Author's Guidelines for
Defense Communities

We welcome your articles for possible submission in Defense Communities. Here are some guidelines to assist you in preparing your article for publication.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Frequency of Publication: Six times a year.

Goals: Improve knowledge and ability in the management of housing for military members and families. Provide information on latest equipment, products, supplies and services in the areas of facilities maintenance; private sector housing; lodging/ transient housing, and permanent party unaccompanied personnel housing. Maintain an open line of communication for members to share lessons learned, awards, special events, chapter news, as well as training opportunities and updates.

Audience: Military and civilian housing management professionals. Membership is primarily from Department of Defense and members from all branches of the services, HUD, real estate industries, and housing business-related companies.

Subjects of Particular Interest: New technology in facilities maintenance; increasing efficiency and effectiveness on the job; privatization; customer relations; training; computer technology and information systems; personal and professional development; sustainment, restoration and modernization; energy efficiency; partnering and public-private ventures.

ARTICLE SPECIFICATIONS

Outlines: Consider first submitting a detailed outline of any article you are proposing. Check our EDITORIAL CALENDAR to see which topics are planned for particular issues; however, don’t feel constrained by the topics listed.

Length and Form: 800 to 1,500 words. You may submit articles via e-mail as MS Word or text files to phmadefensecommunities@earthlink.net.

Contact Info: Include your name, address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail, title, activity/installation, and any other biographical information you feel is appropriate.

Sidebars and Boxes: Include sidebars of tips, pointers, charts, graphs, and lists of resources where applicable.

Tone: Write in a personal, direct tone in active voice. Include practical examples where possible.

Artwork: We will consider black-and-white or color photos, color slides, illustrations, floor plans, charts, graphs, and other relevant artwork. You may send art or photos as an attachment via e-mail, burned to a CD, or originals. If you want your original artwork returned, include a self-addressed envelope. See Digital Guidelines
under separate attachment.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

Case Studies: We are eager to receive case studies from housing management specialists in the field. Let us know how you solved a problem, handled a challenge, or gained a professional edge.

Viewpoint: Viewpoint articles represent a personal opinion on a topic of interest to housing management professionals. If you submit an article for Viewpoint, please include a digital photo of yourself (at least 300 dpi at full size). We will consider your article, regardless of whether or not you send a photo.

EDITORIAL PROCEDURES

Review and Acceptance Process: It is our goal to review manuscripts and notify authors of our decision within 3 weeks of receipt.

Originality: Aside from certain book and magazine excerpts or reprints from newsletters, Defense Communities accepts only previously unpublished manuscripts.

Product Endorsements: We reject articles that are disguised product releases. Authors may identify specific products or services where the editor deems necessary, but must mention them sparingly within an article of broader content.

Payment: We are unable to pay authors, except for specially commissioned pieces. We consider articles as contributions to the advancement of the military housing profession. Authors do receive full bylined credit and complimentary copies of the magazine in which their article appears.

Copyright: All published material is copyrighted by Defense Communities under the provision of “work made for hire.” Authors sign a copyright release form after articles have been accepted for publication, including all electronic rights.

Page Proofs: We do not provide authors with page proofs or any other edited form of their manuscripts. We reserve the right to alter any accepted manuscript for clarity and adherence to Defense Communities editorial style. For example, we commonly alter headlines, subheads, and article tone to improve readability and clarity. Manuscript submission implies the author’s agreement with this policy.

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