You Can Write!
Sidelights welcomes your articles, comments, illustrations and photographs. All submissions will be reviewed, but are not guaranteed to be published. Sidelights’ goal is not to regurgitate the news, however it is to use that news and explain how it affects the Master and industry, both pros and cons.
General Good Writing Guidelines
- Clear, concise and convey meaning.
- Use pronouns (it, them, this, that, thing) as little as possible. The reader will eventually lose track of what this/that refers to.
- Verbs, adverbs, and adjective are your friends, use “is, was, be” as little as possible.
- Draw connections. Don’t assume the audience knows what you mean.
- If your article is regarding a controversial topic, a more effective way to get your message across is to explain the problem/situation and propose a possible solution. Don’t accuse. Keep it to business; don’t make it personal. You will be taken more seriously than someone hot off the collar. Though on rare occasions, a hot off the collar approach is necessary.
- Be mindful of copyrights:
- Cutting and pasting bits and pieces from various web sites is plagiarism.
- You can “quote” other articles; however, reprinting text, photos or graphics requires permission.
- Photos from USCG Gallery (send the link so we can use the official credit), Government sites (NOAA) are usually public domain or specified as release for press use, or Wikimedia Commons has many copyleft photos available for use.
- Photos from news agencies are copyrighted; we cannot use these without written permission.
Text Formats
MS Word/Works or plain text (.txt). Do not spend extra time formatting fonts/sizes; we will reformat to fit our magazine. If you would like words emphasized, bold or italic will suffice. You may use short headlines to section your article. Sidebars will additional information are welcome. Generally, 650-750 words for 1 page with photo/graphic; 1200-1300 for spread (2 facing pages) with 1-2 photos/graphics.
Graphic Formats
- .jpg
- Adobe PhotoShop (.psd) or Illustrator (.ai) - include fonts or create outlines.
- .gif is only for web site publication - they do not reproduce well for print publication.
- Print (we will scan)
- Draw your own! (you can submit electronically in formats above, or snail mail for us to scan)
- Camera Settings for best print reproduction: Highest resolution available, and set to superfine.
- Scanner settings: for most pages, 300 dpi at 4x6 inches is sufficient, 1200 dpi max. For cover photos, set to 400 dpi at 8"x10" output size.
Submit an Article
To submit an article, please email or send your articles, photos and related material to:
CAMM Sidelights
c/o Tom Bradley
4605 NW 139th Loop
Vancouver, WA 98685
Tel: 360-574-9513
sidelights@mastermariner.org
Publication Schedule
February: February 1 (articles due by January 5)
April: April 1 (articles due by March 1)
June: June 1 (articles due by May 1)
October: October 1 (articles due by September 1)
December: December 1 (articles due by November 1)