Subheadings in articles

[dsletten]

Hi again,
I really am not trying to be annoying, I just want to clarify a few things.

I was reading your blog on subheadings and you suggest capitalizing them as if they are a title and using Bold print to make them stand out. I haven't been doing this here at CC because the Writer's Guidelines states:

Format:
- Write in 12 point cap. Editors read many articles everyday and anything smaller than 12 point cap is hard on the eyes. - *Do not use colors and bold type* - If your article is free and contains many links it will be rejected. Only 3 links allowed per article. - Titles must be properly capitalized. Example "The Power of Love" or "Caring for Puppy's Teeth". - Write for internet format, which is single spaced and a double space between paragraphs. This makes it much easier for editors to read.

When I started writing here I looked at the way the top writers formated their articles to see what was acceptable and followed suit. Is is okay to write subheadings with capitalization like a title and use bold type? Should I be using bold type for titles?

Thanks again

[Ed]

Eh, you can go either way with bold. My main concern is that the subheadings stand out instead of blending in with the body of the document. Capitalizing them like titles is a professional way to do this. Bolding makes the article "skimmable," in that readers can jump from subhead to subhead when they are in a hurry to find what they want.

That guideline means that we don't want articles that are submitted entirely with bold type.

You aren't bugging me. It's better to ask. Those guidelines need updated, for sure.

Ed