How to Write for DZone Publications: Trend Reports and Refcards

The DZone team is thrilled that you're interested in writing for DZone Publications! We are always seeking new authors to build up our author database. However, DZone Publications operate a bit differently from DZone site articles. Keep reading to learn more about writing for DZone Publications.

How to Stand Out on DZone

We handpick authors to write for DZone Publications. There are many things we look for when selecting authors, but it all boils down to one thing: Your DZone profile is your best tool for recognition.

Strong DZone Profile

When recruiting authors from DZone, the first thing we check for is a complete profile. We want to know that you're an active member, and we want to know a little about who you are. The more we can learn about your experience and expertise from your profile, the easier it is for us to match you to upcoming Publications.

Here are some of the biggest items we check for:

• Profile image of yourself – We want to know there's a human behind the profile! 
• Bio – Tell our community a little about yourself. What has your career looked like? What projects have you worked on? What achievement are you most proud of? Do you have any hobbies or pets?
• Job title and company – Let us know what you're currently up to. This helps us understand what you're working on now. 
• Account email – If we contact you for a Publications project, we'll send a message to the email attached to your account; make sure it's one you check regularly.
• Education and links – Bonus points for these! We encourage you to add your education and/or links to your LinkedIn, GitHub, personal site, etc.

Articles Published on DZone 

The more articles you have, the stronger your portfolio and chances of being selected will be. Your articles are your chance to show off what you know and demonstrate your ability to write strong, technical content. We recommend a minimum of two articles written in the last six months. 

There are several qualities we look for in articles, including:

• Over 900 words of technical, in-the-weeds content that targets developers directly
  • Think peer-to-peer knowledge sharing amongst developers
• Even balance of written text and code/diagrams, preferably more text than code and/or diagrams
• Clean grammar and ability to clearly communicate complex ideas and concepts
• Original voice that connects well with the developer audience

The qualities are selected based on the Trend Report and Refcard guidelines. If you can meet these, then we feel confident that you can write for Publications.

Publications Process

As mentioned, DZone Publications operate differently from the traditional site article moderation process. We will reach out to you about an opportunity, and you will work directly with the DZone Content and Community team in a collaborative environment.

Onboarding

The DZone Content and Community team sends cold emails to DZone community members when sourcing authors for upcoming Publications. If you are contacted, it will likely be by someone in a Publications Coordinator or Acquisitions Editor role. If you are unsure of the legitimacy of the email, you can forward it to editors@dzone.com. Someone on the Editorial team can let you know if the email is genuine!

Trend Reports vs. Refcards

For first-time Publication authors, we will reach out about Trend Report opportunities. Trend Reports serve as a fantastic introduction to the Publications process and style of writing, and there is more flexibility in the article creation. 

Contributing to a Trend Report involves creating one article, approximately 1,500 words in length, that aligns with a prompt created by DZone. You will move through outline review and editorial review stages, where you will collaborate with the DZone Content and Community team to edit the content and prepare it for publication. The process takes about 6-8 weeks.

Because Refcards are long-form content and are usually tied to a sponsor, we will only source a new Publications author if we are unable to find someone who is available through our established author database. Refcards require numerous rounds of in-depth review and must align with templates, so we prefer authors who have previous experience working with our team and are comfortable with the general process. 

Refcard opportunities come available in one of two formats: new or update. If it is a new Refcard opportunity, you will write an entire Refcard (2,500-3,000 words) from scratch with editorial help from the DZone Content and Community team. New Refcards take 10-12 weeks to create from time of outreach.  

If it is a Refcard update opportunity, you will review an existing Refcard and update the content to reflect current industry standards and tooling. Depending on the extent of updates needed, Refcard updates take 4-10 weeks to complete from time of outreach. 

DZone Publications Interest Form

Now that you know what it takes to write for DZone Publications, we're here to give you a shortcut: the DZone Publications Interest form.

Let us know you're interested in writing!

DZone Publications Interest Form

Completing this form will import your information into our prospect list — this is the list we will consult when seeking new authors to write for Publications. Please note that opportunities to contribute are limited, and a member of the DZone Content and Community team will contact you when a suitable project becomes available.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Are DZone Publications paid writing opportunities?
   1. Yes! All authors are offered compensation for their time and work on DZone Publications projects. If you are unable to accept payment due to visa restrictions or any other reason, we can offer you extra promotion across the site or help accelerate your progress toward the Core program if you are not already a member.
2. Why should I write for DZone Publications?
   1. DZone Publications are an excellent opportunity to further establish yourself as a thought leader, especially within the DZone audience. Trend Reports, in particular, allow you to align yourself and engage with other subject matter experts in the industry, therefore expanding your network. 
   2. For authors whose second (or third or fourth) language is English, we offer a collaborative editing experience that can help improve your English writing skills. We have been lucky to watch many authors improve their written language skills over the years as they've worked with us!
3. Do I receive attribution for my writing?
   1. Absolutely! For Trend Report articles and Refcards, authors are featured in bylines, in biography boxes, on landing pages, and in social media announcements, and the Publications themselves are added to authors' DZone profiles. For Trend Reports specifically, authors are also featured in the Table of Contents within reports and on landing pages. 
4. Are DZone Publications scholarly sources?
   1. No, DZone Publications are not scholarly sources. 
5. Can I send Trend Report and Refcard pitches?
   1. Unfortunately, we do not accept pitches for Trend Reports and Refcards. However, we would love to know what you'd like to see more of on the site. We are happy to receive suggestions for topic coverage, and we will use those when curating our Publications schedule and site content initiatives. Feel free to email suggestions to: editors@dzone.com. 
6. How long will it take for someone to contact me once I complete the form?
   1. That depends on the number of available opportunities and whether those opportunities are within your field(s) of expertise. We have a large author database and a growing prospect list. It could be anywhere from a few weeks or longer. However, we are always looking to expand our author database, so do not be discouraged if you don't hear from us immediately! 
7. Can I write about my company in DZone Publications?
   1. We cannot permit any company promotion in DZone Publications. We strive to maintain vendor neutrality, and we only permit references to free, open-source, or ubiquitous tools (with conditions). If you work for a ubiquitous company (e.g., AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud), we can work with you through the editorial review to ensure vendor neutrality. The goal of our Publications is to provide strong, go-to information on industry practices and standards that readers can apply to their use cases without needing access to paid tools. 
8. How strict are the DZone Publication draft timelines?
   1. The timelines associated with each draft are extremely important, and you will be contracted into a timeline agreement. Our team is always working on three Trend Reports and numerous Refcards simultaneously, and we create draft timelines based on those workflows. Following the timeline will ensure our team is able to review your draft with the time and attention you deserve. 
9. Are Virtual Roundtables part of the Trend Report opportunity?
   1. Yes! Following the completion of your article, you will be invited to join the Virtual Roundtable that is paired with the Trend Report for which you wrote. 
10. Some DZone Publications authors do not have complete profiles or articles published on the site. Why do I need these things?
    1. Excellent question. As we grow the author database, we are also trying to grow the DZone community. We sometimes extend our outreach efforts to other sources beyond DZone, particularly if we are seeking coverage of a niche concept that is not well documented on DZone. However, DZone is always the first place we go to for authors.