2024 INSCRIBE ANTHOLOGY
CREATIVITY & CHAOS: ARTISTIC ENDEAVOURS FOR TRYING TIMES
STYLE GUIDELINES
Submissions deadline extended to midnight, October 31, 2023
Email Submissions to: press@inscribe.org
Eligibility: Open to all current InScribe members in good standing
(A limited number of guest submissions may be considered at the editor’s discretion.)
The 2024 anthology will follow a specific style guide to ensure consistency among all submissions. (Refer to the Call for Submissions posted on InScribe’s website for further details.) To make the editing process more efficient, please follow these style guidelines. Be sure to double-check your work before submitting.
For Documents:
Document Name:
Save the document as your last name, e.g., Snyder.doc
If you’re submitting more than one piece, send each as a separate document and save as e.g.,Snyder1.doc, Snyder2.doc
Program:
Microsoft Office Word document
Font:
Times New Roman
Font Size:
12 point type
Margins:
One-inch margins (top, bottom, left, right)
First Page: On the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list the following:
- Title of your submission
- Genre: e.g. fiction, nonfiction, poetry, etc.
- Your name/pen name exactly as you want it to appear in the book
- Word count
- Total number of pages submitted
- Leave four blank lines (hit Enter five times) then start your article/story
Justification: Use left margin justification. For poetry that requires special formatting, use your ruler to move the margins for individual lines of poetry rather than the tab key.
Spelling: Canadian
Spacing: Single-space paragraphs. Leave one line between paragraphs. Use only one space between sentences.
Paragraphs: Do not indent the first line of paragraphs.
Quotation Marks: Use double quotation marks around quotations. Use single quotation marks to set off quotations or words/terms that occur inside a quotation.
Punctuation: Normally, all ending punctuation goes inside the quotation marks. However, if a quote is contained within a question but the question mark does not form part of the quote, the question mark goes outside of the quotation marks. (Did the menu say “free refills”?) This same rule applies for exclamation marks. (The menu said “free refills”!)
Names for Bible: Capitalize Bible, God’s Word, Scriptures, etc. (Note: biblical is not capitalized).
Bible Versions: All Scripture quotations should be from the NIV except where noted. Do not put NIV after each quotation. Inform the editors if you have a specific reason for using another version. If using another version, put the reference at the end of the quotation inside the parentheses, e.g., (Ephesians 3:3-5 KJV).
Books of the Bible: Spell out the names of Bible books. Do not use abbreviations. Use digits 1, 2, or 3, not Roman numerals (e.g., 1 John, 2 Chronicles, etc.)
Bible Verse Quotes: Put all quoted Bible verses inside quotation marks, do not use italics.
Bible Verse References: Put Bible verse references in parentheses. Insert the final punctuation marks after the last parenthesis, not at the end of the scripture verse. (e.g., “There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under the heavens” (Ephesians 3:1). If you state the Scripture reference in your introductory phrase before the quotation, no parenthetical documentation is required. (For example: “We find this promise in 2 Timothy 1:7, ‘For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.’”)
Names for God: Capitalize alternative names for God: Creator, Father, Lord, etc.
Deity Pronouns for God: Capitalize He, Him, Himself, the One, You, etc.
Titles: Capitalize and italicize the titles of larger works, such as books, publications, magazines, newspapers, movies, plays, television programs, radio programs, music albums, CDs, DVDs. If the title is part of a larger work, capitalize and use quotation marks, e.g., chapters, articles, essays, poems, hymns, songs, speeches, etc.
Thoughts: Italicize a person’s thoughts to differentiate them from dialogue. Do not place them inside quotation marks.
Abbreviations: Do not use periods in abbreviations for state or provincial names (NY, AB. SK), acronyms (UN, ICWF), or metric and non-metric measurements (2 cm, 5 kg, 4 in, 2 ft, 1 hr)
Plural Abbreviations: Do not use apostrophes after the plural forms of abbreviations or numerals, (e.g., RNs, 5s), unless the abbreviations are ambiguous (e.g., Q’s & A’s, SIN’s) or the acronym is possessive (e.g., UN’s, ICWF’s).
Bibliographic Reference Abbreviations: Common singular and plural bibliographic references are: l. (line), ll. (lines), p. (page), pp. (pages), c. (chapter), ch. (chapters), MS (manuscript), MSS (manuscripts), f. (the one following), ff. (those following)
Em Dash Usage: Use the em dash (—) with no spaces on either side to set off parenthetical information, to replace commas where more of a pause is desired, or to indicate a speaker has been interrupted. (Examples: “Four friends—though they just met—are working on the anthology.” / “I don’t want to rewrite—” “I’m sorry but you’ve done it incorrectly!” her editor said.) When em dashes are used to set off material that ends in an exclamation or question mark, the punctuation is placed inside the dashes. (Example: “When September arrived—thankfully!—the children went back to school.”) You can form an em dash by typing two hyphens one after another and adding a space after the word following the hyphens, or you can find it under symbols in Microsoft Word.
En Dash Usage: An en dash (‒) is shorter than an em dash (—) but slightly longer than a hyphen (-). It is used to express ranges or to clarify complex compound words. (Examples: “I’ve already read pages 1‒10 of FellowScript.” / “It was some kind of jack-in-the box‒type toy.”) You will find it under symbols in Microsoft Word. Do not use a hyphen instead of an em dash or en dash.
Serial Commas: Use a comma after each item in a list, including the one before the “and.”
Numbers: Spell out numbers one through one hundred. Use numerals for numbers 101 and above. If a number begins a sentence, spell it out.
Time: Use a.m. or p.m.
For Artwork & Photographs:
Artwork: Scan your artwork in high resolution (300 dpi).
Photographs: Only black and white photographs with high resolution (min. 300 dpi) will be accepted.