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WOW Submissions and Writers’ Guidelines
Thanks for considering a submission to World of Westchase!
The support of residents and
business columnists alike help keep
WOW the best community magazine in the nation. As you prepare to
make your submission to WOW, there are some helpful hints
that will help make the process run more smoothly.
In preparing to make a submission, it is important to remember that
because WOW has a finite amount of space every month, we can
never guarantee that a submission will be run. We nevertheless give
neighborhood news the highest priority. WOW also reserves the
right to edit all submissions for clarity, grammar, content and
length. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the magazine’s staff
cannot contact a submitter about any changes made to any article
prior to publication. We greatly appreciate your understanding our
limitations and constraints.
Further, while WOW accepts businesses' press releases and
newsworthy columns written by
professionals, WOW does not engage
in “pay-for-play” publication of advertorials. The purchase of
advertising within the magazine will not win favorable treatment for
editorial submissions nor guarantee publication of a business or
group’s press releases or
professional columns.
With the exception of general press releases for charitable events,
it is also WOW's general practice to decline to run articles
offered concurrently to other local publications. WOW's
readership is accustomed to seeing first-run, original articles
rather than articles they can find elsewhere in other publications.
News Articles and Essays
WOW welcomes news articles and essays on various topics
submitted by residents. WOW, however, does not currently
compensate writers of articles or essays that have not been
specifically requested or assigned by the editor. We nevertheless
love to hear about neighborhood events and gatherings and the
personal accomplishments of family members and neighbors! The ideal
way of submitting your article is to type it in Microsoft Word and
e-mail it as an attachment to
Editor@WestchaseWOW.com. You can also simply cut and paste your
article into the body of your e-mail.
In general, most articles are written in the third person and should
avoid use of the pronouns I, we and you. Instead, write up the
article as if you were an outside observer of all the fun.
Most WOW pages are half pages. Without photos, they can fit
approximately 600 words without subheadings. If you are submitting
photos to run with the piece, subtract about 200 words for each
photo submitted. Because space is at a premium in the magazine,
contact the editor at 920-9809 to discuss any article that exceeds
the half page word/photo limit.
Submitters without Internet access should type up an article and
drop it with relevant contact information into one of the black
WOW drop boxes at the swim and tennis centers.
WOW reserves the right to refuse handwritten articles for
consideration.
Finally, always remember that a reader is brought into a story by a
good photo. Whenever a story can be accompanied by a photo, be sure
to submit one.
Photos
The easiest way for photo to be submitted to the magazine is by
sending a high-resolution digital copies via e-mail. Never send a
photo that has been cut and pasted into a Word document or e-mail
already. Its resolution will be too low to reproduce in the hardcopy
magazine.
Instead, send high resolution JPEGs to
Editor@WestchaseWOW.com
by attaching them to your e-mail.
Generally, photos that are smaller in memory size than 1 MB will not
reproduce well (To determine the memory size of your photo, right
click on the file in Windows Explorer and select Properties.)
Send a few more photos than you would like included; doing so allows
the magazine staff to pick those that will reproduce best in the
magazine. While some darker photos can be lightened a bit, avoid
sending any photo that is excessively dark, is at all blurry, is
remarkably off center or has its subjects cut-off. If you have more
than 10 photos you would like to send, it generally is better to
burn a CD of them and drop it, sealed in a plastic bag, in one of
the black WOW drop boxes at the swim and tennis centers.
Include captions of all photos at the end of the article. Precede
the caption with the actually name of photo file (JPEG).
WOW also accepts hardcopy versions of photos. These should be placed
in a sealable plastic bag, identified clearly, and dropped into one
of the black WOW drop boxes at the swim and tennis centers. WOW
unfortunately cannot return photos submitted in this way.
With the exception of Pet of the Month, WOW generally does
not run photos that are not accompanied by an explanatory article,
however brief.
Professional Columns and Business Press
Releases
WOW currently runs a number of different professional columns
depending upon available space. While professionals are welcome to
submit such columns for consideration, WOW does not guarantee
that they will be run. It is therefore advisable to first explore
with the editor WOW's level of interest in the potential
piece before its writing and submission. Columns should be newsworthy and not
promotional, particularly with regard to the columnist’s own
business or products. They should run 500-550 words in length and
should be accompanied by a good resolution photograph (head shot) of
the writer of at least 1 MB. An editor’s note generally follows the
piece and identifies the writer, his/her business name and relevant
certifications and/or licensure. Column length should take the
length of the editor’s note into consideration. Given the popularity of the magazine, the number of
its monthly contributors and space constraints, WOW can never
guarantee publication of any submitted piece. Further, some
professional columns run monthly; others run as space allows.
While general press releases about a company are also accepted
for consideration, business owners are advised that such releases
are very rarely run due to space limitations. WOW does,
however, give greater weight to stories about local businesses
engaged in charitable work that solely benefits Westchase charities
and schools. Due to the number of press releases WOW
receives, however, staff generally does not e-mail confirmation of
their receipt.
WOW also does not engage
in “pay-for-play” publication of advertorials. The purchase of
advertising within the magazine will not win favorable treatment for
editorial submissions nor guarantee publication of a business or
group’s press releases or professional columns.
Please contact WOW Editor Chris Barrett with any questions at
920-9809 or via e-mail at
Editor@WestchaseWOW.com.
Thanks for your interest in World of Westchase!
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