Writing for ATA

26 TOPICAL TIME
Writing for Topical Time
an authors guide to article preparation
by Martin Kent Miller

MAY-June 2022 27
Writing can be both a rewarding experience and a challenging
escapade. An experienced collector once said, “If you want to
discover how much you don’t know about a topic, write an article
for a philatelic journal.” As Topical Time transitions to a new
editor, it seems an appropriate time to focus on some guidelines
for authors. The following information provides direction for
writing and preparing images for your article. Since we enjoy a
visually-rich hobby, great care and scrutiny are directed at the
scans, illustrations, and photographs necessary to communicate
the details of our topics and the narration of our hobby.
As you review these guidelines, understand that my goal is to
maintain and expand the excellent reputation of Topical Time by
assisting authors in producing the best possible content. Simply
stated, one of the editor’s responsibilities is to make the writers
look good in print. To that end, if you have questions about these
guidelines or are curious about your idea’s suitability for Topical
Time, please reach out to me. You can reach me by email at
editor@americantopical.org. I will note here that I receive dozens
of emails each day, and it is not likely that you will hear from me
instantly. However, I review emails regularly, and I will get back
to you as quickly as possible.
Topical Time is a bi-monthly journal comprised of regular
columns (prepared by authors who contribute ongoing material)
and longer feature articles written primarily (but not exclusively)
by ATA members. The journal is dependent on member-submitted
content to publish high-quality and diverse articles that are
interesting to a wide variety of topical collectors. Consequently,
members are encouraged to submit story ideas, working manuscripts,
and completed articles for consideration for publication.
As the editor, I generally give preference to materials submitted
by ATA members. Still, I will publish materials from other sources,
especially when those materials are timely and relevant to the
association’s interests.
My content goal is to maintain a balance between longer articles
(some of which may be multipart), short vignettes, and reasonable
news segments concerning the association and the hobby
at large. In the coming months, I plan to present some of the
news material through the website at AmericanTopical.org. Additionally,
some articles may be abbreviated and shared publicly
online to help promote membership. Finally, I plan to start implementing
a new platform for Topical Time Online.
All materials intended for publication need a compelling narrative
and a clear topical focus centered around a solid philatelic
foundation. That means your article needs to discuss stamps within
the framework of a specific topic and be interesting to read.
Simply illustrating an article about physics with stamps that show
scientists, laboratories, and equipment will not work. ATA members
represent diverse experiences and interests, but we all share a
fascination with stamps. My goal with each article is for the reader
to gain applicable knowledge even if they never develop a devotion
to the topic presented.
The new Topical Time
Online should improve
on-screen reability.

28 TOPICAL TIME
All materials submitted are subject to peer review, comments
and editing before acceptance for publication. The development
of authors is an additional role for the journal’s editor. If you
have never before written for publication, please consider starting
a manuscript. I am happy to work with new writers. Many of
the current contributors are experienced topical philatelists and
well-published writers; they all wrote their first article at some
point.
When preparing materials for submission, please consider the
following points. I present this information to assist you in the
preparation of manuscripts. These directions are based on years
of receiving, reviewing and processing materials. The commercial
printing process results in some of the more technical guidelines,
but experience has informed the outline to follow.
Writing
Topical Time follows an adapted form of the Associated Press
Stylebook (apstylebook.com), which strives for maximum readability
through the simplicity of style. Such a style guide aims to
create a basis for writing that provides consistency from article to
article. This guide forms the general rules for the preparation of
the journal. Naturally, the specifics of philately and topical stamps
guide some deviations from the style guide, but the unique language
of the hobby essentially forms new style specifics. The bullet
points below address some of the typical style revisions made
with content published in Topical Time. Additionally, these points
discuss techniques that will improve the usability of your files.
Ownership
When you submit a manuscript for consideration, I assume
that you have full rights to the material. This assumption means
that all contributors to the work agree on submitting it and agree
to its publication in Topical Time and other ATA outlets, like the
website.
ATA reserves First North American Serial Rights, and we require
perpetual, non-exclusive publishing rights in all media. This
approach means that we may republish your article at any time,
but you retain all other rights to your work and may have it published
elsewhere. ATA copyrights the contents of each issue of
Topical Time as a whole work. It is not unusual for us to receive
requests from other journals to reprint articles. If you agree to reprint,
we ask only that the reprint include acknowledgment of the
article’s appearance in Topical Time with the original issue date.
Style
• Please write your article in a conversational tone and in the
first person. Remember that ATA members come from diverse
backgrounds, and not everyone is a specialist in the topic you are
presenting. Provide sufficient background information so that
readers can follow your discussion and, wherever possible, provide
information useful to all collectors.

