About Submissions To Traders.com™ Advantage!

Author Guidelines

This is to acquaint you, as a Traders.com author or prospective author, with our needs and requirements. There are few hard and fast rules, and acceptance of a manuscript or program is not necessarily contingent on strict compliance with the guidelines set forth herein.

Content and topic

We are looking for items with wide audience appeal. Computer trading utilities, charting methods and how-to tutorials are in highest demand, but anything of interest to most investors is also appropriate for submission.

First consideration for publication will be given to material, regardless of topic, that presents the subject in terms that are easily understandable by the novice trader. One of our prime considerations is to instruct, and we must do so in a manner that the lay person can comprehend. This by no means bars material of a complex nature, but the author must first establish the groundwork.

An article or trading example that takes the time to develop the whys as well as the hows will carry more weight in the selection process. For instance, an article that explains how the user can use a moving average might merit publication, but an article that first explained the purpose and function of a moving average would be given preference.

Theme blocks

We have an editorial calendar with general areas that we attempt to cover with frequency on Traders.com. These include:

Classic Techniques: Definitive explanations of technical charting techniques or numerical methods.

Trading Techniques: Here we are looking for information that isn’t normally covered in introductory articles and generally is only picked up through experience. Market quirks, floor smarts, and rules of thumb are especially handy. Sometimes this is integrated with new technical analysis techniques, but usually these “tricks of the trade” aren’t quantifiable. They are everyday ways of surviving in order to prosper.

New Techniques: Here we are looking for new ways to look at the markets or modifications to traditional techniques. Although many techniques tend to be computerized, this is not a necessity. Articles away from the beaten path are attention-getters. Spreading and hedging are particular favorites. Charting or computer programs to help the trader study or interpret market movements do enhance the value of the article.

Basic Techniques: There’s always a need to explain the basics, and a learn-by-example approach is best. Describe the use of a trading system or computer program to augment user application and analysis.

Undocumented features and hidden software tricks: We are especially interested in sharing the unknown or near-unknown features of software used by traders. Whether you are a publisher or a user with great familiarity, your insight will be of great value to our readers.

Statistics: How should traders use statistics productively? The best articles here are those describing quick-but-not-too-dirty ways of employing statistics when trading. Articles describing when and/or how to use statistical techniques are also welcome.

Artificial Intelligence: Includes neural networks, expert systems and hybrids and their applications to trading and technical analysis.

Real World: Describe how to use chart work and technical analysis in day-to-day trading of stocks or commodities. A blow-by-blow account of how a trade was made, including the trader’s thought processes, is always well-received by our subscribers. Surveys, statistics or information accumulated from actual data also go here, the idea being to describe the trading arena as accurately as possible.

Psychology: Trading is a mental and emotional exercise, and articles in this theme block describe how traders can put themselves in the best frame of mind for trading, point out how to avoid common emotional traps, or describe the intuitive, personal aspects of being a trader who must deal with failures as well as successes.

Technical vs. Fundamental: Here we explore techniques, strategies, concepts and systems beyond the traditional technical approach. Is technical analysis bunk? Here’s the place to describe why. Can you explain a wholly different, yet profitable approach to trading that encompasses anything from astrology to econometrics? This is the theme block where you can show how to mix trading methods or describe new trading approaches that show promise or are paying off already.

Style and submission requirements

                              We are not hypercritical of writing style, but accuracy is the keyword. Minor grammatical corrections will be made by the editorial staff. However, the completeness and accuracy of submitted material is extremely important.

We particularly expect documented features of trading systems to be positively confirmed. Computer programs must be thoroughly debugged and tested. Stocks & Commodities attempts to verify each program submitted, but there are many times when this is prevented by system configurations. Problems arising after publication will be directed to the author.

Articles, like computer programs, should be modular in form. Each paragraph should cover a single well-defined topic. The flow of logic should be easy to follow. If it is not easy for a novice to understand, then rewrite your article/paragraph/sentence so that it will be. This does not preclude articles on complicated topics but keep in mind that 13% of our readers are new to the field and need a lot of explanation.

All material — text and graphics — should be submitted using your author’s keycode on the Traders.com Website. Point your browser to https://technical.traders.com/authors/access.asp and follow the instructions.

Your content will be limited to five paragraphs of uploaded text; conciseness is essential. Select one appropriate chart or other graphic and upload it, too. (Your graphic should illustrate your main point and should be a .JPG, .GIF, or .BMP file.) The graphic should be large enough to be read clearly. There is also an option to include a caption for the graphic.

In order to be published on Traders.com, you must also include a biography (in text format). One paragraph explaining your background is adequate. We will also include information about you from our Traders’ Resource area if you fill in the appropriate form on the Web page. We will not publish your address or phone number unless it is included in your biography or the Traders’ Resource.

Copyrights

Every author must complete and return a Technical Analysis, Inc., copyright form included with this guideline with the following information: Author’s name, address, telephone number and Social Security Number (SSN). This copyright form, signed and filled out, must be returned with the required hard copy. Your material must be an original work that has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by any other publication.

Upon acceptance, Technical Analysis, Inc., acquires full copyright to the material, unless otherwise agreed to in writing. Certain rights to reuse the material are given to the author, so long as proper copyright notice in the name of Technical Analysis, Inc., is given.

Acknowledgment and publication

Your material will be acknowleged upon being uploaded to the Traders.com Web server. Within 24 hours, a Traders.com editor will review the material, make any necessary changes, and then post it to Traders.com.

If your article is not posted, our Traders.com staff will notify you of the reason we have declined to publish using the E-mail address you provide when you upload your submission.

Authors wishing hard copy reprints of their articles as published on Traders.com Advantage may print as many screen captures as they would like, providing any reproduction bears proper copyright attribution to Technical Analysis, Inc.

PDF downloads and stand-alone printed versions in quantities of 100 or more are available at a nominal fee.

Consideration

Publication on Traders.com Advantage will permit you to reach hundreds of thousands of eyes within, in most cases, hours of your creation of the material. The value of this exposure and potential customer feedback is enormous.

This massive reach among an audience of prominent technical analysts is the consideration Technical Analysis, Inc. offers for your contribution to Traders.com.

Questions or Comments? Send message to: Survey@Traders.com