Instructions to authors for submissions to Speleo Spiel:

The editor of the Speleo puts a heap of time and effort into creating the master piece that is the Speleo, please make their job easier by applying the following rules when submitting articles:

• Any file type readable by MS Word.
• Unformatted text. (Do not use bold, italics, indentations etc. No soft returns.)
• Single hard return between paragraphs. (Do NOT hit return twice. Otherwise the Editor has to remove them manually.)
• Single space between words. (Do NOT hit space bar twice. These create errors in Grammar checkers and have to be fixed manually.)
• Single space between sentences. (Do NOT hit space bar twice. These create errors in Grammar checkers and have to be fixed manually.)
• Full stops do NOT have a space before them.
• Use a spell checker and grammar checker. (Both of these are in Word. Turn them on.)
• Corrections to submitted articles.
  First, here’s some information about how your submitted copy is processed. It doesn’t just sit in a “to do” location waiting to be processed. As copy is received, it’s added to the next Spiel and is partly formatted. Photos are added and the pages are set up. This is done to spread the work over the two months available between Spiels.
  If the author has some minor corrections (change a name, a number etc), these can be done.
  If the author decides to re-write large slabs of the article, this requires the original copy to be deleted and the new copy to be inserted, usually breaking the formatting, pagination etc.  This is can have a substantial impact on the rest of the edition, so please ensure your articles are complete before sending them in. Maybe don’t send it as soon as you’ve finished it, leave it for 24hr so that when you think of the brilliantly witty insight at 3am you can add it before sending it.
• Tables and lists – These can have minimal formatting so the editor knows how you’d like them to look.
• Photos etc. – upload to a file sharing platform and send the link. Do not presume the editor can log on to the platform, Dropbox is preferable. Upload photos at high definition; they can always be downgraded for publication.
• Specials. If you have something which MUST maintain its formatting and layout, contact the editor so you can set up and submit your full page exactly the way it will appear in the Spiel (margins etc.).

For the technically adept here is a quick way in MSWord to replace things (thanks to Steve Fordyce for the info):

Use the Find & Replace dialogue (Ctrl & F, or Ctrl & H in MS Word) the “Replace All” will do everything at once:

• Find <soft return character>: type “^l” (that’s shift-6 and lowercase L, no quotation marks)
• Replace with <hard return character>: type “^p” (that’s shift-6 and lowercase p, no quotation marks)
• Find <double returns>: type “^p^p”
• Replace with <single return>: type “^p”
• Find <double space between words/sentences>: type ”  ” (spacebar twice)
• Replace with <single space>: type ” ” (spacebar once)
• Find <space before full stop>: type ” .” (spacebar, full stop)
• Replace with < full stop>: type “.” (full stop)”