Writing for IVM

We are always on the look out for new writers and photographers to add to our stable.

We are currently looking for people to hunt out news stories, review albums and gigs as well as films and books, write interesting and original articles, photograph bands and generally contribute new and exciting ideas to Intravenous Magazine.

Intravenous Magazine is a non-profit publication and cannot pay contributors, however you will be compensated with music, tickets and other fancy things.

If this all sounds good to you we would ask you to familiarise yourself with our style guidelines below and submit a 1000 article or a 300 word review (must be of a recent album or gig not currently featured on the website) in the vein of IVM magazine.

Style Guide

First of all we'd like to point you towards the freely downloadable version of The Guardian's style guide and The Guardian's editorial code. If you are interested in writing for a living, these free PDFs are the last word in a professional journalistic style and practice that is universally applicable. You can also check out this essay written a couple of years ago by our editor on the fundamentals of web writing. We would also recommend that you invest in the latest edition of Law For Journalists by Frances Quinn.

Specifically for IVM magazine though we have included some helpful pointers below to ensure your work fits onto the site.


Titles:

Titles are the first part of a post that a reader will see and must be concise and to the point. At IVM we generally add a prefix to a post title to denote what style of article it is such as a review or interview, except in the case of a themed article in which case you can be more creative in order to catch the reader's attention. Album titles / song titles / book names etc. are always presented within apostrophes with the first letter of each word capitalised e.g. 'Album Title'. Band names and venues should be treated as proper nouns and therefore also have the first letter of each word capitalised.

Examples

Review: Band Name - 'Album Title'

Live: Band Name - Location, Date

Interview: Band Name



Reviews:

For reviews we always begin the article with a quick summary of the product whether it is an album, book or gig.

Examples

BAND NAME
'Album Title'
RECORD LABEL

AUTHOR
'Book Title'
PUBLISHER

BAND NAME (+ Supporting Bands)
Location
DATE

FILM TITLE
Director
STUDIO

In order for the summary to stand out The first line (name line) as well as the third line (publisher/ date line etc.) is fully capitalised (these should also include a hyperlink to either the band / author's official website on the first line, and the label or publisher website for the third line) while the middle line is presented as normal. The summary should always be in bold to separate it from the body of the article.



Interviews:

Q&A vs Paragraphs

Q&A style interviews are generally easier to follow when reading on a website and generally this is the style we prefer. However for shorter interviews as part of a wider article it is preferable to quote in paragraphs.

Examples

IVM: An example question?
Subject: An example answer.

... and example of a paragraph leading into a quote from an interviewee.
"The interviewee's answer on a new line."



Pictures:

When using a picture in an article always credit the source if known at the end of the article.

Example

Picture © Owner, Year.



Hyperlinks:

Hyperlinks should always open in a new window and should try to be kept in the introductions or at the end of articles. If however, it is necessary to include on in the body of an article, make sure it is included as a word link.

Example

Intravenous Magazine


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