MAY-June 2022 29
• When including states in the text of your manuscript (not
when writing mailing addresses), please spell out the state name.
For example, when writing about the beaches of North Carolina,
do not write about the beaches of NC.
• Numbers below 10 are spelled out (one through nine),
while 10 and higher are written as digits. Please use commas
where appropriate.
• Dates are written in month, date, year format. So, Veterans
Day this year would be written “November 11, 2022.”
• Always spell out an acronym the first time you use it; add
the abbreviation in parentheses (even if you think everyone should
know that MOPE stands for My One-Page Exhibit).
• Remember that generic websites such as Wikipedia are not
always reliable sources of factual information. When researching
online, please use primary sources whenever possible.
Files & Structure
• Do not format the text when sending electronic manuscripts.
Use one font in regular, bold and italic. No centering
or columns. Please do not create multiple, individual text blocks
within the document. Due to the demands of production, handwritten
or hard copy manuscripts cannot be accepted.
• The preferred file format for text is Microsoft Word. At a
minimum, please prepare your text using software that can save to
one of the following formats: .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .odt. If you do
not have access to software that can produce these file types, don’t
hesitate to get in touch with me to discuss the software you intend
to use. Microsoft Publisher files are not acceptable.
• Do not insert scans or illustrations into your electronic text
file. Each image should be submitted electronically as a separate
file. Images should be named with their corresponding figure
number. To indicate the ideal position of the image within the
text, please include text corresponding to the image file name. In
this example, the author indicates that image 5 should be positioned
relative to the break between two paragraphs:
“...when it was clear the committee had selected
an alternate design.
(Figure 5)
Several years later, an unexpected meeting...”
• For most articles, each image will need a caption to connect
the figure with the text. Manuscripts should include captions.
Ideally, captions should be placed in the text where the corresponding
image would most logically appear.
• Do not place captions in separate text blocks within your
document.
• Due to spacing, pagination, and other considerations, images
may not always appear at your preferred location, but I will
make every effort to design layouts with a logical flow.

30 TOPICAL TIME
Images
Naturally, images are vital to the articles published in Topical
Time. Following the instructions below will help ensure the
quality and clarity of the photographs and scans that accompany
your work.
When manuscripts are received, it is expected that the images
relevant to the story will be included as separate files. The review
process includes examining the images to ensure they are of sufficient
resolution and quality for commercial reproduction.
• The minimum image resolution for print is 300 dots per
inch (DPI) at the actual size to be printed. When scanning materials
that are smaller than 3 inches by 3 inches, I prefer a resolution
of 600 DPI. This higher resolution affords greater latitude in
layout and scaling of images for detail.
• Do not apply sharpening or special effects filters to your
images. While these adjustments may improve the on-screen appearance
of an image, over-sharpening has a detrimental effect
when the image is professionally printed. If image adjustment is
needed, it will be handled during layout and production.
• Please scan images against a contrasting color mat. Do not
use a black, gray, or white background (see Figure 1). The contrasting
color aids in the image processing that must be applied
before printing.
• For images that can overlap (such as the front and back of
a cover), please provide the full scan of both images. This practice
allows latitude in layout and typically results in a better quality
reproduction.
• It is not necessary to align items when scanning. All images
will be aligned during the production process. Additionally, the
reproduction quality of materials with finely engraved lines is often
enhanced by scanning the specimen at an angle.
4
7
Figure 1. The ideal image (left) is scanned against a contrasting color
background with 1/8-inch or more space around the subject. The image on
the right represents a scan that is more difficult to prepare for print and that
may produce a lower quality image when printed.

MAY-June 2022 31
• Do not crop images tightly to the subject. Leaving a minimum
of 1/8 inch around the scanned material makes processing
the image easier.
• Save scans and images as .jpg, .tif, .psd or .png files. The
preferred format is JPG at high (10+) quality. Some software may
refer to this as “low compression” or “highest quality.”
• Do not save your image files in .pdf or .bmp formats.
• Images saved from websites are usually low-resolution files.
If your article requires such an image, please include the web address
where the image was found.
• Color images scanned from other printed
materials (books and magazines - Figure 2) are
often subject to copyright issues and generally
do not reproduce well. If such images are essential
to your work, please consider contacting the
source and requesting digital files.
• If your article includes images that are
not part of your collection, please include some
detail about the source of each image.
• If you do not have access to a scanner,
ATA can scan materials for you. If you need to
send the actual stamps, covers or other philatelic
items, please pack them carefully and insure
them, and provide return postage. The return
time is dependent on the backlog when your
materials are received. Please advise via email
that you will be sending materials. We will acknowledge
receipt of your package upon arrival.
Files & File Transfer
I use an online file management system for the transfer of
manuscript files. This system allows you to upload your manuscript
and the images needed to complete your article. Once your
files have been successfully uploaded, the system notifies me that
the materials have been submitted. It will also send you a confirmation
that the materials were sent. Manuscripts submitted using
this system are given priority for review.
Submit your manuscript here:
https://americantopical.org/topical-time-submissions
This web page contains a form for your information and includes
separate fields for uploading your manuscript and images.
You can select and upload as many images as needed. You can also
upload a .zip file of your manuscript. Once you have completed
the form, click the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the page to
send your files.
Recent changes in online file transfer services like WeTransfer.
com and SendAnywhere.com have resulted in difficulty receiving
files properly. Please do not use these services to transfer files.
Figure 2. Images scanned from printer materials
often create quality issues including moiré
patterns and bleed-through of images from the
back side of the page. These images may also
violate other’s copyright.

32 TOPICAL TIME
Article Submission Page
https://qrcodes.pro/n0sTWu
You also can mail your materials to me at Martin Kent Miller,
ATA, PO Box 2143, Greer, SC 29652-2143 USA. If you prefer to
send material via UPS, FedEx, or another courier (recommended
if sending materials to be scanned), please ship to Martin Kent
Miller, Philatelic Press, 1361 W. Wade Hampton Blvd., Suite
F-#102, Greer, SC 29650 USA. Please send your materials on
a USB flash drive. Hard copy manuscripts are not acceptable for
publication.
Conclusion
The purpose of these guidelines is to help you produce an article
that reads well and that looks good in print. I encourage all
ATA members to consider submitting an article for Topical Time.
While the process can be demanding, the results are rewarding
for both the author and the audience. If you have any questions
about the process or the technical requirements, please feel free to
contact me directly at editor@americantopical.org. d