Writing Articles for ez.no

Benefits

On our website, you can demonstrate your expertise in eZ-related topics to a large audience. The ez.no domain has receives 5 to 7 million page views per month and over 20 000 registered members.

Attached to an article, we display the author information where you can, for example, provide a link to your website. This allows you to redirect the attention drawn by the article and to gain a higher visibility for yourself or your business.

Members of the eZ Partner Program are eligible for bonus points after having an article published on our Web site.

Topics

You may write about any topic in the eZ ecosystem. The following list is not exhaustive, but will give you an idea of relevant topics:

  • software development
  • sales tips
  • marketing aspects
  • community topics
  • eZ partner issues
  • design
  • hosting
  • system administration
  • knowledge management
  • information structure and modelling

Language

We accept articles in English, but also in other languages (French, German, Portuguese, Norwegian, and so on). We prefer English because it is the natural choice to reach an international audience. Do not worry if you are not perfect in writing English, as eZ Systems will smooth out the edges during review. If you feel more comfortable writing in your non-English native language, we welcome your suggestions as well.

1. Send your ideas to us

Is your mind in a creative phase, where you are thinking about all these cool eZ topics to write about? Do not hesitate to contact us immediately and tell us your idea, even if you think we might think it is weird. We enjoy creativity and are open to any suggestions.

Please use the contact form to get in touch with us to propose an article idea.

2. Discussing the ideas with you

After eZ Systems contacts you, together we will discuss the idea in more detail so that we will both have a solid understanding of what the article could look like and provide.

3. Identify deliverables and deadlines

After we agree to publish the article, we will identify:

  • what you will deliver (for example, text, images, source code for download, etc.)
  • when you will send the article draft to us (draft deadline)
  • when we plan to publish your text (publishing deadline)

4. Writing the article draft

Now it is time to make your ideas become real and write the article. There are some things to take care of which will be described below. Please follow these rules as they will make life easier for all of us.

Writing style

  • Simple: Write in a simple style (for example Simple English) and avoid complicated phrasing (use basic English instead, for example)
  • Comprehensible: Make sure that you guide the reader step-by-step while the article evolves. Ask yourself whether what you write is immediately clear to someone with less knowledge.
  • Avoid abbreviations: Do not use abbreviations like "e.g." or "i.e.", instead write them in full words. This makes the article easier to read and of higher quality.

eZ authorkit and OpenOffice.org 2

We prefer articles in OpenDocument Text format, but can work with any format. Authors can use the authorkit for the templates we use for the OpenOffice.org import. The OpenOffice.org office suite can be downloaded for free from openoffice.org.

Download the eZ authorkit which contains two template files - one for the introduction page of the article and one to be used for each subsequent page. Use these templates to write the article draft.

The template file article_container.odt is for the introduction of the article. The template file article_subpage.odt is for each subsequent page of the article. For example, if you have 4 pages in an article, there should be 1 file using the article_container.odt template and 3 separate files using the article_subpage.odt template. The last sub-page should contain a recap of your article and optionally provide a glimpse into other related thoughts, as well as a list of online and offline resources providing further information on the topic of your article. Rename each sub-page as article_subpage1.odt, article_subpage2.odt and so on.

In article_container.odt, the document sections are as follows:

  • The Title section contains the title of the article.
  • The Index Title can be a slightly different title to be shown in the index of the article on the right when displayed on the ez.no website.
  • The date below the Index Title section can be left alone, as it is used by eZ Systems when publishing your article.
  • The Intro section is a short introduction catching the attention of the reader and outlining the benefits of reading the article (2 to 5 sentences).
  • The Body section displays the rest of the first page of the article, including any images for this page.
  • The Rightinfo section can be left alone, as it will be used by eZ Systems when publishing your article.
  • The Partner information section is for a short biography and photo of yourself.

In article_subpage.odt, the document sections are as follows:

  • The Title section contains the title of the sub-page.
  • The Index Title can be a slightly different title to be shown in the index of the article on the right when displayed on the ez.no website.
  • The Body section displays the content for the sub-page, including any images for this page.

Spell-checker

While you are writing or afterwards, make sure you check the spelling of the content with the built-in spell-checker of OpenOffice.org Writer, which works for many different languages. To install spell-checking for your language, open the following dialog in OpenOffice.org Writer: File > Wizards > Install new dictionaries.

Header styles

Make use of standard headers to organize your content. For example, use Heading 1 for the article title, Heading 2 for subsections, and Heading 3 for topics within the subsections. Do not use more than these 3 heading levels.

Images

Please include any images in the document and also send them to us as separate files. We accept PNG, JPG, GIF.

In the document, you should provide the filename and a description right below each image.

Formatting of graphic filename and description.

Author information

Do not forget to provide personal information in the Partner information section of the container template (available in the eZ authorkit), which will be displayed along with the article (except for your email address). This includes a short 2- to 4-sentence biography and a photo of yourself.

Links to online resources

Wherever useful, provide links to external resources in the text of your article or in a list in a separate article sub-page. This will increase the usefulness of your article, as well as the Google ranking general the visibility of your article. It also shows that you did some research prior to writing the text.

Technical terms are especially valuable when linked to other references, such as pages at www.ez.no, www.wikipedia.org, or any other URL.

5. Send the draft to us for review

Send the draft to us, preferably in a .zip or .tgz archive, including:

  • article in OpenDocument Text format, with the introduction page in the container template and separate sub-pages for each subsequent page in the article
  • images in PNG, JPG or GIF format
  • other files, for example sample source code for download

We will jointly review the article with you. This means that the document might go back and forth with comments and modifications between you and eZ Systems. For review, we use the option available in OpenOffice.org Writer to record and show changes in the text.

6. License choices

Each author can choose from one of the following licenses to be applied to his work:

All of these licenses ensure free access to the provided information.

7. Publish the article

Finally, the article gets published and promoted on the ez.no website. Now you can tell everyone via email, your blog, and so on and point them to your work. Congratulations!

Don't be scared by the guidelines, simply tell us your article idea and we will achieve a great result together step-by-step. The guidelines help to make things easier and to ensure the quality of the article.

Got an idea for a great article? Tell us!

Still in search for a topic? Browse www.ez.no, for example the forums or already published articles - maybe you will find some ideas there. If not, we might have one for you :) Simply let us know!

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