At M&A Critique, our vision is to arm our readers with better ideas that help them become smart, more informed, and more courageous in their work. And in order to achieve that, we engage experts in M&A, Finance and Corporate Laws to express their thoughts in the most influential way possible.
M&A Critique covers a wide range of topics, which includes M&A, strategy, leadership, taxation, innovative accounting, financial re-engineering, decision making and corporate laws. We publish articles of many formats (some in both print and digital forms, and some in digital only), graphics, videos, audios, slide presentations, and all other media form that might help us share an idea effectively.
Here are the five qualities we look for when evaluating what to publish:
- Expertise: You don’t have to be well known to be a contributor, but you must know a lot about the subject you are writing about.
- Evidence: It’s not enough to know your subject deeply — you have to prove it to the reader. Referring to supporting research is one good way to do this; describing relevant examples is another. If you have interesting data, do let us know.
- Originality: If you’re writing about a well-worn topic, we’ll be looking for a unique argument or insight.
- Usefulness: M&A Critique readers come to us not only to stay on top of new developments in financial thinking and M&A deals, but also to change the way they and their organizations actually do things and make decisions.
- Writing that’s persuasive and a pleasure to read: M&A Critique readers are smart and well informed. If you don’t capture their interest right away, they will move on to something more insightful.
General notes on process
We receive much more submissions than we can publish, and we often have to say no to good proposals due to limitations of space and time or simply because they’re not distinct enough from other pieces we have published earlier. If we have not cleared an article you have submitted, please feel free to try again with another idea. However, if our editors have said no multiple times, then it means your work would not suit our needs.
We decide on the headlines and taglines as our editors have wide experience in giving headlines which will grab attention and will make the article far more visible on the internet so that readers can click on the articles time and again and shared both on social media and in offices around the world. If we rewrite your title, it’s because we believe the revised version will help your idea reach the audience it deserves.
We strive for authenticity in our articles. We don’t publish pieces that have appeared elsewhere, that come across as promotional, or that do not include rigorous citations (though these may not appear in the finished piece). We ask our authors to disclose any financial relationships they have with companies cited in the proposed article. M&A Critique holds copyright on the finished product, but authors continue to own the underlying ideas in their articles.
We try to evaluate ideas before we determine where and how to publish them. We will consider submissions that contain only a short pitch, and we can help determine whether the idea should become a magazine feature, digital article, podcast, graphic, video, or another format. That said, there are some differences between the submission processes for M&A Critique.com and the magazine.
Process notes – Pitch All submissions to the web are made on spec. It’s helpful if you send us a short pitch first so that we can give you early feedback, but we need to see a full draft before officially accepting a piece—even if we’ve asked you to write it, and even if you’ve written for us before. (If you don’t already have a relationship with an M&A CRITIQUE editor, you can send your pitch to [email protected].)
Process notes – Evaluation The evaluation process for long-form features in the magazine is more formal. It’s fine to send a pitch for a magazine feature to an editor, but if the idea is promising, eventually you’ll be asked to submit a formal proposal and narrative outline. The proposal should answer the following questions, though it doesn’t need to be in a Q&A format.
- What is the central message of the article you propose to write?
- What is important, useful, new, or counter-intuitive about your idea?
- Why do managers need to know about it?
- What is the source of your authority? On what previous work (either your own or others’) does this idea build?
- What academic, professional, or personal experience will you draw on?
The narrative outline should be no more than 800 words and must lay out the structure of the proposed article. We want to understand how the logic of your argument will flow. Please illustrate your points with real-world examples or provide one extended, detailed example. (If you don’t have a relationship with an M&A CRITIQUE editor, you can send your pitch to [email protected].)
Thanks for considering working with us.