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HomeAuthor Guidelines

Author Guidelines

These guidelines are for authors, or their representatives, wanting to publish a technical article or column in any monthly issue of “Hydrocarbon Processing” (HP). If the author does not yet have an abstract, then the process begins with them sending an email to the HP editorial team, with their proposed Title, including in what section of the magazine they wish this article to be featured. See annual HP Media Planner (and our annual GP Media Planner) for dates of Special Focus, regular and Bonus features.

This guideline has bookmarked sections for ease of navigation: click a numbered link to go to that section anchor.

1. HP Editorial Policies
2. HP Selecting Articles
3. Submitting Abstracts
4. Submit a Full Article
5. Review as Laid Out
6. After it is Published 

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Here are the four cardinal principles of Hydrocarbon Processing, and also of Gas Processing (GP):
• CLEARANCE You must clear the article with authorities in the company or organization. Furthermore, if information in the article is based on the activities of an organization other than the one with whom you are employed, clearance for use of the material must be obtained from that organization. (This protects you as well as us.).

• BRANDING Equipment trade names and identification of equipment manufacturers or service companies cannot be used within the body of the article, but can be cited once in reference list at the end of the article. Names of operating companies may be used if the company has agreed in advance. HP will clearly display authors and author’s company names as their byline in the heading of the article. Permission for publication of text and illustrations from professional societies, etc., shall be obtained by the author(s).

• EXCLUSIVITY Hydrocarbon Processing will not accept any articles that have been previously published in any trade journal or magazine. This does not include presentations/case studies/Q&A at conferences, forums, etc which can be proposed for publication. If you have questions regarding this principle, please  for clarification.

• EDITING STYLE HP reserves the right to edit, reword, rearrange or rewrite the manuscript to conform to the magazine's style and standard or presentation. HP editors will work with you in regards to these changes, as well as provide you with a final draft before publishing. We will not publish an article until approved by you, the author.

SELECTION OF ARTICLES

These come from several sources. Some are solicited by the editors, some from professional society or convention events, still others are unsolicited. In whatever form they come to us, articles need to pass the HP editorial guidelines before publication. Readership interest determines an article's value: the ultimate goal is to publish what HP subscribers want. The many and varied operations within the hydrocarbon processing industry results in a wide range of potential topics for articles. HP balances each issue with a variety of featured articles spanning many disciplines and subjects. But whatever the subject, the key to stimulating the editor's interest is to offer us material that is new, timely, well written and helpful to the reader.

HP maintains close contact with its readers through surveys, conferences, readership studies, etc. This has allowed HP to receive regular feedback on the type of articles, data, columns, etc. our readers want each month. HP readership prefers technical articles that help them in their overall job function. They do not want marketing or sales pitches, but information and data on improving downstream HPI operations. Should you have any questions regarding your article, our HP editorial staff is glad to work with you on your article submission, as well as to answer any questions that you may have regarding editorial guidelines.

SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT

The first step is to fill in our on-line "Article Abstract for HP" form, which allows for abstract text up to 400 words. Please keep your Title concise, identifying scope of the article. This form also has you choose in which category theme you propose the article: see our annual Media Planner. (Note which articles will become Special Focus is determined by the HP Editor).

This form also serves several other purposes that aid HP/GP Editorial staff in planning each issue.

• Completing, signing, and returning this form confirms acceptance of our four HP editorial policies
• Specific article approval from the author's own management, whenever that is required by them
• Confirm author has their client's permission to cite their project, if it is identifiable in their article
• Ensures the correct spelling of the authors names, and companies / institutions they all work for
• Identifies lead author, also provides email address for any questions from HP's Technical Editor
• Contains an estimate of how many figures and tables are planned – this helps with page layouts

Our Technical Editor will respond, within a few days, with any clarifying questions. If he has none, the person who submitted it will get a prompt clear answer on whether the abstract is accepted - or is not - and in which category it will be featured. Note that HP articles range between 3 to 5 pages. Columns are shorter, typically one or at most two pages – if authors wish to submit a Column instead of a Technical Article, you can send an initial inquiry email prior to completing the abstract form: use COLUMN in the subject line. Send any abstract or article related email questions to Editors@HydrocarbonProcessing.com

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SUBMIT A FULL ARTICLE

This needs to be done a minimum of two months prior to the magazine issue month.

The HP Technical Editor may ask the author to consider splitting longer articles in two parts, to run in consecutive months. Rule of thumb, with a figure or table per page, is 800 words per page.  Drawings, charts and photos are valuable to help support an article. They also clarify matter, help break-up the text. Figures shall be numbered consecutively, each with a caption.

The submitted full article file in Word, will be assigned the lead author’s family name as a unique identifier: it helps HP internally with tracking. Please ensure all illustrations are numbered to match a corresponding number shown in the text. Your figure files should be named Fig1.png, Fig2.jpg, etc. Use a similar naming convention with all of the article tables - which preferably should be in Excel, not in Word - and named Table1.xlsx, Table2.xlsx etc. Tables shall also have a caption under them.

Graphs should be free of all lines and lettering not essential to the reader's understanding. Limit supplementary data on the face of each graph: that can be written in the "cutline", or within the article text. Scale captions should be outside the grid. Pay attention to line weight, avoid very thin lines.

If your abstract was accepted, use this "Upload Full Article" form to upload the article in MS Word, also each figure in native file format, with its caption in text.

BIOGRAPHIES
HP is known as the trusted "voice of the industry it serves." We are proud of our authors and their credentials. So, each article should carry a by-line: occasionally, an article is published without a by-line, by the author's request. The article should also include a biographical sketch of each author's professional experience, academic credentials, etc. Each bio should run about 50 words. We ask that you submit a recent portrait photograph as well of each named author: head and shoulders. Click this "Author Bio & Portrait" form to upload all their bios and portrait headshots.

GRAPHICS GUIDANCE
1) Portrait photos should be a minimum of 1500 by 1500 pixels: this is needed for print quality
2) Photos for inclusion within the article should be submitted in as high a resolution as possible
3) Schematics are re-drawn by our Production graphic artists, to conform with HP colors & fonts
     so they simply need to be legible to avoid typographic errors. If done in Visio, export as SVG
4) If graphs contain a lot of data, consider also submitting an Excel file with all data points on it

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REVIEW AS LAID OUT

Closer to scheduled publication date, typically two months out, a specific editor will be assigned. They may contact the designated author for clarifications, may even require a "rewrite", or to submit an amended draft, incorporating comments or observations.  HP reserves the right to edit any manuscript for length, style and clarity. All articles will be sent to the author for final approval - as a low-resolution galley proof PDF - before the article is ever published. The designated contact should promptly get comments marked on the PDF and returned, including any request to add or subtract text to fit the page layout. Please neatly write the corrections and any strike-out with a colored pen, color-scan the markup, and email back to the assigned HP editor. Approval to publish the "finished product" rests with the author.

AFTER PUBLICATION

Authors named in a published article are sent a watermarked PDF for their use. Note HP content is copyrighted, however, authors retain copyright to original manuscript and illustrations. The edited article, as published in HP, may be reprinted by request – for use in training manuals, promotional efforts, etc. But first obtain permission from HP in writing. HP requires specific authorization for reprinted material. When an individual or an organizations - other than the author - request permission to reprint, HP support will notify  the lead author using the contact information as provided in the R.A.I. form.

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We look forward to working with you.