Content Guidelines

SZ is a digital magazine, very similar to what you might find in print. Just as you know that a newspaper and a magazine are different animals, please do not assume that all Internet products are "websites." This publication will be more akin to an SI® or an ESPN® The Magazine in form and feeling than a blog or a "website."

We run one of the most interesting and literate sports publications in the world. If you want to write for us, be interesting, be unique, and find us great stories. We look for both the up-and-coming rising stars, and also the "hometown heroes," players who are very big fish in the small pond of their minor league or class of the sport.

We are very big on flow. Please go back and RE-READ your story several times to make sure that you have the flow down well. A lot of people shorthand eighteen thoughts on the players into the quotes. (e.g. "said the 5-11 power forward from UNC Chapel Hill.") Make sure that all of the key material is organized in the right places. Don't cover the ground that a quote does by basically repeating it.

Smart word choices: We will hack your story to bits if you are too wordy. Think Hemingway. Keep the sentences short and clean and to the point.

Several simple style rules:

• Do not use contractions (e.g. don't, won't etc...) outside of quotations in your piece;
• Do not begin sentences with conjunctions like "But..." or "And...";
• If you feel the urge to use the shorthand --, rather than a comma, think comma instead;
• Avoid repeats of words or proper names in the same graph. (e.g. Strombaugh clocks in on the radar gun at over 90mph when throwing heat. That is a key to Strombaugh's success.) Try the personal pronoun, or something else.

Pitching A Story

The process is easy:

1. Write a SHORT synopsis of your idea, a story pitch in an email addressed to brianross@minorleaguenews.com. Please make sure that you use the subject line STORY PITCH;

2. We will respond to you with a green light, a request for modification, or a rejection. If you are given a go, you will be told how many words we would like in your story order. You will be asked to tell us when you can get the story in. We will hold you to that date as a deadline, so please be accurate in your time-framing;

3. Send in the completed story with the subject STORY SUBMISSION. You can write it in the email, or send it to us as a .doc (Word), .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) or .pages (iWork Pages) formatted document.

Submitting A Story

Stories must be submitted to us using STORY SUBMISSION as a subject heading for your email to info@minorleaguenews.com to route properly. A submitted story must meet the following requirements:

• BE INTERESTING. READ OUR SITE and pick up on the style of our feature articles. If you've waded through this page , then you have an idea of our style.
  
  
• When green lighted, we will assign you a word count. STAY WITHIN IT. If you send us a story that is fat by more than 3% over what we asked, we will either return it to you, or reduce your per word pay rate for a high edit to a lower payment per word. Please include a word count at the top of the page. Editor may elect to edit down piece at any time. Payment is made on the EDITED word count of the published piece, not of the submitted manuscript.
  
  
• Must not have been published prior by any other electronic or print publication.
  
  
• Must be delivered in either Microsoft Word, or Adobe Acrobat (PDF), iWork Pages (.pages) or Text form, appended to your email.
  
  
• Spell check your work. Anything with significant spelling errors will be sent back.
  
  
• Fact Checking: Make sure that you have TWO (2) verifications to every on the record quote and statement of fact or assertion. In anything that would be construed as criminally or civilly-oriented, make sure that you use the word "alleged" where appropriate.
  
  
• If accepted, you will need to provide information for a 1099 form, to receive payment for your story.
  
  
• If your story was from an approved pitch, and any expenses were approved, please provide LEGIBLE scanned copies of your receipts (in jpeg form).

Payment

All payment is initiated upon publication for the EDITED WORD COUNT (Final) on your story. Checks are mailed usually 7-14 days after publication. If you do not see payment with in 15 days, contact our payroll department immediately. Payment is made on the edited number of words written by you which are actually published, not on the raw number contained in the submission. Any additional contributions by staff writers to your story will not be counted towards your paid total.

Publication Cycle

SZ runs on a magazine cycle. Stories are usually published within ninety (90) days. If we go beyond 90 days and do not kill the story, the editor may, at their discretion, compensate the writer with a small bonus to cover lost time on the money.

Rates

We pay .18/word for most stories. If your story is late, or requires heavy editing, the rate can slide down to .15/word, although this is rare.

Kill Fees - If we order a story that we kill, the MLN Editor may, at their discretion, issue a kill fee for the article of 10% of the total number of words ordered at the rate stated in advance by the editor. If you accept a kill fee, you agree not to submit the article or story idea to another publication for sixty (60) days from the issuance of the kill fee.

Rights

With the publication of your article we buy all rights to it, including the right to reprint and reuse it in any form or format currently available or devised in future.

We authorize all teams and leagues to reprint our articles with permission in their publications on the provision that both you and MLN are credited with the story. If you see a publication not adhering to these rules and guidelines, please contact MLN and we will take the appropriate measures.

Other publications may reprint an article by purchasing it from MLN. You should direct such contacts to your editor for more information.

An Equal Opportunity Employer

MLN Sports Group LLC ("The Company") is an equal opportunity employer. In order to ensure equal employment opportunity for every applicant, all hiring decisions will be made without regard to religion, sex, sexual orientation, race, age, national origin, citizenship status, veteran status, or disability. The Company is firmly committed to the policy and practice of non-discrimination in all areas of employment, and the Company will fully comply with all applicable federal, state, and local statutes pertaining to employment.

Why wait? If you're ready, pitch or submit today!