Content
The article should have a clear Lincolnshire connection, or a clear and relevant suggestion of unusual sources of information to help others.
An exception to this; would be guest authors whose work is of general interest and/or entertainment.
Format
Text — Word.doc or Word.docx via email please to
Please also add your Name, Membership No. and your contact details that you are happy for us to publish.
Please save using the title of the Article and then your name, or in the case of Member’s Query with your name and MQ
e.g. The Milestone Anita Moore.docx
or
e.g. Anita Moore MQ.docx
This just makes it easier for the Editor to find and save.
Surnames
It would be extremely helpful if within Articles any surnames are put in capitals and highlighted in bold e.g. Anita MOORE.
This makes the document easier to read.
Pictures
Where possible and appropriate pictures are always good to help illustrate an article – jpeg format is best – please save the file with the article name and the contents of the photo
e.g. The Milestone John and Joan Smith.jpeg
Length
Rough guide:
- up to 1500 words (i.e. about 3 pages of Arial) will probably not need shortening
- 500 to 2000 words — we may start snipping bits out to shorten it as well as make it clearer, depending on exactly how long it is.
- Over 2000 words — if interesting enough we may spread it over two editions or exceptionally — print it complete but edited as small as it will go. The very long ones though are the most likely to be turned down if we are unable to suitably edit.
Again, Guest authors are usually an exception (up to a reasonable point) since we will have asked them to expound on their area of expertise. We reserve the right to edit for other reasons e.g. clarity and 'the editor's decision is final'.
Copyright
If your article, or a substantial part of it, has been published somewhere else we must take care not to infringe the copyright, especially if you received payment for the publication. In this case please contact the publishers of the first version (even if this was another Society) and get their approval to use the material again. If you copy that permission to me I will then know I can legally use the article. Similarly, if your article contains substantial quotes from a document held in a repository such as Kew or the Archives, copyright in that document belongs either to the repository or to the document's owner.
Always check the repository guidelines:
- Quoting a whole document, e.g. a letter, requires permission.
- Quoting say a couple of paragraphs from a longish document, e.g. a will, strictly needs permission but will probably not get us into hot water
- Quoting a few key phrases is like quoting from a book — OK provided the quote does not misrepresent the originator's intention.
This is only a guide — it does not constitute legal advice and you, the contributor, are responsible for any infringements. On the other hand a summary of the contents is fine and does not need permission.