ST MARY’S COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER GUIDELINES

(For a printable copy click here)

Thank you for wanting to suggest a topic or to write an article for News Around St Mary’s., which will be printed bi-monthly (every two months).

You are never too young or too old to write for us or to suggest a subject that we could cover.

We hope that these notes may help you.

How long should an article be?

We have estimated the number of words that will fill different slots in the magazine and hope these will be a useful guide.

• 600 words to a page

• 300 for a column

• 150 for a snippet / brief piece

This allows space for pictures and illustrations too, because these add interest and catch the eye.

Contributions can be hand written or typed.

Contributions e-mailed in a word document make our life easier; thank you if you are able to do this.

What should an article be about?

Articles don’t have to be serious – it would be wonderful to make people smile.

Articles do not have to be about church, but they should have some interest or relevance for people who live or work in the parish.

What sort of language should I use?

Please write in your own style as you would to a friend.

It’s worth remembering that readers may know nothing about your subject and very little about church; send them a “kiss” by keeping it simple and straightforward.

Will my name be at the foot of my article?

Please let us know if you do or don’t want your name included. We may choose to have a list of contributors rather than individual credits for each article, if space is limited.

Do you want pictures and photographs?

We would love to receive pictures, but they will need to be of a high enough quality to print.

If you send photos of people, please check with everyone shown that they are happy for their photo to appear and confirm this to us when you send the photo. Remember there are legal safeguards that we need to observe.

If you send pictures, please remember that many images, on the web and elsewhere, are copyright and cannot be reproduced. Please check before you send.

When will you print my contribution?

We cannot tell you when a piece of writing will be used, as there will be some items that are time critical – like Christmas services and events – and they will need to be included in a particular edition. Some articles will be more suited to different times of the year.

We may sometimes have to edit articles to make them fit in the available space and we will always do this thoughtfully.

Please send us your contribution once you have written it, as we would be delighted to have a wide range of pieces to choose from and to be able to print a varied magazine that will appeal to as many people as possible across the age ranges.

Our e-mail address is: magazine@peterborough-stmarys.org.uk 

Thank you – with your contributions and support, the magazine will be a great success.