Writers' Guidelines for all Article Submissions
for THE MOUNTAIN ASTROLOGER (revised 2003)
For Duplication Purposes:
We prefer that you send us your article on diskette or CD-ROM. (You may also submit it via e-mail in the formats discussed below, but we still ask that e-mail submissions be followed up with a hard copy of the article and printouts of any charts or graphs.) Please enclose a laser-printed copy of your article with the diskette. Submit articles on diskette in the following order of preference: (1) Macintosh diskette using Microsoft Word 98 or higher; (2) PC-formatted diskette. We can translate many word-processing formats, both in Macintosh and PC, but please send an additional copy of your article file in a "text only" format if you're using a PC word-processing program or a Macintosh program other than Microsoft Word.
If you cannot send a diskette, please submit your article double-spaced and clearly and darkly typed, so it can be electronically scanned. Please do not circle, underline, or otherwise mark up the copy to be used for scanning. Use standard formatting (e.g., do not use all capital letters or all italic-style script). Please do not send faxes, barely legible Xerox copies, or onionskin paper for scanning purposes. You may send a second, marked copy, if necessary.
Make sure your article has a title and page numbers, and provide your address and phone number on the first page; include your e-mail address if you have one. Send a black-and-white photo if you would like your photo to appear with your article. Be sure to include a SASE (self-addressed, stamped envelope) if you want us to return your article, photo, artwork, or illustrations. Please indicate how our readers can contact you and whether you want your address and/or phone number printed with the article.
Diagrams, Illustrations, and Charts:
You will need to supply your own diagrams (if any are required to understand the text). We welcome suggestions for artwork or illustrations to enhance your article. Do not send original artwork that you wish to be returned, unless we ask for it. If you are using specific birth charts or event charts in your article, please send us a copy of each chart, although we may recreate the charts for publication. You must tell us your original source for all birth and event data to be used in your article. Please study the information below on "How To Source and Cite Your Data for Publication in TMA" before you submit your article.
Once we request and receive your article, we will let you know within approximately 90 days of receipt whether your article is accepted, accepted pending revision, or declined.
(For future reference, if your article is time sensitive, you should begin the query process at least 10 months before the publication date of the magazine you'd like it to appear in, although we can sometimes squeeze in a current events article at the last minute.)
Acceptance/rejection is based entirely upon our perception of content, quality, how the article fits into our plans for TMA, and its appeal to our readers. Articles are not accepted for many reasons. Interesting, well-written articles may be declined due to scheduling conflicts, space restrictions, timing, or subject matter. Our editorial staff is very small, and we regret that we cannot provide individual critiques and comments to authors.
We reserve the right to edit, condense, cut, or otherwise alter the text of all material sent for publication without the advance approval of the writer; however, we generally do consult authors about substantive changes. Upon acceptance of your article, we will ask you to sign a contract outlining terms, compensation, conditions, etc. This includes permission for us to run your article in TMA and possibly include it in an electronic version of TMA for distribution on-line. Before the contract is finalized by TMA, authors will be asked to satisfy all requests for information specific to their article.
Important Note: Once you've submitted your finished article, do not make any further revisions or additions unless we ask for them. We usually send an Editor's Checklist with specific questions and/or recommendations for improving your article. When you receive this list, make only the changes we are requesting. If you feel that other changes are necessary, please contact our Editor, Nan Geary, to discuss the matter. When we check a revised article for final approval, we are dismayed if we discover that we're reading an entirely new article, instead of the one we originally reviewed and accepted for publication.
If you have further questions, feel free to contact us by phone (530) 477-7756; fax (530) 477-9423;
or e-mail: editorial@MountainAstrologer.com
Tem Tarriktar, Nan Geary, and Janette deProsse
Editors of The Mountain Astrologer
Mailing Address:
The Mountain Astrologer
P.O. Box 970
Cedar Ridge, CA 95924
UPS/FedEx Address:
The Mountain Astrologer
436 Colfax Avenue
Grass Valley, CA 95945
TMA FORMAT FOR REFERENCES AND NOTES
List all references, sources, and endnotes at the end of the article under the title References and Notes. Include footnote numbers in the text to correspond to this list.
