sense pet ownership and strengthening the dog/human bond. We will delve into the issues of puppy mills, animal welfare, and animal overpopulation as a matter of course, but no one political view or "cause" is going to be espoused overall other than educating dog owners for their dog's benefit. 

Major article turnovers will occur on a monthly basis at first, with link updates, classified ads, and any breaking news that occurs being updated more frequently. Articles, columns, and departments will be archived on-site for reference. (Eventually we'll have a search engine set up, but that will take a while.) My goal is to bring the e-zine to a point where we will be publishing on a weekly basis with a supplemental text-only newsletter to accompany it. 

There will be both features and regular departments/columns in every issue. (See bottom of page for details on specific departments.) Departments will include web site reviews, book reviews, product reviews, training issues, behavior problems, legal issues, health/fitness/nutrition (including medical and holistic unless demand and writing supply allow us to break that down into seperate columns for medical and holistic methods), breed profiles, other profiles (working teams, vets making medical breakthroughs, animal welfare programs, etc.), humor, dog sports, kids column, personal accounts, editorial, and letters to the editor. Most of these columns will probably run in the 500-2,000 word range. Columnists who commit to a regular publishing schedule can also incorporate answering questions from readers in their columns. Some of the above departments will be regular positions, some will have material from several writers depending on the response I get to them from writers. 

Features will be on a wide-variety of dog-related topics, but they will be more in-depth than the columns and run from 1,500 words up, including serialized articles for lengthy topics. 

We will also need photos and artwork. If you can provide them with your article/column, all the better. If not, we'll be using stock photos at first until we can get a clips file together. (Even if it's only a really good photo of your dog doing something funny or unusual.) 

Payment: Unfortunately we can only offer a by-line for now. Authors will get a by-line with a link to a bio on the website. Also, we can post links to other sites for you (as long as it's not adult-related) and you want to advertise, we can work out free advertising as well. If you have authored a book we can post that on the website as well in our bookstore. We will be taking paid classified ads for goods and services (dog/animal related), and paying graphics ads for masthead, side-bar, and bottom spots on the main pages as well. Once ad income starts coming in on a steady basis, we will start offering the writers who've been with us the longest first chance at paying assignments. It won't be much at first, but the longer we're around and the larger reader and subscriber base we build up, the more ad revenue will come in. We will also have a bookstore on the site and hopefully that will generate additional income as well. Once we get to the point where we can start paying contributors you will be paid as an independent contactor and will be responsible for filing the appropriate paperwork with the IRS every year. (We will send out the applicable forms at the end of every year for your tax purposes.) 

Submissions: Query first unless we've already worked out a regular column/publishing schedule with you. Please read and follow the submissions format (see next).

Submission format: When you send in articles, send them as PLAIN TEXT messages please, with the text of the piece in the body of the e-mail message. Do not send HTML formatted messages unless they are text only. Turn off all graphics, stationery, graphic sigs, etc. Do NOT send attachments! We automatically delete attachments from e-mail for security purposes. Include your contact information and a word count in the beginning of the message. Please do not include html tags (we will convert urls to links when we publish) just put the actual url in the text. If you have photo files to submit, ask us and we will give you instructions on how/where/what format to upload them. (You can snail-mail us photos for scanning if you don't have a scanner.) We ask for first or reprint e-zine (depending on if it's been published before or not) and archival rights, you own all other rights and are free to publish articles/photos elsewhere afterwards. If you submit an article/photo to us that has been previously published, we need to know where and when if they have first rights to it, and also you must own the other rights to be able to republish it with us. (We have to credit them with first printing, and you have to be able to legally submit it to us for publishing.) Simultaneous submissions are okay, but you need to be upfront with us about it. 

Deadlines: Deadlines for regular columns, main features, and other major articles is the 15th of every month unless you are writing a mid-issue article and have made arrangements with us in advance. If you can get it in earlier than that, or if you want to write say, holiday stories in advance, all the better. (Anything that makes our job easier will be greatly appreciated!) We will be happy to take stories well in advance of a proposed publishing date. 

