How to contribute articles to Ripper Notes

If you have an idea for an article that you'd like to submit, it's always best to ask before writing to get feedback ahead of time. That's just to see if someone else is already working on something similar, if it sounds like something we'd publish, and so forth.

The lengths of articles submitted should depend upon however many words are enough to cover the topic adequately, based upon its importance to the field and the amount of interest readers are likely to have. That's purposefully vague, as it's difficult to set any firm rules without knowing the specifics. We publish articles anywhere from a couple thousands words long up to several tens of thousands of words long, with an average being probably about 6,000 words or so. Ask the editor if you have specific questions.

Try to be both scholarly (citing sources for anything not comon knowledge) and interesting (lively writing is better than dry writing). When stating something that's your opinion and not proven, make sure that it's clear (by context or outright mentioning it) that it's your conclusion (or cite the author who made the claim if it's not originally yours) instead of an accepted fact.

Generally speaking, both for ease of reading and to fit in the column format of the magazine, shorter words and sentences are preferable to longer ones. The number one problem with the majority of contributions is too many run-on sentences. Try reading your text aloud. If it sounds unnatural or too much to say break it up into shorter segments and more conversational language.

Illustrations are important. If you can provide images to accompany your article, especially ones that have not been widely seen in the field already, that would be great. Otherwise I will attempt to track down artwork for you. If you have ideas on what might be good to have, where some might be found, or so forth, please let me know.

Use the spelling, grammar and punctuation rules of the country you live in. If you are American, don't use British spelling, and vice versa. For names which have spellings that are under dispute (Catherine Eddowes vs. Catharine Eddows, Miller's Court vs. Millers Court), pick the one that is most commonly used and stick with it, unless you have strong attachments to an alternate form and a good reason.

You should have a sources/bibliography section at the end, or cite the sources used as you go through the article. It's rare when an article would not have sources to include as references. Research others did or opinions of others you are including must be cited. Endnotes are also highly encouraged.

Don't assume all readers already know what you are talking about. For example, if listing a name of a person, it's always good to add a short descriptive tag on first reference, no matter who it is, famous or not. Introduce thoughts, theories and concepts with some sort of frame of reference instead of expecting everyone to know what you mean bfore you've even said it. Granted, most of our readers are quite familiar with the basic ins and outs of the case as well as key features, so we don't need to overdo it. The magazine is, however, marketed to those new to the field as well, and they ought to at least be told how to get more information on any topic that is introduced that they may not be familiar with and the article doesn't explicitly cover. This is an easy way to make endnotes and references throughout the article, by the way.

Please note that Ripper Notes does not publish original fiction. Our readers just have not expressed an interest in it at this time. Short articles about other people's fiction is sometimes appropriate, but it's not the primary thrust of the publication by any means.

We send free contributor copies of the issues that individuals have their work printed in, provided it's longer than letter to the editor size.

Articles should be submitted through email. in Microsoft Word, plain text, or some other standard text format. Illustrations accompanying the articles should be sent separately as graphic files and not embedded in Word documents. These may also be mailed. Please write for specifics.

Number one rule: If you are unsure on something, just ask.

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