DETAILS FOR WRITERS, POETS, & VISUAL ARTISTS

• Submissions for the black and white publication should be approximately 250-1000 words, or visual art equivalent.

• Poems will be treated as a visual art equivalent, regardless of wordcount.

• On The Record is always in black-&-white. Art image files may need to be edited for higher contrast or greyscale clarity. Our local printshop JS Print works their magic with 3-tone (rather than the 5-tone) black-&-white printers to keep this community resource affordable and efficient.

• Writers and poets are welcome to include images, visuals, sketches, etc that go with the written piece.

• Visual artists are welcome to include text that goes with the art piece.

• Visual art and poetry subject matter can be virtually anything.

• Articles should pertain to a topic within the arts realm but can also intersect with the infinite number of other topics that touch the arts. Your purpose could be to inform about an arts-related issue or topic, connect historical/national arts info to a current/local context, highlight the work/voice/story of a local artist you love, provide anti-gatekeeping how-to’s for other artists (especially emerging artists) in your medium/discipline, etc…

  • Articles that highlight upcoming arts events is ok, but be sure to inform about the artists and their work. If the article reads more like an ad, we’ll suggests content edits and/or encourage you to slightly modify and send around to media contacts as a press release!

• If the piece is time-bound/time-sensitive, please be sure to submit at least 3 weeks in advance, the more the advance notice the better. We may have other content planned for upcoming editions.

• If your piece is research-based, provides data, or references another source, please site source(s) - no need for an official citation style; references list doesn’t need to be published but please include in your submission or email separately to Kristi (thatsoundlady@gmail.com)

• Tone ranges from conversational to artful to academic lite - but again, not a commercial; we have ad space for that!

• Syntax can be stylized. Interviews can be Q&A structure.

• Any text edits will just be for grammar and minor syntax that flows with your style, and some length trimming if needed, unless we chat more about any content edits.

• Pieces that insult local artists or their artwork will not be accepted. On The Record is here to uplift artists’ work and stories, not to yuck someone else’s yum.

• Readers span all walks of life. Zeroing in on one audience demographic is ok, but be sure to invite everyone in to the story and build background knowledge.

• Cursing with intention is ok, but keep it mostly PG.

• We can’t guarantee selection for publishing, but if your piece is relevant for an art, music, theatre, and film publication; speaks to readers in an approachable way; informs/showcases rather than sells; follows these guidelines; and YOU are excited about your piece - then chances are pretty dang likely.

• Absolutely no AI.
  If you choose to submit something generated by AI, your submission will not be accepted and you will not be permitted to submit pieces in the future.