1 files changed, 17 insertions, 4 deletions

diff --git a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-newbie.xml b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-newbie.xml
index 54dd71a525..0efcbbb9b0 100644
--- a/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-newbie.xml
+++ b/documentation/dev-manual/dev-manual-newbie.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
     closed, proprietary environment.  
     Additionally, the Yocto Project uses specific tools and constructs as part of its development 
     environment.  
-    The chapter specifically addresses open source philosophy, licensing issues, code repositories, 
+    This chapter specifically addresses open source philosophy, licensing issues, code repositories, 
     the open source distributed version control system Git, and best practices using the Yocto Project.
 </para>
 
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
         Conversely, if you are a developer that is not interested in contributing back to the 
         Yocto Project, you have the ability to simply download and extract release tarballs
         and use them within the Yocto Project environment.
-        All that is required is a particular release of Yocto Project, a kernel, and 
+        All that is required is a particular release of the Yocto Project and 
         your application source code.  
     </para>
 
@@ -599,7 +599,7 @@
     </para>
 
     <para>
-        Following is some guidance on which mailing list to use for what type of defect:
+        The following is some guidance on which mailing list to use for what type of defect:
         <itemizedlist>
             <listitem><para>For defects against the Yocto Project build system Poky, send 
                 your patch to the  
@@ -778,6 +778,11 @@
                     <para>If you provide several commits as part of the command, 
                     the <filename>git format-patch</filename> command produces a numbered 
                     series of files in the current directory – one for each commit.
+                    If you have more than one patch, you should also use the 
+                    <filename>--cover</filename> option with the command, which generates a 
+                    cover letter as the first "patch" in the series.  
+                    You can then edit the cover letter to provide a description for 
+                    the series of patches.
                     For information on the <filename>git format-patch</filename> command, 
                     see <filename>GIT_FORMAT_PATCH(1)</filename> displayed using the  
                     <filename>man git-format-patch</filename> command.</para></listitem>
@@ -790,7 +795,15 @@
                     or remote Mail Transport Agent (MTA) such as 
                     <filename>msmtp</filename>, <filename>sendmail</filename>, or through a direct
                     <filename>smtp</filename> configuration in your Git <filename>config</filename>
-                    file.</para>
+                    file.
+                    If you are submitting patches through email only, it is very important
+                    that you submit them without any whitespace or HTML formatting that 
+                    either you or your mailer introduces.
+                    The maintainer that receives your patches needs to be able to save and 
+                    apply them directly from your emails.
+                    A good way to verify that what you are sending will be applicable by the 
+                    maintainer is to do a dry run and send them to yourself and then 
+                    save and apply them as the maintainer would.</para>
                     <para>The <filename>git send-email</filename> command is the preferred method
                     for sending your patches since there is no risk of compromising whitespace
                     in the body of the message, which can occur when you use your own mail client.