Writer’s Guidelines
General Info
We accept freelance material for publication. Before submitting an article, we strongly suggest that you review one or two issues to gain an understanding of our editorial focus and writing style. You will find a list of our department son the home page of our web site.
You may send your submission or proposed submission to publisher@portofharlem.net.
Formatting
You must submit your article in WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text Format (rtf).
Word Count
You must submit only the number of words that the publisher assigns to you.
Use Active Voice
Using active voice makes your message stronger, complete, and direct. It sometimes requires you do some research to discover the name of the person or organization responsible for the action you are describing. The first example demonstrates this case. In the second example, notice that Jacob Lawrence, the person who performed the action, is at the beginning of the sentence.
Examples:
The criminal has been imprisoned.
The picture was painted by Jacob Lawrence.
The government imprisoned the criminal.
Lawrence Jacob painted a picture.
Racial/Ethnic Descriptions
We are a Pan-African magazine; therefore, Black people are the standard. When referring to other groups, we use the term “non-Black,” unless it is necessary to specify that the person was, for example, Asian-American.
We also refrain from making differences between African subgroups unless it is necessary; for example, you can use the term “Continental African” to refer to those born in Africa. The use of terms goes beyond being politically correct. It is using terms to describe our world, from an African perspective.
enslaved versus slave
owner versus master
Like or As
If the word is followed by a clause, a group of words with both a subject and a verb, use as: He liked the restaurant, as any gourmet would. If no verb follows, choose like: He walks like a platypus.
Avoid Redundancy
We accept freelance material for publication. Before submitting an article, we strongly suggest that you review one or two issues to gain an understanding of our editorial focus and writing style. You will find a list of our department son the home page of our web site.
You may send your submission or proposed submission to publisher@portofharlem.net.
Formatting
You must submit your article in WordPerfect, Word, or Rich Text Format (rtf).
Word Count
You must submit only the number of words that the publisher assigns to you.
Use Active Voice
Using active voice makes your message stronger, complete, and direct. It sometimes requires you do some research to discover the name of the person or organization responsible for the action you are describing. The first example demonstrates this case. In the second example, notice that Jacob Lawrence, the person who performed the action, is at the beginning of the sentence.
Examples:
The criminal has been imprisoned.
The picture was painted by Jacob Lawrence.
The government imprisoned the criminal.
Lawrence Jacob painted a picture.
Racial/Ethnic Descriptions
We are a Pan-African magazine; therefore, Black people are the standard. When referring to other groups, we use the term “non-Black,” unless it is necessary to specify that the person was, for example, Asian-American.
We also refrain from making differences between African subgroups unless it is necessary; for example, you can use the term “Continental African” to refer to those born in Africa. The use of terms goes beyond being politically correct. It is using terms to describe our world, from an African perspective.
enslaved versus slave
owner versus master
Like or As
If the word is followed by a clause, a group of words with both a subject and a verb, use as: He liked the restaurant, as any gourmet would. If no verb follows, choose like: He walks like a platypus.
Avoid Redundancy
- Wordy phrases. Example: "in view of the fact that" instead of "since" or "because."
- Employing obvious qualifiers when a word is implicit in the word it is modifying.
Example: "completely finish." If you have incompletely finished something, you haven't finished it at all. - Using two or more synonyms together. Example: "thoughts and ideas."
follow us on
Advertisers | Contact Us | Events | Links | Media Kit | Our Company | Payments Pier