Please do not use embedded footnotes or hyperlinks in the text. These conventions are often part of a "default" style in word-processing software, so we ask you to disable them in the version of your article that you send us on disk.
Format for book: Robert Pelletier, Planets in Houses: Experiencing Your Environment, Whitford Press, 1978, p. 5. (or pp. 5-10).
Format for magazine/periodical: Kelley Hunter, "The Dark Goddess Lilith," in The Mountain Astrologer, April/May 1999, p. 19.
HOW TO SOURCE AND CITE YOUR DATA FOR PUBLICATION IN TMA
Please read this carefully before sending your query.
The first international meeting of the Association of Professional Data Collectors occurred May 30, 1997, in Brussels, Belgium. One of their goals is to advance data standards, and we agree with their position that data presented without a source is unprofessional and unacceptable. If you're proposing an article that involves birth charts, event charts, or other astrological charts, you must provide the original source of your data (e.g., birth certificate, birth record, mother's memory, rectification [by whom and what source was used for the rectification], etc.).
Don't make the mistake of proposing an article only to discover that your data are inaccurate. Speculative data sources result in speculative interpretations and premises, which then contribute to astrology's image as meaningless speculation. Save yourself time and trouble; check out your data before you begin.
Note: Please refer to Lois Rodden's Rating System below before you propose charts, and clearly state the status of your data.
AA Accurate data as recorded by the family or state
A Accurate data as quoted by the person, kin, friend, or associate
B Biography or autobiography (give complete publication information)
C Caution: no source of origin
DD Dirty Data: two or more conflicting quotes that are unqualified
X Data with no time of birth
XX Data without a known or confirmed date
IMPORTANT: If you get your data from a Data Service, e.g., Lois Rodden's AstroDatabank/News, it is insufficient to cite the service as the source. You need to ask the data service what their source is (as above). Examples: Marilyn Monroe, AA: Lois Rodden reports B.C. (birth certificate); Johnny Depp, A: Rodden reports she got data from father.
If you get your data from one of the Data Collections, either on computer disk or in catalogue, please cite the name of the collection, the source of the data the collection gives, and the corresponding Rodden rating. (Example: Blackwell Collection, AA: B.C.)
If you're using a biography or autobiography as a source, you must provide the complete publication reference (author, title, publisher, year).
Rectified charts are acceptable as long as they are clearly referenced as such.
Please help us to encourage and maintain higher standards of astrological publishing through professional delineation and interpretation of the charts used in your articles, based on careful data citations. We check chart sources as soon as we receive an article. If a writer has not followed our guidelines and has submitted incomplete or poorly sourced data, the article may be rejected, regardless of how well it is written. We would greatly appreciate your attention to these details before you submit your work. Thank you for your cooperation.
Tem Tarriktar, Nan Geary, and Janette deProsse
Editors of The Mountain Astrologer
Mailing Address:
The Mountain Astrologer
P.O. Box 970
Cedar Ridge, CA 95924
UPS/FedEx Address:
The Mountain Astrologer
436 Colfax Avenue
Grass Valley, CA 95945
Revised August 2006
Lois Rodden's AstroDatabank Software
This software program, AstroDatabank, purports to be the most complete repository of astrological data. It includes more than 26,000 birth records, and these birth records are accompanied by brief biographies. If you'd like to know more about obtaining this software, you can contact:
AstroDatabank Company
12 June Terrace, Worcester, MA 01602 U.S.A.
Web site: www.AstroDatabank.com
E-mail address: Info@AstroDatabank.com
Phone: (01) (978) 526-8864
Fax: (01) (707) 202-2486
Toll Free (sales): (877) 275-0987 (U.S. only)
Revised August 2003