Writers, Photographers, & Reporting Guidelines
About Soul of Virginia
Soul of Virginia is a regional bi-monthly magazine with a circulation of 45,000 and an estimated readership of 150,000. Stories, essays, columns, etc. focus on Virginia’s people and places. We strive to give our readers a sense of what Virginia is all about.
People figure strongly into all of our stories. We believe the best way to write a story is not to just tell it, but to show our readers through anecdotes, quotes, and experiences of past and present people.
The magazine likes to give the readers information on not only the regular “hot spots” to visit, but places that are “off the beaten track” as well.
About Your Story
When deciding on a subject, you need to think “Could the reader see or do what the article talks about?” or “Will the story expand the knowledge of the readers’ Virginia cultural knowledge?”
The history behind the person or place also should be included. It lets the reader know why a particular thing is happening, but the focus needs to be on today.
Considering A Story For Publication
Some of the questions we ask when considering a story are, “Does the writer answer all the questions about the subject?”, “Who and what are the source materials?”, “Does the writer surprise the reader with something?”, and “Could anything else be included in the story?”
Topics in Soul of Virginia have a wide range.
Soul of Virginia is always looking for a fresh editorial perspective to complement the seasoned writers we already use. While we appreciate and encourage a distinct voice, we usually do not publish opinion pieces. The best way to get in is to send us a story with a fresh angle on an old subject or person, or a new idea that goes along with our style of covering Virginia’s people and places.
How To Get In
Read our magazine. Read Virginia newspapers and any other Virginia publication you can get your hands on. Keeping up with what goes on in our state is the best way to write stories that we can use. Include a biography of yourself and clips of previous work, so we can see what experience you have. Realize that the editors receive many manuscripts and that yours will be reviewed as soon as time allows. Don’t necessarily expect your first piece in the magazine to be a feature; start small and suggest items for departments such as Shopping. Even Letters to the Editor are good ways to “get some ink.”
1. Deadlines
Soul of Virginia is usually planned a year in advance, so stories submitted in March may not appear until next February. We produce an issue two months ahead of time (in September, we are in production for November/December), so submit timely stories well before the production deadlines. Soul of Virginia is published seven times a year, six regular issues and a single subject “mini” published once a year.
Many issues have a specific theme (i.e. Holiday Issue, Travel Issue, Native American Issue), so stories have to be placed according to this schedule.
2. Story Guidelines
Stories will range in length from 200 – 600 words for regular articles to 1,500 words for major features. We prefer to be queried in advance, but will review unsolicited manuscripts and photos “on spec.”
Submission of transparencies and black-and-white photographs are welcome but prefer to have electronic files – EPS, JPEG, TIFF. We prefer scenic photographs that may or may not include people. However, we reserve the right to reject photographs submitted with the story, even if we accept the story itself.
3. Policies and Procedures
• Soul of Virginia takes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, artwork, or photography.
• Articles need to be e-mailed or submitted on disk, preferably in Microsoft Word, and with an accompanying printout.
• Never send an original, uncopied manuscript.
• Rejected material will not be returned unless sent with a SASE.
• Payment will be upon publication.
4. Submit Manuscripts To
Editor
Soul of Virginia
P.O. Box 12171
Richmond, VA 23241
Phone: (804) 643-7400
info@soulofvirginia.com
Reporting Standards
Soul of Virginia requires its writers to conduct their reporting according to the magazine’s high standards of truth and accuracy. To that end, we have adopted the following guidelines. Of course, all stories are unique. Editorial judgment is always the final arbiter and will be exercised on a case-by-case basis by Soul of Virginia’s editors.
Our Guidelines
1. Soul of Virginia won’t publish any statements that haven’t been documented to its satisfaction.
2. Soul of Virginia requests primary sources for all previously unreported facts and for all other facts important to the story.
Any fact that might be contested should ideally have at least two primary sources.
