TD&T Writers Guidelines

WRITERS GUIDELINES

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Overview

Most articles published in TD&T are written by scholars and experts who work in the performing arts and entertainment industry. Some authors are experienced writers, many are not. Unsolicited article proposals are welcomed and should consist of 1) a short paragraph describing the topic of the article, 2) an outline showing how the article will develop its ideas, and 3) a representation of the illustrative materials to be included in the article (photos, drawings, renderings, etc.). Manuscripts should be sent as a computer file and as a hard copy. Just about any DOS, Windows or MacOS file is acceptable; preferred file formats include MSWord (Mac) for text, TIF files for bitmapped graphics, and EPS files for vector graphics. Files may be sent as attachments to e-mail messages or on CD or "Zip" disks. See below for requirements for photos and illustrations.

Style

An easy, conversational writing style generally works best. Even the most complex technical concepts can be explained in clear, simple sentences. Be sure to define terms not widely understood. The editors use Chicago Manual of Style as their guide to consistency, clarity, literacy, good sense, and good usage.

Length

Feature articles are generally between three and ten thousand words. Book and product reviews are a few hundred words.

Photos and Illustrations

Visuals (photographs, renderings, diagrams, drafting, technical illustrations) are just as important as the text. Authors should plan well in advance to acquire or create the visuals to accompany their article. Original color transparencies, slides or negatives are preferred. Reflective art (glossy photographs, drafting, renderings, illustrations) can be used as long as it is no larger than 8-1/2 by 14 inches.Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from photographers, illustrators, designers and artists to publish their work. Each piece of art submitted should be accompanied by appropriate credit information. In addition, captions should be provided clearly identifying all important information for each photo or illustration. For example, production photos should include play title, author, director, designers, theatre, and date. Full names of people appearing in photos must also be provided.

Digital Art Guidelines

Photos should be 300 dpi and no smaller than 4" x 6". Scanned images of line art should be at least 600 dpi (1200 is preferred).

Rights and Permissions

When TD&T accepts an article for publication, a publishing agreement is sent to the author. Basically this agreement asks for two things: the right to be the first periodical to publish the article (first serial rights), and the right to reprint the article either as a stand-alone piece, or in an anthology (reprint rights). Reprint rights extend to publication on USITT's Web site. Authors retain all other rights, including the right to publish the article elsewhere after publication in TD&T. At the present time, TD&T doesn't compensate authors. However, three authors are selected each year to receive a substantial honorarium.

Publication

Articles are scheduled for publication only after an acceptable manuscript and all illustrative materials are in hand. Publication schedules are made well in advance, so it may be several months following completion before an article is published.

Deadlines for
Volume 45
2009

Issue	Copy Deadline	Publication Date
Winter	Dec. 15	Feb. 2
Spring	March 2	May 1
Summer	June 1	July 22
Fall	Oct. 1	Nov. 13

Juried Section

A Juried Section of TD&T is available for our academic members who wish to have their articles judged by a jury of academic peers according to the rigorous standards of scholarly publications. A copy of the submission guidelines for juried articles is available from the USITT office.

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