Word counts

2,000 to 4,500 words for features. Submissions exceeding these word counts will not be considered for publication.

Bible quotes

Use only the RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition) of Scripture for all biblical quotes. Where, occasionally, a citation from a different version is required, please include the abbreviation for the version (e.g., NAB = New American Bible, KJV = King James Version).

When quoting Scripture, cite the verse inside parentheses after the quotation mark at the end of the verse. Don’t put a period at the end of the verse being quoted, put it after the closed parentheses, like this: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).

Do not abbreviate biblical books with short names (John, Acts, Luke, etc.). When abbreviating biblical books with longer names, use the longer abbreviation whenever possible: "Matt." (not "Mt."), "Deut." (not "Dt."), "Gen." (not "Gn."). A guide to biblical abbreviations can be found in entry 14:34 of The Chicago Manual of Style.

Always put a period after any abbreviation of a biblical book: "Matt." (not "Matt"). This rule also applies to other common abbreviations, such as "Mr.," "Mrs.," "Fr." and "Dr."

If you insert your own comment into a quote, use brackets, not parentheses. "This will help the reader [See what we mean about using brackets?] to understand it’s you talking," said the editor.

Various usage and punctuation notes

Always capitalize divine pronouns (Who, He, His, etc.).

Capitalize the nouns "Apostle," "Bible" and "Scripture," but don’t capitalize the adjectives "apostolic," "biblical" or "scriptural."

Use "St." before names of Apostles and saints (e.g., "St. Peter").

Remember this distinction: "e.g." means "exempli gratia" ("example given," "for example"); and "i.e." means "id est" ("that is," "in other words").

Put only one space between sentences, no matter what they told you in typing class; our typesetting style calls for one space.

Put one space before and after an em dash - like that.

Do not use spaces before or after hyphens (e.g., non-spaced hyphenation).

If you use leader dots (ellipses), set them off with a space before and after each dot, for a total of four spaces and three dots . . . like that. Our editor also reminds us, "When a period appears at the end of a quote, use four dots. . . ."

Do not put a comma after the "and" in a series of three or more names or brief listings: Brian, Pat and Jim will thank you for that.

Periods and commas always go inside quotation marks: "You’ll see what we mean," said the editor. The writer said, "Yes, I will."

Question marks and exclamation points go outside the quotation marks when they are not part of the material being quoted. You’ll see what we mean. Do you understand what we meant by, "You’ll see what we mean"?

Colons and semicolons that aren’t part of a quotation always go outside the quotation marks.

Avoid exclamation points!

"Okay" is okay. "OK" is not okay.

"TV" is okay; "BBQ" is not okay ("barbecue" is).

Avoid unnecessary, superfluous, space-wasting adjectives.

Avoid, where possible, the words "very" and "that."

Employ strong verbs.

Avoid clichés like the plague (e.g., "avoid like the plague," "the long and the short of it," "fit to be tied" and "to make a long story short").

Avoid jargon and unnecessary technical terms.

Avoid writing in the passive voice. For example, "Jones was pushed out of the way by Smith" is not as good as, "Smith shoved Jones out of the way."

Use contractions liberally. For example, we’d prefer you didn’t say, "We would prefer you did not say."

Avoid writing citation-laden pieces. Envoy treats scholarly subjects, but not in the traditional style of academic journals. When quoting material, work the author’s name and the title of the work into the body of your piece whenever possible. Provide publisher and page information parenthetically. Here’s an example: Patrick Madrid makes some interesting points about the communion of saints in Any Friend of God’s Is a Friend of Mine (San Diego: Basilica Press, 1996, pp. 27-35).

In situations where a body reference isn’t feasible, use this form after the quoted material: (Patrick Madrid, Any Friend of God’s Is a Friend of Mine; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1996, pp. 27-35).

Book and periodical titles, such as Surprised by Truth or Envoy, are italicized, never underlined. Titles of articles, magazine departments and book chapters are set off with quotation marks, such as, "Going the Distance" or "Gray Matters."

NOTE: Proofread your article carefully before submitting it to us. Incorrect spellings, especially of names and key terms, can call into question your understanding of the subject you’re covering.

Write out numbers in these instances:

• When using any number from one through one hundred

• When writing numbers like five hundred, one thousand or twelve million

• Whenever a number appears at the beginning of a sentence; if the sentence begins with a number that is not normally written out, rework the sentence so that the number appears later

Use numerals in these instances:

• When writing numbers like 101, 243, 5,745 or 5,723,894

• When numbers appear in clusters (e.g., listings of ages, quantities or percentages) and writing them out would be awkward
  
• Always use numerals in complete biblical citations (e.g., John 3:16). Passing references should be made to "chapter three" or "verse sixteen."

Combine numerals and words in instances like 165 thousand, 1.5 million, or 812 million.

Submissions must include your full name, e-mail address (if applicable), mailing address, phone number and a cover letter providing a brief synopsis of your article (no more than one hundred words, please). Also, if you are submitting an article via regular mail, please include a self-addressed return envelope with sufficient postage.

NOTE: We only accept submissions from writers who have read our guidelines. When submitting an article, it’s very important that you indicate if you have already reviewed these guidelines; otherwise, you will receive them automatically, and be asked to re-conform your article to meet them.

If possible, please submit your article to us via e-mail. Do not attach it as a file, but "cut & paste" it into the body of the e-mail document and send it to us at editor@envoymagazine.com.

You may need to send a longer article in two installments, if the submission is too large for a single e-mail. Do not send your article in hard copy only; we must have an electronic copy. Mail us a disk version, in those instances.

Envoy assumes no responsibility or liability for acknowledgment or return of unsolicited manuscripts, including computer disks or other items included in a submission. All unsolicited articles must be accompanied by a sufficiently stamped, self-addressed return envelope or they will not be returned.

If your article is accepted for publication, we will contact you to discuss payment arrangements. Writers are paid upon publication of their work.

All articles submitted to Envoy are subject to whatever editing or rewriting our editors deem necessary.

Our policy is to accept articles on an "all rights" basis. The fee paid for an article is a one-time fee. Envoy reserves the unrestricted right, in perpetuity, to make use of material appearing in the pages of Envoy, whether in part or in entirety, in other forms, including but not limited to: posting it on our Internet/World Wide Web sites, reprints, special compilations, promotional materials.

Via e-mail: editor@envoymagazine.com

Via regular mail:

Editor
Envoy Magazine
P.O. Box 640
Granville OH 43023

NOTE: We do not accept article inquiries or information requests by phone. Queries are accepted only by e-mail and regular mail.

Where can I get back issues of Envoy?

Back issues can be purchased through our Subscriber Services department at 1-800-55-ENVOY during regular business hours. You can also find many of our past articles on the Web at www.envoymagazine.com.

NOTE: The Envoy Subscriber Services department is unable to help you with queries about individual articles that have appeared in Envoy. All such queries must be directed to our managing editor at the address or e-mail above. Please, include SASE for responses via regular mail.

And that’s all there is to it. Many thanks for your interest in writing for Envoy. We look forward to seeing your work.

All the best,
The Editor