Submitting an Article

How to prepare your article for submission.

Article Style Requirements.

Please add learning points or take aways for the reader. Let’s make this a read they can use in their coaching and life!

• Departments and columns should be no more than 1400 words.
• Feature articles should be 1200-1400 words.
• Article should not be “advertorial” which is “advertising disguised as editorial.” Another way of saying this is that it cannot be self promotional. Articles that are self-promotional are not accepted. If we decide to use the article, we will either send it back for editing of the removal of the promotional copy or we will do it for you.
• We expect writers to…
  • review and edit their article for punctuation, spelling, grammar, syntax, continuity and content,
  • double-check their facts and be able to vouch for every phone number, web address and name spelling in a story. For fact checking, please provide a list of sources with contact phone numbers.
• When submitting your article, please also send any recommended ancillary sidebars, checklists, etc. These are short, stand-alone items that appear in boxes next to the story, which offer information that is relevant and pertinent, but not central, to the main story.
• Illustrations, Photographs, Drawing, Charts & Graphs Artwork to illustrate your article must be clear and distinct, submitted in JPEG format. All submissions of such must be high resolution, 300 DPI and larger than 1MB in size.
• All illustrations or photographs should be plainly identified, with the top indicated.
• Captions or legends must be submitted and identified separately and attached to the associated material; they should be no more than 25 words.
• Places in text to which this material refers must be clearly identified.
• Photographs published in the magazine are usually obtained through stock agencies or specialized sources.
• No photo library is maintained and photographs should be submitted only to accompany a specific article proposal.
• All submitted illustrations, photographs, drawings, charts and graphs should be original material submitted by the writer or should include credit or source and copyright information.
• Use subheads that can help you organize an article and can facilitate transitions from one idea to another. Use upper and lower case, sentence style, in subheads.
• Write clearly and concisely. Use simple language; make your point in as few words as possible.
• Use the active voice, not the passive voice. For example, writing “it was decided” leaves questions in the readers’ minds. (Who decided?) Writing “Mr. Jones decided” is stronger and more informative.
• Define terms that may not be well known. Avoid jargon and clichés that may confuse readers or send them running for the dictionary. On first mention, spell out abbreviations or acronyms. If in doubt, define.
• Follow The Associated Press Stylebook.
• Use United States spelling standards.
• Use SINGLE SPACE after periods.
• Use italics only where appropriate.
• Make sure all direct quotes are accurate and clearly attributed to a source. Be aware of what constitutes libel and plagiarism.
• DO NOT use display type.
• DO NOT use boldface type or format type.
• DO NOT USE TABS OR EXTRA LINE SPACES TO INDICATE NEW PARAGRAPHS. Instead, use paragraph indents (different from tabs).
• Set all margins at .75 and set line spacing as single.
• Articles must be submitted electronically as a  Microsoft Word document.
• Note: Keep in mind that the magazine’s lead-time is three months and submissions should not be so time-bound that they will appear dated.
• Writers should secure all necessary clearances and approvals prior to submission.

How to submit your article for submission once you’ve done the above steps.

• Articles should be submitted by email to: submissions AT choice-online DOT com (Note: this is “coded” so robots don’t grab the email and spam us!!)

What happens after you submit.

• You will be notified via email of receipt of your article.
• Inside that email are instructions to download, complete and return the Writer Details and Agreement as well as a photo in JPEG format that is 300 DPI 2×3″ square and file size larger than 500kb. We will not consider your submission until we have received these documents.
• Our publication has main features and various columns. All articles submitted will be considered for both feature and column placement.
• Articles are accepted for publication on condition that they are contributed solely to choice Magazine.
• Some articles are peer-reviewed by other coaches or our Editorial Board members, in addition to be edited. All accepted articles are subject to editing and are not guaranteed publication.
• We reserve the right to edit all reader contributions for clarity or length. Changes (sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, grammar, syntax, lengths) will be made at the discretion of the editorial staff.
• Articles will be edited or rewritten as necessary to comply with our editorial standards.
• All headlines, subheads, table of contents copy, captions and other miscellaneous related editorial copy will be written and edited with our editorial standards.

Final thoughts.

Due to the number of submissions we receive, we do not personally reply to everyone. However, we WILL notify you if we are interested in publishing your article. Articles not published in a particular issue of choice will be kept on file for future consideration.

Articles are accepted for publication on condition that they are contributed solely tochoice Magazine. Writers should secure all necessary clearances and approvals prior to submission. All accepted articles are subject to editing. There are no fees, trade, or other payment for articles selected to appear in choice. Once published, choice retains copyright to all articles.

Submission of articles and confirmation of receipt of article is not a statement of acceptance that the article will appear in choice. Articles not chosen for a particular issue of choice may be kept on file for future consideration.

If we, or another publication, have run a similar story in the last few years, please provide an explanation of how your story will differ.

We assume no responsibility for unsolicited queries or manuscripts.

Thank you for your effort and for your ongoing commitment to choice Magazine!

– The Editors