Writer Guidelines ...
The Journal's mission. The objective of the IACSP is to provide a forum within which security professionals can learn about terrorism trends and counter-terrorism solutions, including security strategies, management techniques, and new technologies. The Journal also provides analysis of past terrorism events and offers possible solutions to those events which may appear down the road.
A prospective author should keep these goals in mind when developing story ideas. Our Journal is a mix of analysis and hands-on information. Our readers come from several areas: Law Enforcement, Government, Military, EMS/HAZMAT, Fire Chiefs, and Corporate Security.
When choosing a subject and preparing an article, remember that the story will be read by these industry peers throughout the world and by those who subscribe to the Lexis Nexis data base which is highly respected and international in scope.
Articles should be detailed enough to interest specialists in the particular industry segment discussed, but an author should define terms that would not generally be known by security professionals in other industries.
The best articles are provided by security practitioners who write about their everyday experiences and/or their current research about a particular topic.
The key is to select a topic about which details and specific solutions can be provided. Security professionals know what their problems are and know generally how to solve them; a successful author goes beyond the general and gives the reader unique, useful, up-to-date, accurate information.
Lengths and deadlines. Articles should range from 2,500 to 3,500 words. It helps to conceptualize how the article will fit into the magazine. It takes about 1,000 words to fill one printed magazine page. If the topic you have in mind doesn't merit 2,500 words, it is probably not appropriate for a feature article. Shorter articles may be used as sidebars to longer pieces; however, not many sidebars are accepted. The Journal usually publishes up to three sidebars/columns per issue.
Tips Do not dwell on introductory or historical material. Think of the magazine page as a classified ad, where each word costs. Don't waste space on old news or information that is general knowledge. Give the reader the main points and a clear idea of the story's goals early on, then fill in the details. Close with a quick summary. Where appropriate, include legal and legislative developments affecting the topic.
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Writers