Although Soul of Virginia typically does not publish controversial material, the more controversial a fact, the higher a standard of sourcing will be required. Countervailing opinions should be weighed by the writer and brought to the editor’s attention if appropriate. An example of a primary source is a credible person in a position to know the fact in question. A properly filed public document is also a primary source. Other documents uncovered in reporting may be considered primary sources.
3. Soul of Virginia discourages reporting that relies too heavily on secondary sources.
However, we accept that certain facts—mostly, minor facts that serve as background for a story—may be established via secondary sources. Newspapers and magazines will be accepted as secondary sources on a case-by-case basis. Common sense and skepticism will be our guides. In the field of medicine, for example, the New England Journal of Medicine would likely be accepted as authoritative. In most cases, Soul of Virginia will regard the following publications as acceptable secondary sources:
• Dallas Morning News
• New York Times
• Washington Post
• Wall Street Journal
• Time
• Newsweek
Why these particular publications? Because they’re journals of record, widely available and widely read, with a good record for correcting mistakes. We don’t necessarily believe they are more accurate than other publications. But we do believe it’s reasonable to assume that if one of these publications reports something and it’s not corrected, it’s accurate. Reports in publications that aren’t deemed acceptable secondary sources by your editors should be verified with a primary source—or more that one primary source, if appropriate.
4. Soul of Virginia believes in giving credit to other publications for original reporting
We don’t think it’s right to rely on other publication’s work without acknowledging the debt. Even if we re-establish the facts first reported by another publication, we give credit if credit is due. The guidelines here are common sense and generosity.
5. Soul of Virginia expects its writers to take responsibility even for so-called common knowledge.
For matters of general and historical background, we rely on established encyclopedic reference and other general sources. But we will accept citation to any source that, in our opinion, can reasonably be called authoritative.
6. Soul of Virginia requires its writers and editors to keep unpublished drafts of assigned articles confidential.
We believe sharing any unpublished version of your article with the subject matter or a source—a big journalistic no-no—is inappropriate. Soliciting approval from your subject or source compromises the editorial integrity of the piece and thus the magazine. Many sources will ask you to share with them a printed version of your draft. Please explain the magazine’s policy and refer those sources to your editor. If you feel you need feedback on a draft, please contact your assigning editor.>
7. Soul of Virginia requires its writers to supply an annotated fact-checking manuscript that reflects these guidelines.
Writers and editors will work together to decide which sources should be cited in final copy and how they should be cited. Meanwhile, writers must submit material that provides appropriate documentation of their reporting. Usually, such material will be requested shortly after a story has been accepted.
8. Here’s what we need, specifically:
• Any notes, transcripts, or tapes of interviews
• All magazine or newspaper stories used in reporting
• All other supporting material, with relevant parts clearly marked
• Phone numbers for sources
• The annotated manuscript
Please be understanding of the fact checkers’ work and cooperate fully with their efforts. Highlighting quotes and supplying page numbers helps enormously—and reduces the amount of time you’ll spend on the phone with a fact checker. Any questions about these guidelines? Ask your editor.
In keeping with the intent of these “Reporting Standards,” Soul of Virginia would like to acknowledge Worth for creating the original version of this document.
Film Photography Guidelines
About Photographs
We are known for our high-quality scenic photos, but we also know that people are a very important asset to stories, and like to see them in photographs when appropriate. The one common denominator we seek in photographs is for them to evoke a sense of place.
When deciding on a subject, you need to focus on the extraordinary. Our photographers usually find themselves on location early in the morning, very late in the evening, or maybe even just before or after a storm to capture a place in a different way that will enhance any normal scene.
Follow strict journalistic standards. Doctored photographs or composites are considered taboo (except when featured in the Portfolio section). Be able to identify where in the state you took the photograph down to the address, country road, or mountain top. Subject matter, such as trees and flowers, should be identified.
Considering A Photograph For Publication
We appreciate great photography, and we believe in giving photographers the space they need to shine. We are always looking for superb scenic photographs of the state during all four seasons. We use full-page bleed photographs on the cover of the magazine as well as inside the book.
