Editorial Guidelines

The following guidelines provide a basic framework for the submission of feature articles to Innovation on a variety of topics. APEGBC members are welcome to submit articles or article ideas for consideration; however please note that authors should first contact the Managing Editor well in advance to discuss the specifics of story proposals and deadlines.

Generally, Innovation feature articles are intended to highlight various aspects of engineering/geoscience practice and, in particular, the achievements and innovations of members and their firms. They should be interesting, readable, well organized, and of relevance to Innovation’s primary readership: APEGBC members.

The topic approach usually centres on a challenge/issue and how it was solved or addressed; alternatively, it may focus on recent breakthroughs or improvements in a technology or field of practice. Feature stories typically range from 1,200 to 1,500 words long and are accompanied by photos and illustrations to maximize visual appeal and impact.

Engineering/geoscience articles should be written or co-written by APEGBC members and be non-technical, non-promotional and understandable by members of all disciplines as well as non-members. They should also include sufficient background information for readers unfamiliar with the topic or area of practice covered in the story.

Articles of a more general nature (e.g., business, legal or ethical issues) written by non-members, or those concerning other topics of interest and relevance to APEGBC members, should meet the above requirements and be clearly targeted to Innovation's readership.

Articles should be organized as follows:

• A descriptive 200-300 word introduction (two to three paragraphs) that captures the reader's interest, sets the story context and clearly indicates the article's intended focus
• A main body, complete with section headings, in which the story elements unfold in a logical sequence (a more detailed background section often follows the introduction)
• A brief conclusion that reiterates the article's main points (without simply restating them) and/or predicts the nature of the topic in the future
• Brief author biographies (two to three sentences) limited to current position and responsibilities held

Articles may be e-mailed to the Managing Editor in Word format. Articles must comprise text only and be free of embedded graphics, photos or any other special formatting.

Should the article, following evaluation, be considered a candidate for publication, it will be edited as necessary for clarity, readability, organization and consistency with Innovation’s editorial style and format. Edited articles will be forwarded to the author in advance of publication for the purpose of confirming the text’s factual accuracy.

Photos/Illustrations
Visual appeal is an important element of Innovation's feature articles. Although typically about four to five photos/illustrations are used per article, more are preferred for editorial selection purposes; captions are also required. Potential cover photos are also encouraged.

Original colour prints, illustrations or transparencies (slides or larger format) are preferred; all original materials will be returned. First generation (i.e., not scanned from another medium) digital images should be at 300 dpi resolution and a minimum size of 5" x 7" in tif format. Jpeg files may be acceptable if they are not highly compressed and the resolution is 300 dpi (do not convert jpeg files to tifs; it will not improve the quality). Innovation's designer uses Adobe Illustrator, Quark Xpress and Adobe Photoshop for Macintosh.

Submission Guidelines: Innovation encourages unsolicited articles and photos. By submitting materials to Innovation, you grant Innovation a royalty-free, worldwide license to publish the material in Innovation magazine; and you warrant that you have the authority to grant such rights and have obtained waivers of all associated moral rights. Innovation reserves the rights to edit any material for length clarity and conformity with our editorial guidelines and is under no obligation to publish any or all submissions or any portion thereof including credits.

Need More Info?

Questions about the content, format and timing of submissions can be directed to Melinda Lau, Managing Editor at mlau@apeg.bc.ca or 604-430-8035 ext. 4866.