At CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions we are committed to educating our readers. The recent innovations that have brought new, open telephony systems, shared databases and e-commerce to call centers have been accompanied by a growing audience with a thirst for information not only on how to implement these technologies successfully, but on which companies provide them.

CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions is written for executives in all industries (corporate, financial and general management, sales/marketing/trade show management, contact center supervisors and managers) who are seeking practical solutions to call center issues, such as technologies, direct marketing techniques, human resources, and current industry news.

CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions offers two distinct types of editorial coverage:

• Our monthly editorial topics can be found in our editorial calendar. These features are open to vendor-submitted article contributions. These articles are intended to educate readers in a how-to, practical, solutions-oriented fashion. No overt commercialism is tolerated. Authors are not paid for their services.
  
• Company and product-specific industry news is covered in three separate sections - Customer Inter@ction News, E-Sales/E-Service News and Technology Highlights. Announcements included are new products and services, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, expansions, general industry happenings, promotions and hirings and international news. Press releases regarding any of these categories should be submitted to cispress@tmcnet.com. Deadlines generally fall five weeks ahead of the issue date.

• Advertisers have no advantage in editorial acceptance. Editorial decisions are based solely on the value of information to our readers.
  
• Story proposals should be focused concepts. While our editors will not develop your concept for you, they will help refine your proposal so the final article best meets our readers' interests. Stories will not be considered for publication if they promote a particular product or service.
  
• All article ideas, proposals, pitches, etc., should be e-mailed to the managing editor. Although some voice conversations may provide the impetus for an article, all conversations regarding articles should be confirmed via e-mail so that potential misunderstandings are avoided.
  
• All submitted articles must be original works, neither having been submitted to, or published in, other magazines.
  
• Companies authoring articles for publication in CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions must assign copyright to the magazine - we will not publish any article, from any company, without it.

The best way to understand what types of stories we are looking for, and how they should be written, is to read the magazine. In general terms, we look for educational/how-to articles written to the managerial level. Articles should focus on a subject (ACDs, for example) and explain what it is and how it works so that the reader will be able to understand, to a certain degree, the technical/managerial benefits of the subject. Please make an effort to define all acronyms, technical details and standards.

• Vendor-contributed articles (not press releases) are usually assigned four months ahead of the issue date.
• Final article materials (including submitted art) are required two months ahead of the issue date.

• Please see our separate Web page for a listing of Awards Programs.

• All submissions should be e-mailed to the managing editor.
  
• Our computing environment is Windows 98, Office 2000. We therefore require PC-compatible files - no Macintosh, please.
  
• Articles sent via e-mail can either be attached or pasted into the body of the e-mail message itself.
  
• If a Word document (Office 2000 or 97 is fine) is submitted, please format the article as little as possible. DO NOT include page numbers, paragraph indentation, embedded company logos, etc.
  
• Graphic files should be high-resolution (minimum 266 dpi) color graphics (.BMP, .EPS, .TIFF or .JPG) or color slides. Please do not send Word documents with embedded graphics as we'll just have to delete the embedded image and ask for it to be resent.
  
• Article length generally ranges between 1,800 and 2,200 words for a feature article, or 1,000 to 1,200 words for a sidebar article. Precise length will be determined during the acquisition process by the managing editor.
  
• Byline/Biography: Please indicate under the title of your article the author's name and affiliation. While your article must be noncommercial, we will be pleased to include a brief description of both the bylining author and your organization (1 paragraph). We will also include contact information.

For a variety of reasons, we cannot guarantee the acceptance of or publication of any article. However, if we encounter problems regarding a specific article, we will try to publish your article as soon as possible in an issue that is appropriate to the material covered therein. We may find it necessary to return the article to the author for revision so as to render the article suitable for publishing consideration in a subsequent issue. We suggest that you do not pre-publicize the fact that you have submitted an article for publication in a particular issue to save embarrassment if your article must be cut. If you plan to submit more than one article to CUSTOMER INTER@CTION Solutions, please be aware that our policy prohibits us from publishing the same author or corporation in back-to-back issues.

Your article must not contain libelous matter. It must be original, must have never appeared previously in another publication, and must not be simultaneously submitted to any other publication for consideration. Every article submitted to our editorial staff must be accompanied by a completed "Assignment of Copyright" form (You can save and then print a copy from an Acrobat file by by right-clicking here.) Please do not alter the wording of this form. Copyright protects the exact wording of a printed piece; it does not apply to the ideas contained within the article.

REPRINTS