STORIES DEADLINE *
March 17, 2023
FIRST THINGS FIRST
First, click over to our home page and scroll to the bottom where you will see the different
types of stories and how they appear when published. That’s our end goal, to tell your story in a
magazine-style PDF form, and/or in a polished video. Once you’ve seen the end-goal, read
below for all the details. Should you have any questions, or need help in any way, please email
mystory@gloucesterma400.org.
STORIES WE SEEK
Please click HERE for a full description of the types of stories we are seeking.
FORMATS WE ACCEPT
Stories may be submitted in these forms:
- Written
- Interview-style videos
- Audio
LENGTH OF A STORY
A written story should be no longer than 3600 words or up to 6 pages of single space text using
Arial or Futura font at 12-point size. If a story is longer than 3600 words, we will pull excerpts
from it and then link to the full story elsewhere-(wherever the author decides to house it). In
the case of longer stories, only the excerpts we pull will be edited by our volunteer editors.
The 3600-word limit does not include endnotes, acknowledgements, or captions.
A “snap shot” should be no longer than 300-350 words. This will leave room for a large photo.
A video story or video interview should be shot with the format and specifications
recommended by YouTube. Generally, videos should be no longer than thirty minutes in length.
Most interviews are conducted by a designated Gloucester400+ interviewer but exceptions can
be made for persons with experience in interviewing.
A video story or interview idea intended for publishing on the Gloucester400+ website should
be pre-approved by the Stories Project Manager before “filming” begins. Email
mystory@gloucesterma400.org to have your idea approved.
FORMATTING YOUR STORY
A written story should be submitted in Microsoft Word, 12-point font size, Arial or Futura Font.
Do not embed any photos in the story. See more about how photos are handled below.
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On the first page of your submission please include the following information:
- Suggested title for story
- Your name, as you would like it published
- Your phone number and email address
- Your relationship with the person you’re writing about
On the last page of your submission please include:
- Properly formatted Endnotes if your piece is making significant historical claims. See
section on Endnotes. - If your story is more general in nature and does not make any significant historical
claims, please include a couple of sentences about what sources you used to prepare
this story. Newspaper clippings? Ancestry.com? Interviewing family members? - A short bio on yourself. This will appear in the “About the Author” section of your piece.
Just submit 3-5 sentences about yourself. - A short list of acknowledgements. Include anyone who may have inspired you to write
this story, anyone who helped you write it, or anyone you want to thank.
In the case of videotaping an interview-style story, you must have the Stories Project Manager approve your idea before “filming” begins. Email mystory@gloucesterma400.org to have your idea approved. The video should be shot with the format and specifications that YouTube currently requires.
ABOUT PHOTOS
Writers are encouraged to submit up to ten photos with their stories. Photos should not be embedded into a Word document. Please review your story and pick ten photos, relevant to the story. These photos should be as clear and “well-lit” as possible. If you have a scanner at home, they should be scanned in, individually, at the highest resolution, preferably at least 300 DPI.
If you do not have a scanner at home or on your phone, please go to the nearest copy shop, or Staples, and have the photos scanned, individually, at 300 DPI. The copy shop will be aware of what 300 DPI means. Have them emailed to yourself and submit with your story to the Gloucester400+ website.
KEEPING PHOTOS ORGANIZED FOR SUBMISSION
When you submit photos, make sure each one is numbered by the order in which they will appear in your story. Include a Word Doc titled “Photo Information” and within that document list each photo, a description of what the photo is (a caption), names of anyone in the photo if you have the names, and an estimated or exact year the photo was taken. Please use only family photos that you own, OR if you do not own the photo, please provide a photo credit describing who took the photo or from what source the photo came from. All “borrowed” photos need prior permission from the owner before we can publish them.