Writer's Guidelines
Electronic School is an award-winning publication, written and edited
for elementary and secondary school leaders, technology specialists, and
media center directors in the United States and Canada.
Each issue contains open-minded reporting on cutting-edge developments
in education and technology; profiles of schools and school people who are
effectively harnessing technology in the service of the students and education;
news and reviews of what's happening in the worlds of education hardware,
software, and global communications networks; and analyses of relevant laws,
court cases, and education research.
Why publish in this magazine
Publishing an article in Electronic School has several benefits. It contributes
to the body of literature. It puts your name in front of your peers. It
helps establish you as an expert in your profession. It broadens your circle
of contacts. It lets you exchange your thoughts and experiences with colleagues
worldwide. And it's a useful citation for your resume.
Before you write, talk to us
Let us know if you're thinking of submitting an article. We prefer to
react initially to query letters outlining the highlights of your proposed
article. That way, we might be better able to steer you in the right direction
before you begin writing the final manuscript. This usually gives your article
a better chance of getting published. Even so, we are pleased to consider
finished manuscripts, as well as the texts of speeches, and even clearly
audible tape recordings of speeches and presentations.
All materials submitted for publication should be offered exclusively
to Electronic School. We discourage multiple submissions of a manuscript
to several magazines at once, which customarily results in rejection by
this publication.
Subject and style
When preparing your article, always keep your school colleagues in mind.
Your article should inform or advise school board members, superintendents,
principals, technology coordinators, media center directors, and other readers;
it should not promote a product or service.
The articles we select must speak candidly and forcefully. Your writing
should be clear, concise, smooth, logical, and consistent. Avoid jargon,
and use specific examples to illustrate your points. Don't be afraid to
use the pronouns "I" or "we" or to interject personal
experiences and anecdotes. Please include any appropriate artwork or color
photographs, and tell us who to credit for the work. Include charts or graphs
as well, if they enhance the facts in your article.
Preparing your manuscript
In addition to following the subject and style guidelines above, you
should observe these technical points in preparing your manuscript:
- Double-space your manuscript on white paper. If you wish to
submit your manuscript on disk, please save it in Microsoft
Word or plain ASCII text format. Disks are not returnable. If
you wish to submit your manuscript via e-mail, send it to editor@electronic-school.com.
- Keep the manuscript short -- five to seven double-spaced pages (or
1,250 to 1,750 words) for most pieces; 10 to 12 pages (or 2,500 to 3,000
words) if you think you have a real blockbuster of a story on your hands.
The length of finished articles, after editing, will vary.
- Put your name on each page, and number each page.
- We follow The Associated Press Stylebook, but if you're not familiar
with AP style, don't worry: That's our job.
- Attach biographical information, including a daytime telephone number,
fax number, and/or e-mail address at the end of your article.
- Forget the footnotes. If you want to credit another author in the body
of your article, fine, but save the scholarly documentation for your doctoral
dissertation.
- Proofread your manuscript before you submit it.
Acceptance and publication
We will acknowledge your manuscript upon receipt. We will make a decision
to accept or reject the manuscript as quickly as possible, but because of
the large volume of manuscripts we receive, the review process normally
takes between six and eight weeks. The long-range planning required for
this publication means that many months might elapse before an accepted
manuscript is published.
Once an article is accepted and scheduled for publication, our editors
will be in touch with you, and we'll send you a copy of the edited manuscript
before it goes to press.
We accept articles only when all copyrights -- including electronic ones
-- are offered to our magazine.
Electronic School
1680 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
USA
Voice (703) 838-6722
Fax (703) 683-7590
Sally Banks Zakariya
Editor |
