Writers Guidelines
SIGNAL Media welcomes guest articles that delve into cutting-edge technology, upcoming programs, solutions to existing challenges or new concepts. Original articles for the print magazine should be roughly 1,200 to 1,600 words in length and 500 to 800 words for online and written in the style of a news feature, analysis or commentary. Please do not use footnotes. Instead of asking who, what, where, when and why, ask: “What is important, and what does it mean?” That will make for a far better article.
- Articles must be timely, relevant and have news value
- 1,200 to 1,600 words for print
- 500 to 800 words for online
- Print articles should be submitted 10 weeks before the publication date
- Photos or graphics should accompany the submitted material
- Send us a bio
SIGNAL Magazine is the monthly professional publication of AFCEA International and focuses on information technology, communications, C5ISR, cyber, intelligence, homeland security, cloud, defense and much, much more. The magazine began in 1946 and has a circulation of about 28,000.
Our readers are highly educated:
- 52% have advanced degrees
- 87% hold baccalaureates.
- Readers are engaged, visionary professionals who want the latest developments.
We look for thought-provoking articles written in appropriate news style that offer solutions to problems and raise our readers’ interests and awareness. Submissions must be informative and non-commercial to be considered a regular news feature.
Submissions exclusively touting the benefits of a single product, type of product, service or capability are likely sponsored content.
SIGNAL’s editors want original, not-already-published articles that delve into cutting-edge technology, upcoming programs, solutions to existing challenges or new concepts. While technical information obviously is welcome, it should be kept as generic as possible to appeal to SIGNAL’s wide readership.
- For the print magazine, articles should be roughly 1,200 to 1,600 words in length.
- For online, articles should be 500 to 800 words.
- Include hyperlinks within the copy where appropriate, keeping in mind search engine optimization best practices to make it easier for search engines to find and highlight the work.
- Write your articles in the style of a news feature, analysis piece or commentary—meaning no footnotes. If reference material is used, include as attribution. We will take it from there and will edit for consistency, clarity and style.
- Articles should be submitted by email in plain text or Microsoft Word.
- If articles require clearance by authorities, please do not submit without having clearance to do so.
- Include three to four complementary photographs or graphics and captions. Photographs for the magazine must be high resolution. Preferred formats are .jpg and .gif; .tiff accepted but not recommended. If photos are part of a PowerPoint presentation, please provide the original. Send photographs separately, not embedded within the article text.
Articles primarily considered for publication are those written by program managers, technical experts and individuals involved in the technology or project rather than by public affairs/marketing departments. Professional writers should contact SIGNAL Magazine for publication consideration before beginning. Again, submissions exclusively touting the benefits of a single product, type of product, service or capability are likely sponsored content.
Send us an online or a print proposal or article to George Seffers. Please allow at least two weeks for a response to your query or submission. Note: We prepare for a print issue months in advance, so articles must be received roughly 10 weeks prior to publication in the magazine—and still be relevant.
Articles that are written for marketing or promotional purposes are considered sponsored content. Contact AFCEA Advertising for details about our special interest editorial and sponsored content models.
SIGNAL reserves the right to copyright all published material. This does not preclude an author from republishing the material, provided the proper copyright credit is given to SIGNAL. Writers will receive a copyright agreement letter before publication. Articles written by government officials on government time cannot be granted copyright. Occasionally, SIGNAL receives requests for reprints. SIGNAL reserves the right to arrange for reprints without remuneration to the author.
Please send us a brief biography with information such as your current position, company, government department or military assignment and, if appropriate, rank and branch of service. Please note if you would like your email address published with the article.