Many of the articles in Futures & Options Trader are contributed by industry professionals. If you believe you have a trading or market idea that would make a good article for our publication, please send a message through the Contact Us form.
Note: These guidelines are supplied for informational purposes only and do not represent an agreement of any kind between Futures & Options Trader and any potential contributor. Futures & Options Trader will supply authors it intends to publish with detailed editorial guidelines and an Author Agreement that represents a binding contract.
Contributors are strongly encouraged to send a brief outline of their proposed articles, along with a résumé or short biography, before submitting an article to the magazine. We can save you the trouble of writing and submitting something that would not be appropriate for our publication.
Types of articles: Futures & Options Trader is primarily interested in specific trading strategy and risk control articles from professional traders — the how, why and when of buying and selling options and futures on a (mostly) short-term basis.
We are looking for thorough, detailed concepts, not generalities. For example, we are not looking for articles that say it is important to control risk, we are looking for articles that provide specific rules for doing so, and evidence that these rules have merit. We also have no interest in articles like "Top Trader Mistakes," "Traits of Successful Traders," "The New Trading Technology," or other general articles.
We are also interested in articles that explain different aspects of the market that are valuable to short-term traders. Examples include analysis of new trading rules or regulations, new trading instruments, the impact of after-hours trading, or the realities of using the different ECNs.
We will occasionally accept articles covering broader economic issues affecting the market or longer-term market forecasts and strategies.
For more information, see "Content," below.
Authors should be able to confirm trading ideas and performance claims through brokerage statements, third-party trade auditing, responsible historical testing, or some other reliable source. We reserve the right to judge the validity and veracity of an article, and accept or reject it based upon our conclusions.
Length: Article length is determined by word count. Our feature articles typically run from approximately 1350 words to 3000 words. Final word count will be determined by Futures & Options Trader.
A note on graphics: Graphics take up space, so subtract approximately 175-200 words for each chart or graphic you will include in the article. This will give you a rough estimate of how many words you actually need to write. It is the author's responsibility to supply such charts and graphics.
Copyright and ownership: As detailed in the Author Agreement, Futures & Options Trader retains copyright on all material published in its issues, and reserves the right to produce and distribute reprints of articles, as well as use them in special publications or promotions, or in any other way it deems fit. Authors may not reproduce or reprint articles in any format, print or electronic (including the Web) without express written permission of Futures & Options Trader magazine. Authors are paid a fee for their submissions.
Important note: As detailed in the Author Agreement, all submissions must be original works that have never before been published in any other form (print or electronic) and have not been submitted for publication elsewhere.
If you wish to have your submission considered for publication by a certain date, please indicate that date when you submit your article. Futures & Options Trader works as many as three months ahead of schedule and cannot always guarantee publication by a specific date.
1. Articles are forums for trading ideas and concepts, not platforms to promote products — software, books, seminars, and so on. Such references will be edited.
2. Futures & Options Trader provides concrete, practical trading information for short-term traders. Be direct, and don't leave your audience guessing — explain concepts fully.
3. Don't make unsubstantiated claims. In the case of trading strategy articles, for example, un-optimized historical testing results, audited performance results or brokerage statements supporting performance claims are strongly encouraged, and in some cases may be required.
4. Unless an article is specifically about more distant market history, use recent chart examples — that is, the most recent 12 months, and preferably, the last two or three months (the more recent, the better). Old examples undermine the credibility of your article.
1. Speak directly to the reader, educating him or her. Write in the second person, addressing the reader as "you." Do not write in the first person ("I," "me").
Example: "To minimize risk, you should use a money management plan that …"
Alternately: "To minimize risk, use a money management plan that …" (The pronoun "you" is omitted.)
Not: "To minimize risk, I like to use a money management plan that …"
In other words, "I" or "me" should never appear in your article.
2. Write simply and directly, as if you were explaining your subject matter to someone sitting next to you. Focus on your ideas. It's our job to make your writing flow and to lay out the material in a professional way.
3. Divide your article into logical sections separated by short descriptions of what the sections are about, e.g., "Money management," "Performance results," "Taking profits," and so on.
Futures & Options Trader will notify you if it wishes to publish your article, and will contact you to determine deadline, editorial procedures, payment, and other specifics to be detailed in the Author Agreement. We cannot return submitted articles.
|
|