Write for Us

Scotzine.com is a fanzine. We mix material from a team of regular contributors with articles from fans. In fact, anybody can write in to either the magazine or the website, and, if their piece has a point, well-argued, informative, passionate and is readable then it will find its way onto our pages. That’s the whole point of Scotzine – to get the fans involved.

When other fans send us articles, what they say is usually pretty spot on, but often, the piece might have been better if the contributor had been aware of a few little guidelines – we’ve lost count of the number of times we get a fantastic eight page article and have to butcher it down to two sides in order to squeeze it into the magazine.

So, for anyone who has ever idly entertained the outside possibility of putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, here are a few little bits and bobs that might just help you to formulate that stunning masterpiece that will one day shoot you to instant stardom around the drinking establishments of Scotland.

The following guide is a suggestion of how you might want to approach writing an article for the fanzine. It is by no means the best way, so feel free to ignore it completely.

Length

You should decide before you start how long you want your article to be. Generally, we work to:

One Page – 500-550 words.

Two Pages – 1000-1100 words.

We reserve the larger slots for interviews or special features, but if you do think that you need three to four pages, by all means write the article up and we will review it.

Where your article relies heavily on stats or visuals, the amount of words may be less than stated above, but it may never be more. Giving us a bit of space allows us to make your article look professional and well laid out, encouraging more people to read your thoughts.

Structure

Once you have decided on the length, you will then need to structure 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 Referees are b******s, I might split it into the following sections (word limits for each section in brackets):

1. Introduction (100)
2. An example Showing that Referees are b******s (100)
3. Another example Showing that Referees are b******s (100)
4. Actually Referees Can be OK Sometimes (100)
5. Conclusion (100) Nah, sod it, they’re definitely b******s.

Impact

Two pages of solid text will put people off reading and needs to be of excellent quality to maintain people’s interest. Try to think about ways of making it more interesting – quotes, statistics, lists, pictures, maps, cartoons, or anything else you can think of.
Bear in mind that mentioning current players or managers 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

Having accurate facts and figures at your fingertips can 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.

Please Save

We request that all article contributions be saved as a Word Document. Otherwise it’ll piss us off trying to figure out what software you used and in the end we probably wouldn’t have it anyway.

Final Word

The above guide exists to make your writing better and our lives easier, but it should never restrict you. General rule – a minute of thought is worth an hour of writing. Think inspiration, not perspiration. Now go and write us something brilliant… please.

Contact Details

Email us your article and ideas to editor [at] scotzine [dot] com – all articles and contributions will be credited to the author.

Vacant Positions

Historian: Scotzine are on the hunt for a dedicated fan that has an interest in the History of Scottish Football to run our History section. Stats, Legends of Scotland, Past Results, History of Competitions in Scotland and a whole host of other topics etc. You will also occasionally produce a feature for our fanzine [one a month]. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your writing, any links to your work and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Illustrator/Designer: We are looking for a talented artist to help us produce exclusive ranges of t-shirts and other fan regalia for Scotzine to sell online and via our fanzine. There may be a small fee involved/commission based work it is open to negotiation. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your work, any links to your work online and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Womens Football Blogger: With the rise in popularity of the Womens game, Scotzine are looking for a Wrtier to cover the Womens game in Scotland. From Match Reports, Player Profiles as well as the occasional Feature you will inform our readers of the Womens game and increase our readership in this area. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your writing, any links to your work and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Scotland National Blogger: With the impending World Cup Qualifiying Campaign just a matter of weeks away, Scotzine will look at the National side more and more throughout the coming seasons and we are looking for a talented writer/fan to cover all aspects of the Scotland side. From Match Previews, Reports and Legends of Scotland to the occasional feature, as well as keeping us up to date with all the opponents and players that Scotland will face. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your writing, any links to your work and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Division Two Blogger: Due to work and personal committments we have an opening up in our Scottish Second Division section. You will provide Match Reports on a weekly basis, as well as profile players from within the league and to keep the site up to date with all Division Two news. You would also be required to produce the occasional feature for our fanzine [once a month]. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your writing, any links to your work and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Division Three Blogger: We have an opening up in our Scottish Third Division section. You will provide Match Reports on a weekly basis, as well as profile players from within the league and to keep the site up to date with all Division Three news. You would also be required to produce the occasional feature for our fanzine [once a month]. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your writing, any links to your work and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Highland Football Blogger:We require a writer/fan who has first hand knowledge of the Highland Football League. We would need you to provide Match Previews, Reports and Player profiles as well as the occasional feature for the site and the fanzine [once a month]. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a sample of your writing, any links to your work and a short profile/biography of yourself.

Forum Moderators: Scotzine needs fans to become moderators within our own Fan Forum and to build up our membership also. You will deal with all aspects of your given area, promote your section and the forum across the Web and work to our Rules & Regulations. If you are interested then contact us at mail@scotzine.com with a short profile/biography of yourself and register for our forum now.