Length
Features are typically 1,000 to 1,500 words long. Shorter articles such as sidebars to features or photo essays are 250 to 500 words.
Include a brief explanation of why your submission (if it is a feature article) is timely, innovative or important.
Book reviews, guest columns (such as "Sounding Off" and articles for "Front & Center") are preferably 500 to 1,000 words long. We do not accept unsolicited book reviews. If you are interested in book reviewing, write us regarding your areas of interest and expertise. Send writing samples also.
Format
Please send your article on a CD or other media (disk), via email as a word attachment, or typed in the body of an email (last resort), and also send a double-spaced hard copy (in the case of sending media). Indicate the type of software used if not standard Microsoft Office™. For the article itself, use only standard, double spaced word processing (like a term paper, but with no footnotes). Do not insert pictures or graphics in the article; however, you may certainly suggest insertion points for images if they are of importance. Ensure that images (see below) are clearly marked so that any references to them are clear.
Photographs and Other Artwork (see next page for electronic image details)
“Front and Center” essays usually don’t run with images. For features, however, we are interested in seeing photographs or artwork that may enhance your article. We can use hardcopy black and white or color prints as well as color slides. Please include caption and credit information for each photograph. Digital photo and caption information is explained below.
Headlines
We take your suggestions for headlines seriously. Please send headline suggestions with your article.
Author Biographies
Biographical information should be submitted with the text of the article. Include as much information as possible, preferably a vita.
Submissions
Please do not send us articles that have been submitted or published elsewhere. We do not accept simultaneous submissions.
Send all letters of query and submissions to:
The Editor in Chief
Army Magazine
2425 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
E-mail: armymag@ausa.org
Electronic Images
--NO POWERPOINT SUBMISSIONS--
We would prefer that electronic images be supplied on either a CD or zip disk, but can accept photos via e-mail. Each image must be sent as a stand-alone graphic file. In other words, if you have image files (pictures) contained in a POWERPOINT presentation, don’t send us the presentation, but send us the original image files that were inserted into the presentation. Similarly, PLEASE DO NOT IMBED IMAGES IN A WORD DOCUMENT or send retouched images (like collages or pictures that have had text or other graphics added to them). Accompanying caption information is also critical; see below for particulars.
For the technically inclined, the resolution for photographic images that appear in ARMY magazine is 300ppi. This means that we require high resolution digital images to ensure quality reproduction in print. We can accept Photoshop EPS, TIFF and JPEG files. The following chart is a guide for submitting electronic images for publication in the magazine, and is based on CMYK EPS files. It shows the file size necessary to print at common dimensions in the magazine.
FILE SIZE | SIZE IN MAGAZINE | APPROXIMATE SIZE IN PIXELS |
 | | |
6.5 MB | quarter page | 1530 x 1115 |
13 MB | half page | 2160 x 1570 |
32 MB | full page bleed | 2475 x 3400 |
For the layman, a simple rule of thumb is that high resolution image files are at least .5 MB in size, and usually closer to 1 MB; if your image file is smaller than this, then it probably won’t reproduce for print. Or put another way, once compressed to meet resolution requirements, a standard 72dpi image shrinks to 1/3 its size (so a low resolution image has to be very large to work, but a high resolution image will hold its size or can actually be expanded to fit a space).
Captions
To ensure best use, each image should have its own caption. Include all captions in a separate word file, clearly indicating which captions go with which images. Do not imbed photos and captions in a word document together. Do not use photo software to overwrite captions or to place labels on images themselves. Descriptive file names are helpful, but they are not substitutes for good captions. Avoid acronyms if possible, and spell them out if used. Please make your captions complete sentences and as specific to the image and what is depicted in it as possible (people, equipment, activity, place, etc).
EXAMPLE SUBMISSION WITH IMAGES:
A typical submission, with 3 images, would have the following five files:
ITEM | FORM | EXAMPLE |
| | |
Article* | Word document | (your file name).doc |
Captions | Word document captions | (your file name).doc |
Picture | jpeg, tiff | image1.jpeg |
Picture | jpeg, tiff | image2.jpeg |
Picture | jpeg, tiff | image3.jpeg |
*author bio information included at the end of the article