Article Submission Guidelines for The Christian Recorder

General Rules

All articles should contain a strong lead, an article-body that develops and delivers on the lead, and a definitive conclusion with an international audience in mind. Articles should address “who, what, when, where, and how.” Articles must be accompanied by telephone phone number and a valid email address, and church affiliation. Our first priority is the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

All articles for publication will be screened, proofed and edited.
Unused articles and photos will not be returned.
Articles should be applicable to the African Methodist Episcopal Church and its constituencies.
Articles should uplift, encourage, and educate. The Christian Recorder will also consider articles that are critical of our Zion but those articles must be balanced and offer viable alternatives.
Articles submitted to The Christian Recorder should not be submitted simultaneously to another publication nor be under consideration by another publisher at the time of submission.
If the article is a reprint, written reprint permission must accompany the article.
Please, do no “cut and paste” or copy articles from other sources. We will not accept plagiarized articles!

Article Types and Submission Procedures

Articles for The Christian Recorder are classified into three types: Opinion Pieces, Feature/Event Stories, and Annual Conference Reports.

Opinion Editorials (Op-Eds) should be between 300-500 words to be considered.
Feature/Event stories should be between 500-750 words. We are especially interested in local church ministry stories (For example: after-school tutoring, homeless feeding, senior citizen outreach). Feature/Event Stories must be submitted within 60 calendar days of the event to be considered for publication
Annual Conference articles should be no longer than 1000 words. The easiest way to summarize the Annual Conference is to take the Report of the Resolution Committee and remove the perambulatory and enacting clauses (e.g., “Whereas,” “Be it Resolved,” etc.), along with any unnecessary verbiage. Pastoral appointments can also be included and will not be counted against the word limit. Annual Conference Reports must be submitted within 60 calendar days of the close of the Annual Conference to be considered for publication.

Articles not adhering to these guidelines will be edited for length and may be returned to the sender to be revised. We do not publish sermons. To publish a sermon in an AME periodical, contact The AME Review.

Only electronic submissions are accepted. No hard-copy or handwritten articles will be accepted. The preferred method for submission is through the form on the website. Persons unable to utilize this form may email articles to articles@thechristianrecorder.com. Emailed articles should be in a PC-compatible Microsoft Word format, 12 pt., Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, Courier, etc., and sent as an email attachment. Do not email articles within the body of an email or submit through social media messages.

Photos

The preferred format for photos is in an electronic JPEG, TIFF or PNG file. Please upload the photos, together with the article, via the online form or email as an attachment to articles@thechristianrecorder.com. Do not include the photo in the body of the article. Photos that are mailed in can be accepted only if they are actual photos and not copies or printed on plain paper.

The prices for including photos are as follows

First Photo (emailed): Free

First Photo (mailed): US$10 dollars

Additional photos (emailed): US$10 per photo

Additional photos (mailed): US$15 per photo

Arrangements for payment of the fees must be made within 48 hours of notification of acceptance from The Christian Recorder Office. Credit card information can be called in to the main office at 615-601-0450. Checks can be made payable to “The Christian Recorder,” with the memo, “Photos.” The article will not be printed until payment has been received and processed.

All photos must have credit-lines, even if the photo(s) of the article was taken by the writer of the article. All articles with photos taken by someone other than the writer must include the photographer’s name and attest that the photo(s) are used “with permission.”

Social Media (Facebook and Twitter)

The Christian Recorder maintains an active social media presence and reposts relevant articles and links to its pages and accounts on a periodic basis. Links submitted for posting must adhere to the “General Rules” for articles and should uplift, encourage, and educate. The Christian Recorder will also consider articles that are critical of our Zion but those articles must be balanced and offer viable alternatives.

Candidates’ Guidelines for Submitting Items to The Christian Recorder

The Christian Recorder will consider Opinion pieces and News/Events articles from persons who have declared themselves as candidates for office at the 51^st Quadrennial Session of the General Conference. Articles must not reference the candidate’s aspirations. Advertisements are available and can be purchased.

Style Guidelines

Check the submitted article carefully and get the article right the first time! If you have to correct an article, resend the entire corrected article.
All articles must have the name of the author(s) as a part of the article. Please provide the author’s title, e.g., Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss (Miss is without a period because it is not an abbreviation), Dr., the Rev., Attorney, Licentiate, Deaconess, Chaplain, etc.
Do not abbreviate “Brother” or “Sister” when used as titles.
When “Reverend” or “Right Reverend” is used before a name, “Reverend/Rev.” should be preceded by “the” because “Reverend/Rev.” is not a noun. It is an adjective and should always be preceded by “the,” especially in formal settings and in formal written documents.
The Discipline should be referred to as “The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2012.” Do not reference older editions of The Discipline when addressing current issues.
Writers are discouraged from using acronyms and figures of speech that do not translate efficiently into foreign languages and other cultures. Examples like “GMKT” and phrases like, “Bring home the bacon,” “just pulling your leg,” or “That’s mixing apples and oranges” should be avoided.
Please use upper and lower case text. No all-upper-case or all-lower-case-texts.
Single-space all articles.
Make sure all names are spelled correctly.
“The” is used before nouns. For instance, in a sentence, you would not say, “Blue car is fast” because “blue” as used in the sentence is an adjective and the correct way to form the sentence would be, “The blue car was fast” or “When we went to the racetrack, the blue car was fast.” It would not be correct to say, “Blue car was fast.”
Only use one space after periods.
Spell-check and use standard grammar for your region. Due to national differences, we understand that there are variations in acceptable grammar and spelling.
For other questions, refer to the Associated Press Stylebook.

(Revised 1/2017)