These notes aim to provide the freelance contributor with an idea of Yachting Monthly's main editorial requirements for both words and pictures. Many of the comments below may seem obvious to the practiced writer but we hope that you may be encouraged to write about your experiences and reflections on cruising under sail. YM is fortunate in having a great heritage of contributing writers, sailors and readers - from Jonathan Raban and Robin Knox-Johnston to Libby Purves and Tom Cunliffe. But we also value our readers who take the trouble to write in and share their exploits - from the Thames Estuary to Tahiti. We receive many articles a month but we can only use a few in each issue. Read these notes carefully, be your own worst critic and you could become one of Yachting Monthly's writers.

Subject
We accept cruising narratives about sailing almost anywhere in the world, from Solent to Scotland and from Burnham on Crouch to Bora Bora. We also accept practical and technical articles on all aspects of seamanship, navigation, the handling of small craft, and their design, construction and equipment. If you wish, you can, before submitting a manuscript on an unusual subject, send us a short synopsis of around 150 words outlining the theme of the proposed article. We publish carefully researched pilotage articles on anchorages and cruising areas, particularly if accompanied by relevant illustrations.

Length
With magazine page lengths of approximately 450 words, you should aim for 450, 900, 1,350 or 1,800 words, depending on the strength and breadth of interest of the subject. Humour is best at 900 or 1,350. Pure cruising features should not exceed 1,800. Exceptions are made if the material needs more space, though this is rare.
Treatment
Cruising narratives that capture a flavour of the area, what it is like to be on board and any special problems encountered, are interesting to read but hard to write. Accounts written in the form of a 'blow-by-blow' logbook style stand very little chance of being accepted. It's often a good idea to select a particular incident or aspect of a cruise and build a feature around it. But however you plan to write it, an article needs to have a main focus or theme.
Fees
Fees for text may only be an estimate before the article is designed and we know how many illustrations have to be bought in, or whether we rely exclusively on the author's photos. Payment is on publication. Occasionally accepted articles may remain on the stock list for a year or longer if they are not time sensitive.
Presentation
Manuscripts can be submitted as Word documents by email or on CD and should include the author's contact details. Typed manuscripts are rare but still acceptable. Do not include images within a Word document. Any artwork or photographs should be sent with the author's name marked clearly on them. We cannot accept responsibility for lost material.

Tips
Don't base cruise stories solely on a moment-by-moment narrative. Think of a fresh, well thought out idea or rework an old theme from a fresh angle. Remember that even some best-selling authors got turned down by publishers before fame came their way! A dogged determination and a good idea is just as important as a little literary skill.

Our Main Requirements
Our requirements change from time to time depending on current stock but listed below is a breakdown of subject matter:
1. Home waters, European and blue water cruising narratives (maximum 1,800 words) containing useful information (not necessarily pilotage) that will be of interest to others cruising the area. They should also be a good armchair read for sailors who might never go there.
2. Shorter accounts of mistakes and mishaps - with lessons to be learned - so giving them an educational value. See the 'Learning Curve' feature in most issues.
3. True `Confessions' should be brief - 350 words, maximum, unless it's exceptionally funny or unusual.
4. Humorous articles. It is extremely difficult to write natural humour that is as amusing to others as it is to you. Edit them heavily and keep them short.
5. Technical articles. Especially important to submit synopses in advance for this type of material.

Pictures
We need good quality digital images taken at the highest resolution possible.
The Camera
With digital photography the more megapixels the camera has, the better. We can easily reduce the size of a file, but we can't make it bigger. At a stretch we might be able to increase the length (and height) by 20% depending on the quality of the original image, but for the best results we don't do this unless it's absolutely necessary.
Saving Images
Whenever shooting digital, always supply the best quality and largest files that the camera can produce. This will be found in the menu settings of your camera (usually called Large/Fine/Highest Quality). Save images in Jpeg format at the highest quality setting (either level 10 or 12) with no manipulation or sharpening.
Supplying images to YM
Please send images to us on CD. Email takes too long to send the quantity and quality of images we require and can block our system. Email is acceptable for smaller pictures. Please also include captions, either in a separate text file on the CD or in the metadata of each image. These are essential and should give a full, accurate indication of what each picture depicts - full names of people and places, etc. If certain photographs relate to your article it will help if you insert the image name at the appropriate place in your text.
Try and get images of the people mentioned in a story, as well as sailing shots of the boat. CDs are not normally returned so please keep your own copy. Please do not manipulate/sharpen/colour balance/crop or resize the images you send to us. We prefer to do that here to optimize them for the printing process.
Please mark both CDs and CD cases with your name and contact details. We get scores of CD discs in the office and it helps to prevent confusion.
Image size is measured in Pixels Per Inch (ppi). The resolution of the photographs needs to be 300ppi at the size they will be printed in the magazine. Images that can fit on a computer screen when viewed at 100% will generally not be big enough for us to use in print. As an example, the Canon 300D has a sensor size of 3072 x 2048 pixels. By dividing each dimension of the sensor size by 300(ppi) it tells you the maximum size the image could be printed in YM. Therefore the maximum size an image from a Canon 300D could be printed would be 10.2 x 6.8 inches. YM's page size is 12.1 x 8.7 inches. YM's staff photographer is currently using a Canon 1DsMKII, (around £5,000 just for the body). It's a 16.7 megapixel camera giving an image size in YM of 16.6 x 11.1 inches.
The message here is that if you want your images to be used large, you'll need a very expensive digital camera. If you're not trying to make money out of your photographs but just want images to illustrate your story then a mid-level (6-8mpx) digital camera will supply images that can be used in YM, but only across half a page or so.

Illustrations
Original artwork, sketches etc submitted with an article will always be considered for publication. Track charts showing ports of call are very useful. A sketch is perfectly acceptable, but all places mentioned in the text must be identified clearly.

Contact
Please send your article to:
Dick Durham, Feature Editor, 9th floor, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU
Tel: +44 (0)20 3148 4865 Fax: +44 (0)20 3148 8128 Email: dick_durham@ipcmedia.com