1. Subject Matter
a. All
submissions should focus on issues of concern to Pagan and other Goddess-friendly
women. We accept non-fiction prose related to women's spiritual experience. We
accept very modest amounts of poetry and receive far more poetry than we can publish.
We also accept photographs and graphic artwork (drawings, painting, prints, etc.)
suitable for publishing in a magazine format. We do not accept fiction, screenplays,
long narrative poems, erotica, or press releases/advertorial.
b. SageWoman
is dedicated to helping women explore their spiritual, emotional, and mundane
lives in a way that respects all persons, creatures, and the Earth. We encourage
women of all spiritual paths to send writings and artwork, but our focus is on
material, which expresses an Earth-centered spirituality. Our editorial style
focuses on personal experience; please write in the first person! Please don't
limit yourself because you aren't a "professional" writer or artist
- most of our published material is from previously unpublished writers. If you
haven't seen a copy of SageWoman, please send for a sample copy ($7) or
look at our sample articles at our website before submitting material; this will
enable you to understand the kind of material we publish and will save both you
and us a lot of time!
c. SageWoman accepts material created by women only. (Male contributors are encouraged to contact our co-ed publication Witches&Pagans, at the same address; these titles accept submissions from both men and women.)
2. Written Submissions
a. All written submissions should be the original work of the author. We prefer receiving submissions via email sent to editor2(at)bbimedia.com or on computer disk accompanied by a double-spaced paper manuscript. (Please don't just send a disk - sometimes compatibility problems prevent us from reading disks which are submitted to us, and without a manuscript, we won't be able to evaluate your submission!) We are Windows based and prefer Open Office or Word files attached to your email or if email is not an option by CD-ROM. Disks sent to us will not be returned unless you send an SASE with adequate postage with the submission. If computer-based submission is not possible, typed, double-spaced manuscripts are also acceptable, as well as neatly handwritten pieces if no other method is possible. Please do not send us your only copy of your manuscript; accidents can happen and material sent to us is occasionally lost or damaged.
b. Articles should be between 800 and 5000 words in length. Reviews should not exceed 1000 words. All submissions must contain the author's name, pen name (if appropriate), email (if available) and postal address and phone number.
c. We are aware that you have worked hard on your writing, it is personal and
special to you, and contains your unique voice. Nonetheless, we often find it
necessary to edit for length, clarity and grammar, sometimes at the last minute
before publication. Therefore, we CANNOT guarantee that your article will appear
precisely as you submitted it. If you do not want your material edited in any
way, please do not submit your writing to us. (Also, please inform us of deliberate
uses of non-traditional spelling so the tone of your work will not be accidentally
altered.)
3. Graphic
Art
a. All graphic art submissions should be the original work of the
artist. Clear, black and white drawings are best, but penciled or colored works
may be acceptable if they have high contrast or contrasting colors. Please be aware that all artwork will be reproduced
in shades of gray in the printed magazine, except for pieces used on our outside covers. Our covers
are usually commissioned works, but you may feel free to submit color photocopies
or slides of your color work for possible use on the cover. Please send us clean
copies of your artwork only - we cannot be responsible for your original artwork!
We encourage the submission of artwork which celebrates the Goddess and women
in all of our many guises; different skin colors, cultures, ages, sexual orientations,
body types, sizes, and shapes, and levels of ableness.
b. We are always
looking for new artists to share their creativity in our pages. If you have a
portfolio of your work, feel free to send it; when sending a body of work, please
inform us if any of the pieces have been previously published or are not available
for publication. We do commission special pieces of artwork for the magazine;
however, the majority of artwork we publish has been sent by artists on spec.
We keep files of artwork, by artist, and when an issue is in production we find
the pieces of artwork on file that fit each article, and then inform the artist
in question that we have decided to publish their work. For this reason, your
artwork may be on file for months, or years, without being used - if this is a
problem for you, please inform us so we can work out other arrangements with you.
4. Photography
a. All photographic submissions should be the original work of the photographer.
If persons other than the photographer are shown, a signed release from said person(s)
must be included in order for us to publish the photo. Please send standard black
and white or color prints, negatives or slides. All photographs
will generally reproduced in black and white only. Our use of photography is similar
to that of graphic art; please see guidelines above.
5.
General Information
a. Please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope
with your submission. If you wish for us to return your submission, please ensure
that the SASE has adequate postage to return your manuscript, artwork, or other
submission. If you do not wish for your submission to be returned, please write
"Do not return" on it, and simply send an SASE or stamped postcard for
us to respond to your submission. Please put your name, address and phone number
with area code on each page of your manuscript.
b. Your submission will
be acknowledged when we receive your material; we cannot guarantee exact publishing
dates but will attempt to keep you up-to-date on the status of your work. We prefer
to accept material which has not been previously seen or published - please inform
us of multiple submissions or previous publications.
c. SageWoman
publishes quarterly. All material should be sent to the attention of the Editor
at the address (either e-mail or U.S. mail) given below. Upcoming issue themes
appear and deadlines at the end of these guidelines.
6.
Compensation and Rights
Compensation: SageWoman is a community-supported resource, and as such, most of our articles are written by volunteers. We are proud to offer a free 4-issue subscription for all short fiction and non-fiction articles of 1000 words or more, as well as four (4) contributor's copies of the issue(s) in which your work appears. Should your work appear in multiple issues, you can gift the extra subscriptions to your friends!
Individual (especially commissioned) articles may be paid for in cash; please contact the editor to discuss your proposal. Major article writers and columnists are also offered generous advertising trade in exchange for their work. Payment for artwork, photography, and other visual works is negotiated individually. Reviewers will receive two (2) copies of the issue in which their review appears; it is also normal for us to provide a free copy of the material (book, CD, etc) of the material to be reviewed.
Rights: SageWoman is a community resource; in order to present your article to the widest possible audience, we require non-exclusive print and digital rights of the edited, designed and published version for use in the printed and digital versions of the magazine in perpetuity and on the SageWoman website in perpetuity unless withdrawn by the author. If you inform us you would like to withdraw a piece, we would promptly remove it from the site. (Obviously, we can't unpublish it from the magazine itself.)
You retain all other rights; since our rights are non-exclusive, you can use, publish, share, post or otherwise distribute the original, unedited article in any venue or form you like. We do request that you inform us of any prior use of your piece so we can properly credit other publishers.
