The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Write for PC Update Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au

PC Update has the best feature articles in the user group magazine world. Byte magazine (BlX) told us so at Comdex, and wave a plaque to prove it. That credit goes solely to our writers. We always need more articles, particularly because our increased advertising revenue gives us three pages of articles for every full page-worth of ads.

Types of Articles

What articles do we need? Just about anything that you consider relevant to a PC user, be it for a beginner or an expert Don't forget that we also cover OS/2 and Unix but we haven't seen much on those topics for a while. We want articles that review a product or that describe more general experiences; we want PC-related cartoons and jokes we want letters to the editor. The objective is to inform your fellow PC users about your point of view. We also publish press releases if space permits, although preference is given to the products of our advertisers. We get several such items in the mail every day, so we cannot print it all. If you are a member of Melb PC but haven't the funds to advertise your product then spin us a good yarn (such as offering a genuine discount to members) and we'll see what we can do.

Your Qualifications

What qualifications do you need? You must be reasonably computer literate (unless you are writing from the perspective of a new user). You must know the subject matter well; for example, if you are writing a review then you should have used the product for a while, else the review is better termed a "First Looks" article. Four weeks is a reasonable time unless you have used earlier versions, in which case you can get away with less.

Format of Submissions

Please try to supply the article in plain ASCII text, sometimes referred to as non-document mode or just "text". If you use a word processor that is not very common then we might not be able to read the file.

Illustrations are most welcome. We can scan printouts although we prefer electronic images such as original art or screen captures. We can get you a copy of a shareware screen grabber if you need one.

The article must contain your real name. The basic structure of our reviews is to first describe the product as listed in the literature, followed by your opinion on the maker's claims. Readers also want to know where to buy the product locally and at what price. Mention our advertisers where a product came from an overseas source. Provide your phone number and mention if it is not for publication.

Content

If you are criticising a product then we will send the article to the supplier for comment, so please be fair. Most articles are referred to the supplier as a matter of courtesy.

Before starting a big review please check with me in case you are duplicating something. We might ask you to change the approach of your article so as to provide another angle.

Please run a spelling checker across the article as we sometimes do not have the time to proofread every page. Production takes place during a very narrow time frame.

More Reviewers Needed

Our list of registered reviewers has only seven names in it and we need more. You don't need to be registered to write for PC Update - the advantage is that it makes it easy for us to pass on a piece of software to someone who specialises in a given field. Write to me at the club address or via the PC Update BBS and provide your address, day and night phone numbers and the areas you are interested in. If you are given something to review then please don't embarrass us in the eyes of the supplier by not providing a review. Some of our former reviewers have kept the product for over a year and have not supplied even a good excuse.

Benefits

We let the reviewer keep software, although this is not normally possible with hardware. Most review copies cannot be resold or upgraded. In all cases an author also receives a voucher for one or two disks from our shareware library and increased privileges on the PC Update BBS. 

Getting Review Products

Sometimes we cannot get anything for review for a given subject; a couple of the people in our list have not heard from us for that reason. If you want to review a specific product then please write to me at the club address with the address and fax number (if known) of the manufacturer and full details about the product. We will attempt to get a copy for you. If you are after a product that costs big bucks then you need to convince us and the supplier that you are qualified to write about the subject. Hardware products are sometimes offered at dealer price to the reviewer by the supplier.

If you want to review something from our shareware library then its even easier. Just arrange to meet John Beck, Doug Brooke or Leon Cohen at a PD SIG meeting or elsewhere and ask for one disk (or set) at a time. If you do not write a review you will be billed for the disk or set.

Reprinted from the December 1991 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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