The Central Florida Episcopalian encourages the submission of appropriate news items and story ideas regarding people, churches and organizations of interest to the readers.

The Central Florida Episcopalian is a monthly publication that covers events and issues of interest and concern to the Church in Central Florida. We strive to celebrate Christ's victories in Central Florida, the U.S. Church, the Anglican Communion and the World. Our twin priorities are the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. With a circulation of about 20,000, the paper is geared towards Christians who have a keen desire to put their faith into practice. The CFE is one of few diocesan newspapers nationwide to publish on a true monthly timetable. We do this using a barebones staff, state-of-the-art technology, and lots of prayer. We love what we do, we are proud of the fact that this attitude shows in the product, and we welcome all help in improving the paper.

The CFE's editor is responsible for the content of all items and their placement in the paper. The editor would not be acting in the best interest of the paper, the diocese, the readers nor the writers if the CFE were to adopt an "anything goes" policy in publishing submitted material. The editor alone makes story assignments. All submissions are received on speculation. An assigned story does not guarantee publication of the material. The editor reserves the right to reject any material at any stage. This isn't done in order to exercise selfish, arbitrary control, but to take seriously the obligations inherent in putting out a top-quality, ethical, Christ-centered publication.

Although we sometimes publish unsolicited material, we always prefer to be queried first. Because of the relatively short turnaround time and the labor-intensive production requirements, phone calls, faxes or e-mail messages are preferred to query letters by mail. In any case, please follow up all correspondence with a phone call.

We generally plan issues three months in advance. We run assigned articles dealing with a particular theme in most issues, and we also welcome news and feature stories from all parts of the diocese, the United States and the Anglican Communion.

Types of material: Writers are encouraged to submit articles about people or news events in their own communities or churches that would be of interest to readers in other areas, including the Church's overseas congregations. We are particularly interested in short profiles -- 400-word articles about individuals whose Christian faith makes a difference in their community. Sometimes they are well known, but usually not.

Immediacy: Timeliness is often crucial. We need to receive the article as soon as possible after the story takes place.

Deadlines: Generally, the end of the first week of the month preceding publication. Sometimes longer.

Brevity: Straightforward news articles should generally be between 400 and 700 words, although reporting on complex issues may require more length.

Tone: We favor the anecdotal approach. Stories must be strongly focused on a specific topic. The topic is best illustrated for the reader by way of a well-developed series of true-life, interconnected vignettes. This approach tends to hold readers' interest far more effectively than blunt exhortation or an "advertisement" tone.

Clarity: Cover the main points: "who, what, when where and why" - preferably near the beginning of the article. Accuracy is key. Misspellings and other errors often require the story's return to the writer for correction. This could delay or prevent publication.

Attribution: We do not run anonymous items. We delete quotations by anonymous sources. Writers should always include their full name, address, telephone number and brief biographical note to accompany each item.

Photos: We welcome sharp, well-composed photos accompanying articles. Black and white or color prints are best. Prints are preferred, but we will accept photos by e-mail in a high-resolution jpeg or tif file, if sent far enough in advance. Always identify each person in the photo, the date taken, the location and the photographer's name, address and telephone number. We do not print copyrighted material without written permission from the owner.

Payment: Most of our writers write for the benefit of their congregations, organizations and fellow diocesan members. Some want to build up work experience or school credit. We would not ask a professional writer to sell his or her work short, but our budget prevents us from paying for articles except in rare cases.

Format: We prefer to receive articles by e-mail, as this saves both time and money. Faxed or mailed articles are accepted if the technology is not available. Manuscripts must be typed and double-spaced. Do not include double spaces between sentences. Please don't send text files as e-mail attachments. Attachments very often are garbled. Attachments don't work as well or consistently as plain text, unformatted, in the BODY of the e-mail. Just copy and paste into the e-mail body. Although many times, the attachments open just fine, we have no way of knowing in advance which will work and which won't. By contrast, e-mail almost always gets through, and when it doesn't, it "bounces" back to the sender, letting him or her know that a problem has occurred. Also, attachments can carry viruses and straightforward e-mail can't. Sending stories in the e-mail body reduces the chance of error and increases the chance that the material will be printed. Again, help the paper help you spread the good word.

• Inappropriate subject matter.
• Questionable provenance.
• Errors or inaccuracy.
• Uninteresting.
• Deadlines prevent adequate editing, fact checking, illustration, etc.
• Space restrictions -- might be held for a following month, especially if it would be more appropriately included with a package of stories on the same theme.
• Adequate photos unavailable in current publishing cycle -- might be arranged for a following month.
• Missed deadline.
• Failure to contact editor in advance.
• Too long.
• Wrong format.

This list is not exhaustive.

Please contact the editor, Joe Thoma, at (407) 423-3567, extension 332;

Fax (407) 872-0006; or e-mail jthoma3@aol.com

Mailing address: The Central Florida Episcopalian

1017 E. Robinson St., Orlando, FL 32801

Thank you, and we appreciate your interest.