Aspiring Authors
Cost Management welcomes the submission of articles on any topic related
to cost management. Case studies are also welcome. The article should be written
with an eye toward aiding the reader in improving the financial and nonfinancial
performance of his or her business using cost management techniques.
Manuscripts for publication, and correspondence relating to them, should be
sent to:
Paul Sharman, Editor in Chief
Cost Management
5070 Spruce Avenue
Burlington, ON, L7L 1M8
Canada
psharman@focusedmanagement.com
While the utmost care will be given to all manuscripts submitted, we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. Articles accepted for publication
are subject to editorial revision.
- Articles must include a brief author bio and an Executive Summary. It is
strongly suggested that articles end with a "Conclusions" paragraph. Articles
must be submitted in an electronic format (either MS Word or WordPerfect).
E-mails are welcome.
- If sending through the regular mail or special delivery service, please
include a diskette of the article file, along with a hard copy. Articles should
be double-spaced with liberal margins. Length should be 20 to 25 pages.
- Within your article, use many headings and subheadings to break up and
emphasize your points. Type all headings flush with the left-hand margin.
Endnotes are used, not footnotes.
- Illustrations and graphs (exhibits) accompanying manuscripts should be
supplied in black laser-printed form. These exhibits should contain a minimum
of shading and other design elements.
- Typewritten or freehand lettering is not acceptable. All lettering must
be typeset. Do not staple or paperclip illustrations. If possible, place all
illustrations between sheets of cardboard before mailing, to prevent folds.
- Please include electronic files for these exhibits, saved in one of the
following formats: .eps, .tif, .gif. Exhibits may be edited for content.
- If you are reprinting in your article any previously copyrighted material,
the publisher must have letters of permission to reprint from the copyright
holder. These letters must be submitted together with the manuscript.
Except in rare cases, Cost Management only publishes articles if they have not yet appeared or been accepted for publication elsewhere. There is generally no objection, however, to having articles that appear in this publication reprinted in other noncompetitive publications at a later date if appropriate permission is requested from us at that time.
Style
Contributors are writing for an audience with varying degrees of knowledge. Therefore, when addressing sophisticated or complex issues, your writing should be sufficiently clear to be useful to nonexperts. Assume that some readers will not have specific knowledge of the particular topic being discussed. All readers, whether expert or not, do need guidance on relatively complex questions and, at times, on the more basic ones.
- Article titles should be kept short and to the point. Each article requires
a strong organizational structure. Be sure to state the main point(s) of the
article at the outset rather than at the end.
- Avoid unnecessary modifiers and qualifying phrases. Always choose the simplest
word that is accurate.
- Illustrate the concepts presented in the article with narrative or dollars-and-cents
examples, step-by-step checklists, sidebars, tables, and charts. These devices
help readers apply the information and make it easier for them to grasp the
concepts.
- Headings should be kept short, yet still guide the reader through the discussion.
- Use sidebars to break up the text and enhance your article. Sidebars can
highlight additional information; explain a concept further; offer tips, suggestions,
and cautions; compare advantages and disadvantages; and present checklists.
Sidebars can also contain information that is useful to the reader but does
not fit into the organizational structure of your article.
