Army Engineer Magazine Editorial Guidelines
Introduction
Army Engineer magazine is published by the Army Engineer Association, primarily as a benefit of membership with the non-profit organization. In addition to individual and supporting firm members, copies of the magazine may be provided to units, organizations and libraries having an interest.
Army Engineer is published on a bi-monthly basis and contains articles of interest involving all aspects of Army engineering, past and present. General editorial themes are determined annually by the Editor for each issue, in coordination with the Executive Director of the association.
For the magazine to be trusted by its readers and to endure itself as a unique and quality publication, readers must be assured of its editorial integrity. With that in mind, the following editorial guidelines are provided.
General Articles for Publication
The Editor encourages individuals, units, and organizations (plus AEA Supporting Firm Member companies…see below) to submit original articles for publication that involve Army engineering. No fees are paid to authors for any work submitted.
Written materials must be provided in a computer unformatted text file, along with digital or paper photographs. Paper documents which must be re-typed by the Editor will not normally be accepted. Images and graphics may be sent electronically (email) to the Editor, based on the size of the files involved. Target resolution is 300 ppi for color and 225 ppi for grayscale images; however, there is some leeway in terms of using lower resolution images, if they can be altered to a higher resolution and still be suitable for printing. If files are large (e.g. greater than 1-2 megabytes) then they may be submitted by mail on a CD-R. The Editor reserves the right to determine whether of not the article will be published. All materials except original paper photographs become the property of the AEA. Concerning the latter, original photos or graphics will be returned to the author after the article is published.
Viewpoints expressed will be those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or the policies of the Army Engineer Association. All materials are subject to editing for space, clarity and conformity with the magazine house style (see below). The Editor reserves the right, when necessary, to request manuscript revisions from the original author or to incorporate revisions directly. The Editor may send edited articles (ready for print, in PDF format) to the author for one final review before publication. Response deadlines will be dependent upon the relevant publication schedule. If an author is unable to respond by the identified deadline, the Editor reserves the right to be able to move forward with publication of the edited article.
Specific AEA Supporting Firm Member (SFM) Articles for publication
Companies which are supporting firm members of the AEA are encouraged to author and submit original articles for publication. Articles are to be written in such a manner to be consistent with the normal editorial content of the magazine, and clearly not focused on directly “advertising” a specific product or service. Authors should keep in mind that a typical magazine reader will not be interested in reading material that does not have a specific Army engineer interest to them. Therefore, titles, call-outs, and images or graphics used should be eye-catching.
The article should be written (as much as is possible) in non-technical terms, authors should limit the use of acronyms and detailed product specifications, materials should avoid overuse of self-promotional phrases which may make the article read like an advertisement, and when possible first-hand accounts of product or service actual use in support of Army engineering should be included. Company logos will not be used in these materials.
Style
Length for feature articles should be approximately three (3) to five (5) single-spaced typed pages, and unformatted, with no “styles”.
Include a title and subheads.
Write in the third person, not first or second (no I, you, or we, except in quotes).
Use clear, straightforward English.
Spell out acronyms or abbreviations the first time you use them.
Single space between sentences.
Identify items of interest to be used in sidebar material.
Every effort must be made to assure that news content is accurate, free from bias and in context, and that all sides are presented fairly.
All bylined submissions should be accompanied by a author's biography of no more than 75 words.
Suggested captions and credits should accompany suggested artwork.
A permission statement for use must accompany original photographs or illustrations.
Important Dates
The primary article focus areas for 2008 magazine issues (and important deadlines) are as follows: (Note: Many other article subject areas are included in each issue, besides the main focus area)
January–February: Installation management and the environment.
Close date for article submission is December 7, 2007.
March–April: Army Engineer force and equipment developments.
Close date for article submission is February 15th, 2008.
May–June: Army Engineer veterans and associated programs.
Close date for article submission is April 11th, 2008.
July–August: Army engineer education and training programs.
Close date for article submission is June 16th , 2008.
September–October: Project management and design programs.
Close date for article submission is August 18th , 2008.
November–December: Army engineer history and traditions.
Close date for article submission is October 17th , 2008.
NOTE: The Editor reserves the right to adjust the above issue themes, pending identification of more timely and relevent missions and developments as they occur throughout the calendar year.
Contact Information
Editor’s mailing address:
Michael Morgan, Editor Army Engineer Magazine, 148 Romana Drive, Ridgeway, VA 24148. Telephone: 276.956.1769.