Write for Us

Scotzine is webzine. It differs from the usual Football Blogs out there as it reports the news as well as produce opinion and feature pieces also. Our contributors are a mix of regular contributors and guest writers who are fans with opinions, as well as journalists.

Anybody can write for Scotzine, whatever their allegiances and whether they are journalists or not. For both the site and for our fanzine.

When we are sent articles, they usually are pretty spot on, in terms of getting to the point, giving an opinion, whether the admin team of Scotzine agree with it or not. But often, the piece might be better if the contributor had followed a few guidelines. It’s all well and good writing a ten page article, but sometimes what can be said could be done in just two pages.

So if you have ever thought about writing about Football, and for Scotzine, here are a few guidelines to help you to create that perfect article, which will make a mockery of the hacks working for the Red Tops.

These points are merely a suggestion on how you could construct an article for the fanzine. And it is by no means the only way to construct an article, just an option.

Length

You should decide before you start how long you want your article to be. You have two choices:

a) One Page – 500-550 words.
b) Two Pages – 1000-1100 words.

In very exceptional circumstances, you may feel that you need more space for your article. We normally reserve the larger slots for interviews or special features, but if you do think that you need three to four pages, by all means do.

In cases where your article relies heavily on statistics or visuals, the word count may be less than stated above, but it may never be more (or people start to ring up complaining about the size of the text). We work on the principle that if you can get it down to 650 words, then you can get it down to 600. Giving us a bit of space allows us to make your page look beautiful and inviting, encouraging more people to read your wisdom.

Structure

Having decided on your length, you should think about the structure of your article. There’s nothing worse than a good idea ruined by a rambling introduction and a rushed two-line conclusion. Be clear and concise, try to group your ideas into logical sections, and give each section equal weight within the article.

For example: If I were to write a one-page (600-word) article entitled All Scottish Clubs are Broke, I might split it into the following sections (word limits for each section in brackets):
1. Introduction (100)
2. An example Showing that Scottish Clubs are Broke (100)
3. Another example Showing that Scottish Clubs are Broke (100)
4. Actually Scottish Clubs are not all broke (100)
5. Conclusion (100) Nah, sod it, they’re definitely broke.

Impact

Two pages of solid text will put people off reading and needs to be of unbelievable quality to maintain people’s interest. Try to think about ways of making it more interesting – box-offs, quotes, statistics, lists, pictures, maps, cartoons, or anything else you can think of.

Bear in mind that mentioning current players or managers etc allows us to drop pictures in easily. If you do have a particular way you want your page to look just let us know.

Accuracy

Aren’t football books and websites brilliant! The range and depth of some of the footy books and sites is quite staggering now and it’s amazing what you pick up from leafing through the latest Rothmans or glancing at a couple of pages in All the Lads, or checking stats on sites such as www.soccerbase.com – having accurate facts and figures at your fingertips can also help make a very persuasive argument.

Everything you check is one less thing for us to worry about, and whilst getting spellings and facts wrong is nothing more than slightly irritating, we really appreciate it when people make our lives easier. One thing that is important, though, don’t write a single word that you can’t prove is true, or that you wouldn’t stand by in court… please.

Save As

If you want to make us smile save your work as a word doc.

Final Word

The above guide exists to make your writing better and our lives easier, but it should never restrict you. You can’t teach imagination – it’s the single most important thing an article needs. General rule – a minute of thought is worth an hour of writing. Think inspiration, not perspiration. Now go and write us something mint… please.

If you are still interested in writing for Scotzine then please email Andy on editor@scotzine.com or use the Contact Form.