Producing Mini-Articles for The Brights’ Network
The topic choice is yours, but the product must be carefully crafted to be right at (or just under) 300 words. It should evince, expound, or elucidate a naturalistic worldview and be well aligned to the broad civic aims of the Brights’ endeavor (social acceptance and civic participation field for persons whose worldview is naturalistic).
Example use for accepted material: The Brights’ Network has acquired a database of over 500 emails for membership organizations around the world whose readers are likely to have (or be amenable to) a naturalistic outlook. Many of these groups have a newsletter and could use “mini-articles” as filler. We would like to develop some materials to send out once a month along with a request to reprint them. From time to time, Brights Central would send its own “press releases” in place of selections from the submissions.
Guidelines
For flexibility at this point, submissions cannot be seriously time-bound. Depending on quality and quantity of submissions received, Brights Central may be able to use material to create a more interesting and dynamic website. Right now, though, the first priority is trying to entice editors of small newsletters (e.g., 8 -10 pages) to include the mini-articles.
Here are general courses of action for writing your mini-article.
- Choose a topic or point of view likely to be of general interest
- Take steps to ensure that any information or data that you draw upon is trustworthy
- Aim for strong alignment to the civic aims of the Brights’ endeavor (see website home page: http://www.the-brights.net)
- 300 words maximum / 275 words minimum (use your word processor’s word count feature because items longer than 300 words will not be considered).
- Edit your own material for spelling and grammar (no time or resources are available to edit or correct errors in submissions)
There are things to avoid in your submission (besides error).
- Do not send items you have published elsewhere
- Please do not send a “press release” on a timely subject (e.g., a court case, current event). This type of item may come along later, but for now, each submission must be able to bide a while on a “back burner” until selected for publication or, alternatively, for posting to a revamped website.
- Some attributes will exclude a piece from consideration or use. Anti-religious invective, commentary against persons or on organizations other than the Brights, defensive statements about the Brights, and topics taking a political stance will not be utilized.
Important Notices
Your submission is a wholly voluntary contribution to The Brights’ Net. Your payment is gratitude from the constituents!
Regarding post-submission anticipation: We are able to acknowledge receipt of your e-mailed submission. However, beyond that, you are not likely to receive any further communication on its status unless it is selected and sent out by The Brights’ Net.
Regarding acknowledgement of authorship (external publication): It is possible that, even should you wish it so, your authorship will not be acknowledged when your piece is selected for distribution and potential reprinting elsewhere.
Regarding acknowledgement of authorship (The Brights’ Net)): Whenever any author’s piece is utilized for distribution, we will acknowledge the author by first name only in a subsequent Bulletin and post the material on the Brights’ Forum. Material well-received in the Forum may later be posted on the website itself with authorship notation, but by first name and geographical location only.
Submission Procedure
Prepare your mini-article to attach as a Word document (or include as text of an e-mail). When you send it to Brights Central, you will need to put MINI-ARTICLE (uppercase please) in the subject line and e-mail to thebrightsnet@aol.com
Note: this e-mail address for articles is not the usual e-mail for contacting the-brights.net!
Immediately below the body of your mini-article (whether in the Word document or in the body of the email), put a single identifying sentence denoting authorship. The sentence should contain: your full name, general location (city, nation), and a tidbit of information about you (perhaps profession or relevant credential for your article).
Follow with an “authorship restrictions statement” to indicate whether the full name or just your first name is to be attached to the article, should The Brights’ Net decide to pass along attribution.