How To Get In
Read our magazine. Most stories that appear in Soul of Virginia are assigned, so the best way to break into the magazine is to submit a body of work.
1. Formats
Submit a minimum of 10 original color transparencies (no color prints or negatives).
Transparencies must be one of the following formats: 35mm, 120mm, 4×5
Transparencies (no matter what the format) should be submitted in stiff negative sleeves to prevent loss or damage of slides.
2. Releases/Credits
Model releases are required.
All slides should be briefly captioned as to location of image, I.D. number, and a label with your name.
A caption sheet should be included with all of the following:
1. I.D. number of each photograph
2. Detailed caption of the location and subject.
3. Your name and social security number.
3. Returns
Soul of Virginia works a year in advance on most seasonal stories, so photographs are selected over the course of a year prior to publication in the magazine. This can tie up photographs for a while, but we do work with photographers on getting photos back as they are needed for other projects.
All transparencies are returned after publication.
Submit Photographs To
Editor
Soul of Virginia
P.O. Box 12171
Richmond, VA 23241
Phone: (804) 643-7400
info@soulofvirginia.com
Digital Photography Guidelines
About Photographs
As we go through the production process for each issue, it seems that more and more of our images are coming in digitally. Although the digital process appears simple, many of these images produce more work for us and our art director because of a number of quality issues. While we are open to the idea of digital photography and recognize its growing presence in the world of print, we do not want to compromise the quality of images we use in Soul of Virginia. Please look over the following list of guidelines regarding submission of digital images for the magazine. As technology expands, many of these problems will go away. In the meantime, please help us to keep our quality high and reproduce your images in the best way possible.
1. Formats
All images submitted digitally must be original digital images. Scans of printed photos on a flat-bed scanner are most likely too low in quality for reproduction. Many of the flatbed scanners are fine for presentation purposes but not press work. A professional-grade scanner (such as a drum scanner) would be the only type of equipment that could reproduce images effectively. If you have original photography (i.e. prints or transparencies), please submit it in lieu of a scan of the work.
We prefer all digital submissions on CD or zip disk. Because of necessary file size, emailed images are a last resort. If emailing is necessary, please submit photos to images@soulofvirginia.com.
Send only “raw” files. Please do not Photoshop or edit the images in any way. Do not convert color images to black and white. Also, please send a good representation of your work. Do not edit your selections based on your opinion of what will work. Often, the perfect photo for publication may not be your first choice. You are the harshest critic of your photography. Where we’re concerned, more is better.
Resolution must be of the highest quality for printed reproduction. Most digital files are inadequate. Please use a resolution of 300dpi. Many cameras on the market do not have the resolution to produce a full-page image. You need at least 5.1 megapixels to produce a full page image (let alone a two page spread), and even then you don’t have the luxury of cropping.
We cannot accept highly compressed files. Although high compression is great for making files small, it destroys the detail necessary for reproduction. We are unable to change the file compression size. Please use low compression or no compression for optimum detail.
Never send originals of your digital photography. Please back up all submissions to a disk or your hard drive. We will not be responsible for lost digital images.
2. Releases/Credits
Images submitted on disk must have an accompanying printout of the photos included on the disk. Each printout (preferably thumbnails) must include the file name. Please provide caption information and preferred photocredit.
A caption sheet should be included with all of the following:
1. I.D./file number of each photograph
2. Detailed caption of the location and subject.
3. Your name and social security number.
Model releases are required.
3. Returns
Soul of Virginia works a year in advance on most seasonal stories, so photographs are selected over the course of a year prior to publication in the magazine. This can tie up photographs for a while, but we do work with photographers on getting photos back as they are needed for other projects.
Images submitted on CD will not be returned unless specifically requested. Zip disks will be returned after publication.
Submit Photographs To
Editor
Soul of Virginia
P.O. Box 12171
Richmond, VA 23241
Phone: (804) 643-7400
info@soulofvirginia.com
