Write for CSL

Author Guidelines and Editorial Policies

The Citizen Scientists League accepts unsolicited articles and photographs from both professional and amateur contributors of all ages.

What We Are Looking For

The Citizen Scientists League is primarily interested in articles that help people do their own science. Items that describe projects by individuals or large numbers of observers, hands-on techniques, building your own equipment, suggested avenues of inquiry, reviews of books, equipment, software or videos germane to the Citizen Scientists League are all welcome. The Citizen Scientists League will also consider theoretical papers with certain parameters (see below).

We also welcome articulate writing that explains general principles of science and technology, as well as information about other science-oriented institutions, organizations, educational programs, etc., particularly those with opportunities for participation by amateurs and volunteers.

Submissions should be between 400 and 1000 words, but may be as long as 2500 words if the subject requires it. Longer articles are usually published as a multi-part series, so longer submissions should be written with that in mind.

Send all queries and submissions to citizenscientistsleague (at) gmail (dot) com.

Four points to remember:

1. Submissions must be original. You can include quotations from others, but only if the authors are fully referenced. We do not accept any articles that include plagiarized material or material that has been revised or rewritten from other sources.  Any plagiarism found will be immediately removed and reported to the original author.

2. Bibliography is good. Think of your article as a jumping-off point. If you can supply some suggested books, articles, web sites, etc. at the end, your article will be that much more useful.

3. If your article includes illustrations (photographs, charts, etc.), please send them as separate files (see below) with clear indications in the text giving their proper location.

4. All submission should be checked both electronically and manually for spelling and grammar prior to submission. The Citizen Scientists League reserves the right to edit all submissions for grammar, style and clarity.

5. If you wish to discuss a subject but don’t feel like writing a blog post, please feel free to start or join a thread in the CSL Forum.

Please note that the Citizen Scientists League is a traditional scientific organization, so papers on paranormal phenomena, UFOs, conspiracy theories, chemtrails and “cosmological Grand Unified Theories” will not be accepted. Nor do we accept material that will be inappropriate for our younger members.

Style

Although many of our readers are professional scientists, the majority are not. Assume that your readers are intelligent, reasonably well-educated laypeople who are at most partially science-literate.

Avoid excessive use of jargon or technical terms, or clearly define such terms as you introduce them. Remember, you are trying to teach and inform our readers, not impress or intimidate them.

Strive for brevity, clarity, and precision in your prose. If you haven’t written professionally before, we strongly suggest that you consult a writing guide such as the classic The Elements of Style (William Strunk, Jr.  and E. B. White, Macmillan, 1959) for some excellent tips on clear writing.

Format

All submissions must be sent electronically. We prefer submission in MS Word saved in .doc or .rtf format, Open Office, or plain text (.txt).  Submissions should include captions and figure numbers for all illustrations.

Illustrations should be sent as .jpg files with a maximum width of not more than 800 pixels.

Deadlines

If you have (or wish to have) a regular column on the blog, you will need to work this out in advance with the Editor.  Otherwise, the timing for releasing all publications is at the discretion of the Editor.  If your subject is highly time-sensitive, please be sure to include this information in your submission.

Copyright

Contributors retain full copyright while also granting the Citizen Scientists League the right to use their contributions, with full acknolwedgment, electronically or in print.