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Submission Guidelines

The Secular Web
Submission Guidelines & Instructions


WANT TO BE PUBLISHED ON THE SECULAR WEB?

Our Call for Papers page lists topics on which we are especially eager to publish.

We also welcome responsible comment on all sides of any topic of interest to secularists.

IMPORTANT:
1) All contributions must be the original property of the contributor.
2) Submission constitutes the author’s granting Internet Infidels, Inc., a nonexclusive electronic copyright to that material and the right to publish that material on the Secular Web. (Note, however, that a copyright release form is usually required for publication of SCHOLARLY PAPERS.)
3) If published, you agree that you will not ask that your article be removed or that the author name be changed. Therefore, please consider using a pseudonym if you feel that the use of your real name could possibly be a problem in the future.

NOTE:
    • We much prefer unpublished material, although prior publication is not necessarily disqualifying.
    • Anonymous and/or third-party submissions are not accepted.
    • We reserve the right to select submissions for publication.


Submission Categories

Every submission must be made in one of the following two categories:

(1)  ARTICLES OF GENERAL INTEREST to be considered for publication in the Secular Web KIOSK,
 
(2)  SCHOLARLY PAPERS to be considered for publication in the Secular Web LIBRARY.


(1) ARTICLES OF GENERAL INTEREST
The Kiosk

ARTICLES OF GENERAL INTEREST intended for publication in the KIOSK should be interesting and highly readable essays on topics of general interest to our readers, secularists of all varieties–but keep in mind that our mission is to defend and promote a naturalistic worldview, and Kiosk submissions should be somehow related to that mission. With this in mind, you can significantly increase the likelihood of being published in the KIOSK if you avoid the unnecessary use of obscenities, avoid the all-too-common tendency to make unsupported and far-reaching generalizations, and carefully follow these Submission Guidelines and Instructions, including avoidance of the errors listed on the Errors to Avoid page. Final acceptance or rejection of KIOSK articles is determined by The Kiosk Editorial Review Committee.

NOTE: Original, previously unpublished material is preferred. Generally speaking, previously published material is only published if the author is well-known and the material outstanding.

KIOSK articles are sometimes published in the order of their timeliness and/or likely appeal to our readers rather than in the order accepted for publication. All submissions are acknowledged, however, and generally speaking you will be notified in a timely manner either that your article will likely be published or will not be published. In addition, if there will be a significant delay in the publication of an article which has been tentatively accepted for publication you will be notified.


The KIOSK is a relatively informal place where atheists, humanists, agnostics, freethinkers, and anyone who happens by, can read what others have to say on a variety of subjects related to atheism, agnosticism, naturalism, nontheism, skepticism, secularism, and other subjects of interest to nontheists. This includes critical essays, reviews, humor, satire, fiction, opinions–whatever meets our standards and will likely be of general interest to our nontheist readers. Minimum length is ~1000 words; maximum suggested length is 6000 words.

NOTE: All submissions will be edited for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and readability. We use The Chicago Manual of Style as our authority in such matters. Any article which would require an excessive amount of editing may be rejected or returned to the author for revision.

To submit an article of GENERAL INTEREST to be considered for publication in the KIOSK, use the following link for specific KIOSK SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & INSTRUCTIONS.


(2) SCHOLARLY PAPERS
The Modern Documents Section of the Library

SCHOLARLY PAPERS intended for publication in the Modern Documents section of the LIBRARY should be precise, focused, formal–and above all critical–introducing and developing a thesis in an objective and unbiased manner, and providing solid argumentation which leads logically to one or more conclusions which a level-headed reader would likely find persuasive. Preference is given to narrow thesis topics as opposed to the broader topics that are often characteristic of a neophyte’s paper.

Papers which sound closed-minded, contain inflammatory language, and/or display an inappropriately indignant tone will not be accepted. Keep in mind that a writer’s credibility depends to a great extent on the perceived tone of his or her words. This is not to say that writers should not be passionate and diligent in their defense of a point of view, but rather that common sense and good manners should prevail.

The Modern Documents section of the Library has accumulated quite a bit of material over the years. Consequently, preference will be given to articles which address topics that are not already extensively discussed in the modern library. Every SCHOLARLY PAPER submission will be evaluated by the Scholarly Paper Editor to determine whether the following requirements are met:

1) The article must fill a need in the Modern Documents section of the Secular Web Library.

2) The article must be of equal or better quality than what we now typically publish in the Library.

3) The article must have passed, or be likely to pass, peer review. (Note: This is a guideline for determining whether or not you should submit work to the Secular Web. It does not mean that your work can skip peer review.)

Special consideration will be given to an article whose author is well-known or well-qualified in the subject area covered by the article, as well as to an article that offers something new or that is not generally available elsewhere. Topics appropriate for the modern library include, but are not limited to:

  • Philosophical, scientific, and historical arguments concerning the truth of religious claims.
  • The philosophical or existential implications of a naturalistic worldview (e.g., for our view of humanity’s place in the universe, human nature, whether or not we have free will, the foundations of ethics, the meaning of life, coming to terms with death, and so on.)
  • Psychological analyses of religious belief, particularly why people adopt strong views in the absence of evidence one way or the other, or even in the presence of strong contrary evidence.
  • Frank discussions of the social utility or harmfulness of particular religious doctrines (regardless of their truth), or of taking claims on faith in general (i.e., affirming positions whatever the evidence).
  • Scientific and historical documentation of the characteristics of nonbelievers as a whole (e.g., whether or how nonbelievers behave differently than believers), or of the public perception of nonbelievers (e.g., discrimination).
  • Frank discussions of the desirability of some or any intermingling between religious institutions and governmental bodies.

After an article has passed the Scholarly Paper Editor’s preliminary review, SCHOLARLY PAPERS are routinely submitted to peer reviewers for comment and criticism before a final decision is made as to acceptance. Peer reviewers often suggest revisions to enhance the quality of the paper.

Note: The process of outside review, revision, editing, and preparation for online publication may take six to eight months–sometimes much longer. All submissions are acknowledged, however, and you will be updated on progress as your submission is processed.

NOTE: All submissions will be edited for spelling, punctuation, grammar, and readability. We use The Chicago Manual of Style as our authority in such matters. Any article which would require an excessive amount of editing may be rejected or returned to the author for revision.

To submit a SCHOLARLY PAPER to be considered for publication in the LIBRARY, use the following link for specific SCHOLARLY PAPER SUBMISSION GUIDELINES & INSTRUCTIONS.