Guidelines for Submitting Articles to Rodziny

I’m very pleased that you’re reading this information, because that probably means you’d like to submit a story or article to Rodziny. I want to encourage you; I’m always looking for good material!

I don’t have a list of formal specifications for articles. Many of the people who send me material are not writers and wouldn’t know what to do with such a list anyway. Instead, I offer several guidelines that might help you understand what I’m looking for and how to submit it:

• Any article dealing with Polish genealogy, history, or customs will be considered. A good length to shoot at is 1,000 - 2,000 words, but don’t feel bound by those limits. Say everything that needs to be said; leave out anything that doesn’t.

•  Don’t hesitate to include a little humor or honest emotion. Our readers devour facts and figures, but they like an article even better if it amuses or touches them as it informs.

• Concentrate on telling your story the way only you can. Don’t worry if you’re not a great writer; my job is to help with that. If the style is a little ragged, or the text needs to be trimmed or tightened a little, I’ll do what I can to make you look good.

• Don’t worry too much about fonts or layout; the first thing I do is strip away that formatting and redo it according to my requirements. Of course, if you have a good reason to format material a specific way, I keep that in mind when I do the layout.

• You can send me a word processor file (on a disk or as an attachment to an e-mail note). You can send me a printout on paper, too, if you prefer. The easiest thing for me to work with is a Microsoft Word file; I can use material in almost any format that’s convenient for you, however.

• Good photographs can add a lot, so send them if you have them. I can use digital scans, or actual prints on paper. I’d like at least one good photo; two or three are better. If you have quite a few, let me see them and I’ll pick the ones I think work best. You can send me prints of photographs by snail mail, or as digital scans attached to e-mail notes (preferably in color, full-size, at least 150 dpi resolution, in JPG or TIFF format).

• If you send text and/or photographs in digital form, wfh@langline.com is the best address to send them to. If you would like to send a hard copy, please use this mailing address: W. Hoffman, 31 Pinewood Circle, Danbury, CT 06810-7605.

• Please note that I get an awful lot of mail, and it’s often impossible for me to reply as quickly as I’d like. But I try hard to respond to submissions. If you send something and you don’t hear from me, odds are I didn’t receive it. Drop me a line and ask about it. Please don’t jump to the conclusion that I’m ignoring you.

I think that covers everything. I look forward to hearing from you!

Fred (officially “William F.”) Hoffman

Editor of Rodziny