Contributors' Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in THE HERB COMPANION.

THE HERB COMPANION, published by Ogden Publications, Inc., is a bimonthly magazine devoted to the interests of avocational herb gardeners, cooks, crafters and herb aficionados. In each issue we encourage and inform both novice and more experienced enthusiasts. A typical issue will include practical horticultural information, original recipes illustrating the use of herbs, thoroughly researched historical insights, step-by-step directions for herbal craft projects, profiles of notable individuals in the field, helpful hints and occasional book reviews.

We invite written queries and submissions of manuscripts, photographs and artwork related to most aspects of herbs. To query, a brief, focused paragraph or two will generally do. If the idea intrigues us and seems appropriate for our readers, we’ll ask to see the whole piece. No telephone queries, please. We occasionally accept articles describing proven herbal home remedies but we do not publish articles that prescribe herbs to treat conditions normally requiring the services of a health practitioner.

Material submitted for publication should display in-depth knowledge of the subject matter based on experience and thorough research. New approaches to familiar topics are especially welcome. Though we often assign specific articles to authors we know, we are interested in hearing your ideas. Send all queries or submissions to:

or e-mail them to:
editor@herbcompanion.com 

THE HERB COMPANION is published six times a year in February, April, June, August, October and December. Issues are planned six to 12 months in advance, and materials intended for a particular issue must be in our hands at least four months before the month of publication. 

MANUSCRIPTS

To become familiar with our content, style and tone, you must read several issues of the magazine. (To obtain a sample copy send $6 to Kyle Christensen at the above address.) Technical accuracy is essential. Please use scientific as well as popular names for plants and cover the subject in depth while avoiding overly academic presentation. Information should be made accessible to the reader, and we find this is best accomplished by writing from direct personal experience where possible and always in an informal style. Strive for conciseness and clear organization. Include subheads where appropriate and present lists of similar information in chart form (If you are e-mailing your chart, please do so in a Word document rather than in an Excel chart.)

If your article includes recipes of any sort, list all ingredients and the expected yield, then give step-by-step instructions. A brief description of the recipe may precede the ingredients list. For a craft project, list all necessary materials and equipment, then give clear instructions and illustrate them with drawings or photos. (These illustrations are for editing purposes and will not necessarily be published as part of the article.)

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION PRINCIPLES

Work should be double-spaced, typed or word-processed in a standard serif black font (e.g., Times New Roman, 12 pt.) on one side of white 8 1/2” by 11” paper. We prefer manuscripts to be submitted via e-mail in either Microsoft Word or a text-only format (save files as .rtf or .txt). 

LENGTH

300 to 1,800 words. If you submit printed copy, put your name, address, telephone number and e-mail address at the top of each page. Penciled corrections are acceptable; legibility is our main concern. E-mailed submissions may be sent as an attachment or pasted into the body of the e-mail message.

VISUALS

When possible, please accompany articles with diagrams and/or photos. Please include your return address on all materials, including slides and photos. As we cannot guarantee return of items submitted, please retain a copy of all photo or illustration materials you send.

To maintain consistent quality, we provide final illustrations and photographs to illustrate stories whenever possible. However, some visuals (such as photographs of a home garden or a rare wild plant) can only be provided by the author. If you provide your own visual material, please send samples of finished publication-quality photographs (slides, transparencies or 300 DPI digital images) or artwork; we will work together to determine what will best suit the material and our design requirements. Digital images must have been shot at a high resolution (at least 300 DPI). All artwork and photographs will be returned promptly and appropriately insured.

KEEP A COPY OF EVERYTHING

Never send your only copy of anything through the mail. If the submission is unsolicited and/or you wish any part of it to be returned, include a self-addressed envelope with sufficient return postage. Receipt of your submission will be acknowledged, but we may not be able to make an immediate decision about its use. Please be patient.

PAYMENT

Payment will be negotiated between writer and editor. The writer will receive payment upon publication.

Thank you for your interest in THE HERB COMPANION.

—Vicki Mattern, editor