The Florida Water Resources Journal publishes material relating directly or indirectly to the water and wastewater industry of Florida. We publish technical articles, columns, notices and announcements, committee reports and other association business, letters to the editor, and press
releases relating to new products, new literature, and general news.
We reserve the right to reject any and all submissions. We will not publish any material that contains personal attacks against individuals, public or private. All submittals are subject to editing for length, clarity, and
style. We claim a compilation copyright on each issue, but copyrights on individual articles, photographs, cartoons, and other submissions remain with the authors.
If you are writing about a project your company did, avoid making the article sound like ad copy or a press release; don't use your company's name or product more than an outside person would (usually no more than two or three times).
Technical Articles
The following are unacceptable for technical articles:
1. Articles without bylines.
2. Articles with incorrect or questionable technical accuracy.
3. Material written as ad copy or that reads as ad copy.
4. Press releases.
Technical articles are usually scheduled several months in advance and are coordinated with our editorial calendar. Unsolicited articles that are judged to be acceptable will be published on a space-available basis.
Length
Length is flexible for articles, but articles should be as concise as possible. Introductions and conclusions should be brief, to the point, and not overly redundant with information in the body of the article. A typical article length is about 10 to 15 pages double spaced (2000-3000 words). Minimal size for an article is about five pages double spaced (about 1000 words). A typical illustration takes up about 200 words.
Illustrations
Black and white photos and line drawings are preferred (unless prior arrangements for color have been made). Illustrations should stand by themselves with adequate captions, if practical.
We often have to reduce illustrations to a quarter page. Lettering on illustrations should be large enough to be readable after such reduction.
Forms of Submittal
- First choice: email attachment in Microsoft Word or pure ASCII text.
- Second choice: Microsoft Word or pure ASCII text on a CD.
- Third choice: Microsoft Word or pure ASCII text on a Zip disk.
- Fourth choice: Microsoft Word or pure ASCII text on a floppy disk.
- Distant last choice: typed hard copy in a clear, large typeface with no formatting.
- Unacceptable: fax.
Style
Because we often use Optical Character Recognition, we ask that articles submitted on paper do not contain bold print, underlining, italics, ALL CAPITALS, or right-justified margins. If it is necessary to emphasize certain words or phrases, please submit a second copy with emphasis indicated. Use only one space after periods. Please use commas after all items in a series (e.g., it's black, white, and red). Place commas and periods inside closing quotes, e.g.,"...the end." not "...the end".
We generally prefer a somewhat more informal style than typical technical writing: shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs. The use of first person and contractions is acceptable.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Use acronyms and abbreviations sparingly. Avoid them if the term is used only a few times in the article. On the other hand, assume readers are familiar with acronyms and abbreviations common to the profession, e.g., EPA, DEP, BOD, mg/l, MGD (we include a glossary of common terms in each issue).
Capitalization
Do not capitalize words unless they are at the beginning of a sentence or part of a proper name (it’s "the city of Tallahassee" and "Panama City"; it's "Superintendent Johnson," but it's "Walter Johnson, superintendent of...).
Examples of words often capitalized incorrectly include city, civil engineer, county, department, division, lead operator, president, vice president, superintendent, association, section, national, federation.
Reprinting in Other Publications
We
frequently give other publications permission to reprint articles from the
Florida Water Resources Journal. If you object to this for your article, please so inform us. If your article has previously been published, or if you're sending it to other publications in addition to us, please inform us. If in the future you submit the same article to another publication, please inform them it has been published by the
Florida Water Resources Journal.
Columns
Length is rigid for columns. The space reserved for each column is one-half page, which is about 2600 characters (450 words) or about two pages typed double spaced. A column that is too short is worse for us than one that is too long. Other than length, the above comments for technical articles apply.
Notices and Announcements
Notices and Announcements that are judged to be of interest to our readers will be published. They should be as brief as possible and include a contact for the reader to obtain further information, if appropriate. They are, of course, subject to editing for length and style.
Committee Reports and Other Association Business
These materials should be concise. They are subject to editing for length and house style. You should contact us as far in advance as possible to insure available space. Other than length, the above comments for technical articles apply.
Letters
All letters received by the
Florida Water Resources Journal are assumed to be submitted for publication and are the property of the
Journal. All published letters are subject to editing for length and house style. Letters containing personal attacks or insults to individuals will not be published. We reserve the right to refuse to publish any letter.
Press Releases
Press releases relating to new products and new literature, and general news about promotions, new hires, new contracts, office relocations, etc., are published on a space-available basis if they are judged to be of interest to our readers. Material that reads like an advertisement is unacceptable. Only press releases received via regular mail or email are acceptable. Material that is concise and well written is more likely to be published, and priority is given to our advertisers. All material received is subject to editing.
