CONTACT MAGAZINE guidelines

The purpose of Contact magazine is to support thriving ministries by providing timely, practical information for ministries and individuals. All articles submitted should fulfill this purpose.

Contact magazine is published quarterly electronically in March, June, September and December. Its target audience is Unity ministers, church board members, licensed Unity teachers and lay people.

Writers' Guidelines
We are looking for the following types of articles:

• Personal needs/issues of ministers
• Book reviews (see guidelines)
• Question and Answer column on various topics
• Pro/Con column on various topics
• Technology for ministries
• Theological or theoretical topic
• Regional/Associations news
• Feature Articles
  • Special projects by a ministry
  • Ministry success stories
  • Ideas that work
  • Managing conflict
  • Team building
  • Church leadership
  • Community outreach and action

We prefer a familiar rather than a scholarly tone to make content as accessible as possible. Make your writing readable. Avoid words whose meaning calls for a dictionary. Use short sentences. Enliven your writing with anecdotes, stories and illustrations. Assume your reader bores easily. Please proofread for spelling and grammar errors. Articles with relevant photos are preferred (see Submission Guides: Visuals). Identify the Bible version you are using if applicable.

Each article submitted will be reviewed by the Contact editorial staff for inclusion in the magazine. Submission of an article does not guarantee its publication. We reserve the right to edit all articles for content and length.

Submission Guidelines
Length: approximately 400-450 words for one-page articles plus relevant color photos or 800-900 words for two-page feataure articles plus relevant color photos.

Format: Place text in a MS Word document. Do not insert photos in the Word document. They must be sent as separate files (see Visuals guidelines below). Page numbers must be on each page. Include JPEG photos on a separate CD or mail a hard copy of the photos (see Visuals guidelines below). Keep at least one copy of your manuscript and photos for your files; we do not return manuscripts or photos.

A two-line biography of the author is requested. Please include the author's name, title (if applicable), organization (or church) and e-mail address.

Visuals: We prefer photos of people and activities. Photos should be in color and of good quality (in focus, with subjects well-lit and not too far from the camera). Set your digital camera on the highest quality setting when taking photos. If sending electronically, photos should be in a JPEG format, no smaller than 1200 x 1800 pixels (4" x 6" at 300 dpi). You may also mail good quality 4" x 6" or larger photos (developed from negatives, not printed on a printer). Photos must be accompanied by release forms. See Photo Release.

Send to: Joanna Carrell at joanna@unity.org or mail to her attention at Unity Worldwide Ministries, PO Box 610, Lee's Summit, MO 64063.

Publication rights: All articles and accompanying materials submitted may be used at the discretion of the Contact editorial staff. No restrictions apply if authors wish to publish submitted materials elsewhere. We do not return articles that have been submitted. We accept reprints but ask that you let us know where and when the article has run previously. Also verify that the legal rights have been cleared by the other party. Please do not send articles which have been previously published in Contact.

Book Reviews
Book reviews are limited to Unity authors or books that are compatible with Unity's mission and membership.

If you wish to review books for Contact magazine, please submit a sample book review of a book of your choice. Selected individuals will be placed on our reviewer list, and will be sent books on a periodic basis which coincide with their areas of interest.

Please contact Joanna Carrell for a complete list of Book Review Guidelines.

Payment for Articles
At this time, Contact does not pay for articles. We welcome your contributions to the publication.

Complimentary Copies
Since we publish only electronically, we no longer send printed complimentary copies.

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