Content Contributor Guidelines

American School & University is the information source for education facilities and business professionals—serving the nation’s K-12 and higher-education administrators and architects responsible for the planning, design, construction, retrofit, operations, maintenance, and management of education facilities.

The magazine includes a mix of feature articles, how-to articles, industry reports, survey results, news items, design competition entries, columns, new products, and case histories.

Feature articles should inform readers about a process, trend, or general category of product, or services of interest to education administrators. (Example topics include Security, Energy/HVAC, Lighting, Roofing, Furniture/Furnishings.)

Please be aware of our audience. Our audience is not, nor are our articles aimed at, teachers or students. With few exceptions, we do not write about school curriculum, educational teaching software, or college courses. For examples of our content, please explore our website.

Pitching an idea

• Please briefly describe the proposed article; an outline may help editors determine whether an article proposal is accepted. You may call the editor, but it works best for you to provide a written synopsis. If the article is already completed, you may submit it via email.

• For the most part, article topics are determined for each issue by what has been listed on the editorial calendar. Occasionally, if additional space is available, or if breaking news warrants, the magazine runs articles whose topic did not appear in the editorial calendar.

• Lead time: In general, we work about three months in advance for feature stories, and often further in advance. Please keep in mind we get hundreds of news releases, phone calls, and emails per day. We will contact you regarding your submission if it applies to our audience, but sometimes the process takes a few weeks.

• For feature articles, we require first-time exclusive rights in the education facilities market. Please keep this in mind when submitting an idea.

• Articles that appear in AS&U should not promote a company’s products or services. Our articles give readers new insight into the market, provide tips and pointers, explain a process, help guide them through a design/renovation, etc. Therefore, do not include company-specific information in articles; quotes from companies or those considered promotional will not be included in articles. All articles are non-proprietary, so write in general terms. Specific examples of schools solving a problem or benefiting from a product/service can be included with a school administrator as a source, but this should be explained in general terms without referring to a specific vendor.

• Jargon and buzzwords frequently appear in education-related writing and often serve to obscure rather than illuminate; try to avoid using them in your copy—keep it simple and direct.

• Thoroughly check all technical information.

• Suggest a short title on the first page. Include a 2- to 3-sentence summary of the article at the beginning.

• Place subheads (2 to 3 words) throughout the article to break up the text.

• If you have a company case study, new product, or press release about a new school design or project, please submit these items via email too.

Submitting an article

• After an idea has been approved, you will receive a deadline.

• Feature articles generally run about 1,200 words (sidebar included). In general, more information and examples are better, and we can edit the copy to fit the allotted space.

• Please supply the article via email.

• Please make every effort to acquire and send appropriate photography. Images can usually be sent via email. Please make sure they have a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch (dpi) at a 4 x 5 size (high resolution) and are sent in an .EPS or .TIF or .JPEG format. Renderings and graphics are acceptable if they apply to the subject matter. Please include the school’s name, any description necessary, and a photographer credit if available. Also, provide suggested captions for all artwork submitted.

• Include bio information about the author and his or her company (for example, John Smith is principal of ABC Architecture, a Boston-based firm specializing in residence halls. He can be reached at (phone number) and (e-mail)).

• We edit for style, clarity, grammar, and appropriate content. Because we work on a tight schedule, we cannot guarantee that you will see the article before it is published. However, we will contact you if we have accuracy concerns or other questions about the article content.

• In general, we try to run articles as they are scheduled. However, sometimes, space limitations or other circumstances may force us to delay publication for a month or two.

Who to send materials to

Please direct inquiries and proposals about feature articles, new products, case studies, construction zone projects, Schoolhouse Beat (e-newsletter) submissions, or any content to:

Mike Kennedy, Senior Editor
[email protected]
614-721-4308

or

Mike Eby, Group Editorial Director
[email protected]