Writing for php|architect

We never tire of saying that php|architect is a magazine written by developers, for developers. The names of some of the best-known PHP experts in the world have appeared on our pages, but the vast majority of our content is the work of PHP enthusiasts from all walks of life (many of which have become well-known experts in their own right).

The first step towards becoming an author is to submit one or more article ideas to our editorial department. We are always looking for new authors, and welcome all submissions—even if you have never written for a magazine before.

If you need some ideas, you can take a look at our Editorial Calendar for some inspiration.

What kind of content we look for

In general, we want you to write about the things that you, as a PHP developer, would like to see published in our magazine. If you have recently researched a particular topic that could be useful to other developers, or have developed a new technique that you think our readers would be interested in, we want to hear from you!

We like articles that take a practical approach to problem-solving, but we will gladly consider pieces of a more theoretical nature—after all, a good developer needs both theoretical knowledge and the ability to apply it in practice.

How to submit an article idea

The most important thing about submitting an article is: do not submit a complete article!

It's very likely that our editors will want to discuss your idea and help you hone it down into a proposal that we will want to publish. Therefore, it's best to send us a short synopsis of the article, indicating the topic you want to cover and the angle you want to cover it from, together with a tentative timeline to give us an idea of when you'll be able to deliver it by.

Doing so will avoid wasting your time on rewrites—which are never fun for everyone—and on e-mail exchanges trying to nail down all the details.

Article length and detail

One of the elements that sets php|architect content apart is the depth of coverage of our articles. We prefer features that dig deep into a particular topic and bring all of its most intimate details to the surface—without, of course, driveling on pointlessly.

We normally divide articles in two categories:

Features are an average of at least 2,500-3,500 words in length and feature prominently in our magazine. These are our preferred pieces for one-time topics, as they give us the opportunity to provide the kind of in-depth coverage that our readers want
Reviews are, as their name subtly implies, reviews of products—books, software, and so on—that are relevant to the PHP world.

We also publish columns, monthtly recurring articles of between 1,500 and 2,000 words. With the exception of /etc, these imply a longer-term commitment and, therefore, they are usually assigned by our editorial team as opposed to being initiated through unsolicited proposals.

Does php|architect Pay Its Authors?

Of course we do—we offer competitive rates for all our authors, and we pay on acceptance (not on publication). In addition, you remain the copyright owner of your work (although we do ask that you make any original code you write specifically for your articles freely available for our readers to use).