Guidelines
Anyone can submit a story for consideration in a future issue of The Well. Here are the guidelines to follow:
WHAT IS ACCEPTED?
Stories we accept are poems, inspirational short stories, (real or fictional), personal testimonies, encouragements, etc. Other examples may include how particular songs/books “speak” to you (or reviews of books and/or music), recipes, biblical teachings, ministry spotlights, etc. If you have another idea let us know. We are looking for new and fresh material.
Remember, The Well is a publication of encouragement. Read our mission statement for more information. Stories should always be uplifting and not demeaning in any way.
Letters to the editor of encouragement are used as space allows and will include your first name, city and state unless requested not to print that information. But the information must be included for legal reasons.
Any story with a salvation message will be considered for “The End” first, but may not necessarily be used there. Stories specifically written for “The End” should be between 500-750 words and contain the steps to salvation.
WHAT IS A MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT?
We will give one page to ministries and other non-profit organizations to tell people about their mission and ministry. It is included as space allows and only one per issue. If your ministry or non-profit organization would like to get scheduled for an upcoming issue, please send details to our office.
HOW LONG SHOULD MY STORY BE?
Keeping your story between 500 and 750 words works best. We have printed stories over 1,000 words but on rare occasions or when the Holy Spirit leads. Don’t discount your story because it is too long. We can possibly split it between two issues or edit the story for space. We reserve the right to edit all stories for typographical/grammatical errors, space and/or content.
WILL I GET PAID?
Since this is a non-profit publication there will be no compensation for using your story.
DO YOU GUARANTEE YOU WILL USE MY STORY?
Not all stories sent in may be used. We trust the Holy Spirit to guide us as to what is put in each issue. It could take several months before we have room to use your story. If you want to have the chance to have it included in any issue you need to send it in. You will never know until you send it in.
WHEN ARE THE DEADLINES?
The deadline for any publication is about 6 weeks prior to the publication date. An easy schedule to remember is the deadline is the 15th of each month, mailing date is the 15th of the next month for the publication of the following month.
For example:
2010 Deadlines
| 2010 Publication | Deadline | Mail Date |
|---|---|---|
| April | March 1 | March 20 |
| May | April 1 | April 20 |
| June | May 1 | May 20 |
| July | June 1 | June 20 |
| August | July 1 | July 20 |
| September | August 1 | August 20 |
| October | September 1 | September 20 |
| November | October 1 | October 20 |
| December | November 1 | November 20 |
Deadlines for stories to be considered for specific holiday issues must be received at least 6 weeks prior to the first day of the month of the specific holiday. Earlier is better.
HOW SHOULD I SEND IT?
Although handwritten stories are not refused, stories that are typewritten are better and those on disk or by email are the best. If you can send them on disk or by email it eliminates us having to retype your story. Please do not attach your story to the email but include it in the body of the letter. With all the virus scares we do NOT open any attachments, especially from unsolicited email.
DO YOU SEND MY ORIGINAL COPY BACK?
Stories submitted will not be returned so please don’t send us your only copy.
WHAT IF MY STORY WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED?
If your original story was previously published please include the information of where and when it was published. In addition please include the year it was written for printing copyright information.
WHAT IF I HAVE A GOOD STORY FROM ANOTHER PUBLICATION?
If you send us a story, not your original one, that was printed in another publication we must have the publication’s permission to reprint the story so please include information of how to contact the publisher.
WHY DO YOU NEED CONTACT INFORMATION IF I WANT TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS?
Stories submitted without contact information will not be considered for any reason no matter how good it is. We need that information for legal protection but we do not have to include it in the final printing of the publication. Just mention not to include your name when printing.