If you only want to do the occasional feature article or contribute to a department, let me know the topic(s) and when you can deliver them. If you'd like to take on a column, let me know that too. If you have an idea for a column you'd like to write, send it to me and the worst I can say is no. *smile* I'm open to ideas and would like to enjoy exploring a wide variety of topic paths in the e-zine. I don't mind pushing the envelope either if it will benefit the public and the e-zine. 

Departments:
 

• Behavior: 800-1,500 words. Issues such as fear, agression, dominance, seperation anxiety, barking, digging, etc. Educate the average dog owner without talking down to them. Regular columnist will be able to incorporate Q&A into the column.
• Book Review: 300-800 words.
• Breed Profiles: 800-2,000 words. If possible, try to find an unusual or unique angle, something that might not be commonly known about the breed. Why is this breed so unique/popular/good/not so good? Mention the good and bad points, genetics, common medical problems. Brief history/origins of the breed should be included. Any famous members? 
• Competition (non-sporting): 500-1,500 words. Tips, rule changes, controversy, etc. (Confornation, obedience, etc.)
• Editorial: 300-1,500 words. Op/ed. Some will be done in-house. If you have some well-reasoned, good arguments pro/con a topic, send it in.
• Grooming: 500-1,500 words. Anything to do with grooming issues, problems, products, breed specifics, etc.
• Health/Nutrition: 500-1,500 words. Holistic & traditional. (Eventually these will be split into two or more sub-categories as regular columnists take over.) Diet, nutrition, health issues, treatments, medicines, supplements, medical break-throughs, etc. Technical articles need to be well-researched, preferably with quotes from experts in the field.
• Humane Issues: 500-2,000 words. Please try to keep it objective and not turn it into a personal vendetta. Tell us how many puppies die in puppy mills every year, tell us how many cats and dogs are needlessly euthanized, etc. Use facts to back up your argument. Don't let yourself sound like a fanatic.
• Humor: 500-1,500 words. Personal recollections, funny stories, anecdotes -- whatever. As long as kids can read it. 
• Kids: 300-1,000 words. Write for kids, but don't talk down to them. Try to educate them while keeping them interested. Dog-related issues, careers, training/showing/competing for kids, etc.
• Legal: 300-2,000 words. Laws, pending legislation, anything in the news (dog bite cases, spay/neuter laws, leash laws, etc.) legal-wise having to do with or impacting dogs/pets/owners.
• Product Reviews: 300-800 words. If possible, try to compare to a similar product. If not, let us know why this product is so good (or bad), why the consumer should/n't buy it, possible distributors and contact information.
• Profiles: 800-2,000 words. People, events, organizations, businesses, exceptional dogs -- someone or something that people should hear more about because of its exceptional nature or is deserving recognition.
• Regional: 500-2,000 words. Stories that don't necessarily fit elsewhere, or fit elsewhere but have a decidedly regional slant (ie. British dog clubs, exceptional Australian dog rescue program, etc.)
• Shows: 300-1,500 words. Show/event reviews and reports.
• Sports: 500-2,000 words. Flyball, agility, Frisbee, Earthdog trials -- you name it. Sport overviews, training tips, rule changes, etc. This category will definitely be broken down into sub-categories at a future date. If you are interested in taking on a specific sport in a regular column, let us know.
• Training: 800-1,500 words. Training issues, training tips and tricks, methods, tools, etc. Educate the average dog owner without talking down to them. Q&A from readers for regular columnist.
• Website reviews: 300-1,000 words. Minimum three sites reviewed, any dog-related topic, product, service, etc.
• Working dogs: 500-1,500 words. Service dogs, K9, S&R, herding, drug detection, accererant detection, customs -- etc. Subject profiles, training, tips, FAQ's, etc. Potential for sub-categories if columnists take particular subjects.

  Send information to: editor@e-fido.net   Attn: Editor