Submissions

Before submitting content for consideration, please read content already published in the Baptist Standard to get a feel for our style. Also, read our mission and core commitments and our editorial thought process. Priority is given to writers affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas and other Baptists in Texas.

CONTENT

  • News, features, press releases, announcements, book reviews and obituaries should be submitted to Managing Editor Ken Camp.
  • Opinion articles and sermons should be submitted to Editor Eric Black.
  • Opinion articles offered for publication should be previously unpublished—unless on a personal or organizational blog—and should meet our core commitments: historic Baptist principles, responsible journalism and the redeeming and reconciling work of Jesus Christ.
  • We do not publish poetry, prayers, fiction, responsive readings or hymns.

STYLE

  • Write for a general audience. When using jargon or technical terms, define them for a general audience.
  • Cite your sources for factual data and quotes, because plagiarism isn’t responsible. In other words, if you make a claim, you need to back it up. Sources should be placed immediately after their respective citation in your article. For online sources, include the link. For printed sources, include the title, author and page number in parentheses.

FORMATTING

  • Send submissions as a .doc or .docx file in 12-pt. Times New Roman font.
  • Set paragraph spacing to zero pt., with line spacing set to single.
  • Articles should be as close to 750 words as possible and no longer than 1000 words. Book reviews should be 250 to 500 words.

SUBMITTING 

  • Your ability to submit any materials to us for possible publication is conditioned on your acceptance of our agreements for publication. For all article submissions, please visit our License Agreement for Submissions page. For all other material submissions, including photographs and artwork, please email your inquiry to Editor Eric Black. By sending that email, you understand and agree we are not under any obligation to accept or make any use of your submission, and our review of your submission inquiries or requests does not imply we agree to compensate you in any way.
  • When providing images or photos for your article, they should be high resolution and landscape (horizontal) orientation. You also must own the rights to the images or photos and provide permission for us to publish them. We reserve the right to reject any image or photo.
  • Include a one to two-sentence bio about yourself, including your church membership, and links to personal pages and profiles you would like included.

PROCESS

  • Once you submit opinion or feature content for consideration, an editor will confirm receipt of your submission, indicate whether we plan to publish the article, work with you on suggested revisions and provide a general timeframe for publication. News articles will be published in timely fashion, and they may be condensed considerably at the editor’s discretion.
  • On the day of publication, we will email you a link to your article. Please share the link with your network through email and/or social media.

REVISING

  • Submissions are edited for clarity, length and style. We follow the Associated Press Stylebook. Typographical and grammatical errors will be corrected, redundancy will be eliminated, and paragraphs will be divided without notification.
  • When substantive editing is needed, suggested changes will be noted and shared with the writer. Once the writer and editor have agreed to a revised version, the article will be sent to another editor for proofing before publication.
  • One of our editors will finalize the headline to your article, meaning the published headline may be different than your submitted headline.
  • An image will be selected for your article, unless you supplied an image and it was approved by our staff.
  • The goal is to publish an article with a title and image that accurately reflects the content, while also grabbing readers’ attention.

LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR SUBMISSIONS

  • Your ability to submit any materials to us for possible publication is conditioned on your acceptance of our agreements for publication. For all article submissions, please visit our License Agreement for Submissions page. For all other material submissions, including photographs and artwork, please email your inquiry to Editor Eric Black. By sending that email, you understand and agree we are not under any obligation to accept or make any use of your submission, and our review of your submission inquiries or requests does not imply we agree to compensate you in any way.

 

* We are grateful to our colleagues at Good Faith Media for allowing us to use their Submissions page as a template for this page.