Write For Presence
Submissions
Presencia: Una Publicación Internacional sobre la Dirección Espiritual is a publication focused on spiritual direction, spiritual companionship, spiritual accompaniment, and spiritual guidance. Please keep in mind that the number one reason submissions are not recommended by the editorial review panel for publication is that the manuscript does not deal in some way with the calling of spiritual companionship, in its various manifestations.
Inclusivity
Presencia: Una Publicación Internacional sobre la Dirección Espiritual is an international and multi-faith journal. Authors need to keep in mind that terms and ideas not familiar to nationalities or faiths other than their own, need to be explained in the text. Our community has members from across the spectrum of religious traditions, as well as spiritual orientations. Although we come from diverse backgrounds, spiritual directors and companions practice share common core practices, such as deep listening, and respecting the agency of those we companion. We welcome and celebrate our commonalities, just as we do our differences, and a broad array of diverse perspectives, including those that related to religious tradition, spiritual orientation, race, ethnicity, gender identity, and disabilities, among others.
Confidentiality
Permissions to use the names of actual persons for inclusion in articles must be obtained from the person referenced.
Scheduling
Because Presencia is a peer-reviewed journal (see below), scheduling an article for a certain issue can be difficult. Ideally, your submission would be “timeless” and could be published at any time.
Guía
Article length may vary from short (2,000–3,000 words) to medium (3,000–4,000 words) to long (4,000–6,000 words). One thousand words typically corresponds to four typewritten pages, double-spaced.
At the time that you submit your manuscript, please include a brief (50–60 word) paragraph of biographical information that will be printed in the journal, should the article be chosen for print. Include your e-mail address in the bio. We reserve the right to edit the bio, material for appropriate content, style, and length. If your article is accepted for publication, you will also need to submit a high resolution, digital photograph headshot.
Please submit all manuscripts to [email protected] as an e-mail attachment. If you are not using Microsoft Word, please convert your document to RTF format before sending it. Include author’s name (as you would like it to appear), address, telephone, and e-mail address prominently on the first page. Please attach a small ‘headshot’ photo to your e-mail or paste one in your article.
Editorial Review Policy and Process
All manuscripts will be reviewed by the editor and by members of the editorial review panel. On occasion, multiple reviewers may be involved. Everyone submitting a manuscript will be notified within a few days that it has been received. If you don’t get a reply within forty-eight hours, please send a follow up e-mail.
After your article is received, it is filed for review by the editorial review panel in the order received. Sometimes there are a large number of manuscripts ahead of yours to be reviewed, and sometimes only a few. The wait-time to hear if your article is accepted or rejected for publication can be up to twelve weeks. Often it is sooner than that. You can always e-mail the editor for an update on where your article is in the process.
The reviewers will often recommend an article for publication after some revisions are made. The editor will communicate all suggestions for revision to the author. Major revisions will be the responsibility of the author. Minor revisions may be done by the editor. In most cases, the author will only be notified and consulted of there are if major changes to the work.
Style Guide
Another common reason articles are rejected is for poor writing style. The editors strongly recommend that you examine the suggestions found on the website: How to Write in Plain English. For more helpful guidelines on writing style see: How to Write More Clearly, Think More Clearly, and Learn Complex Material More Easily” by Michael A. Covington
Bias-free language
Generally prefer gender-neutral terms for God, Tao, Allah, the Universe, and other terms referencing the Ground of All being, but allow feminine, masculine, or non-binary pronouns to be used where they are appropriate and necessary.
Documentation
Use short citations in the running text, with full citations in a “References” section at the end of the article. If an article references more than one work by the same author, the short cite includes a shortened version of the title. Include interviews and audiovisual materials in the reference list, without subheads.
References
Include author’s full name: Smith, Jane E., title of article or book, title of periodical where applicable, location of publisher, publisher, date of publication, volume, issue, and page numbers when the reference within the text is an article within a larger work or periodical. For example:
For example:
Anderson, Daniel. “Transcendence and Relinquishment in Couple Therapy.” Journal of Systemic Therapies, no. 13 (1994): 36–41. Oliver, Michael A. Conjugal Spirituality: The Primacy Of Mutual Love In Christian Tradition. Kansas City, MO: Sheed and Ward, 1994. |
Scriptural Reference
- Please us the scripture translation commonly accepted in your faith tradition, or spiritual orientation.
Callouts (aka pull quotes)
Please include a list of three to six suggested callouts at the end of the article.
Names and titles
- Do not use courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.).
- On first reference, use first and last name of a person. On subsequent reference, use last name only.
- Exception: Use last name alone even on first citations to a reference list.
- Exception: Use first and last names on subsequent references if necessary for clarity or parallelism.
Numbers and dates
- Do not abbreviate years (’96, the ’90s.) Instead, use the entire year (The class of 1996, the 1990s).
- Abbreviate a month when it is used in a specific date, such as Dec. 21, 2002, but spell out just a month and a year: December 2002.
Quotations
- Run in short quotations (less than 100 words or 8 lines).
Subheadings
- We encourage the use of subheadings, especially in articles that are medium length and longer (see above). Subheadings should be in capital and lowercase letters, bold, flush left.
Copyright
Presencia: Una Publicación Internacional sobre la Dirección Espiritual maintains first rights only. This is also called Rights Reversal. This means that you guarantee that the article has not appeared in its present form elsewhere and we grant you fair use of the article in any way once we have published it. Should the article be reprinted elsewhere, we ask the author to notify and consult with SDI first, and then acknowledge that the article was first published in Presencia: Una Publicación Internacional sobre la Dirección Espiritual along with the correct volume and issue number.
Submissions can be e-mailed to: [email protected]
Poetry Submissions
Poetry submissions can be e-mailed to [email protected].
Guidelines for Book and Media Reviewers
Before writing a review, it is best to contact media review editor Pegge Erkeneff: [email protected].
Presencia helps generate dialogue that is across faith traditions, cross-cultural, and socially conscious. Media reviews, therefore, should be written with these perspectives in mind since we are the only journal in the world to focus exclusively on spiritual companionship.
When writing your review, first explain what the item you are reviewing is about. It is not always necessary to outline a book chapter by chapter when an overview would suffice. You might include brief quotes from the material. Be appreciative in your review. Identify the positive heart of the item you are reviewing and connect to it in ways that heighten energy and generate interest for the reader. Was the book well written? Is the material interesting and authentic? Does it foster the relationship between director and directee? Are issues that arise in spiritual direction illuminated? Does it honor dialogue that is cross-cultural and socially conscious? Is there a religious tradition the item is primarily intended for? Who is the general audience? Once the content is established, consider the following questions:
How does this book speak to the issues of spiritual companionship? What is its scholarly or intellectual level? Does it contain graphics, notes, bibliography, or other features? Is its approach narrow or broad? Does it reference other books? Is it reflective of a multicultural, diverse worldview? In what ways would this book help a spiritual companion? Your review need not be entirely praise and recommendation. What improvements would you like to see? Offer your personal response. You might include information about the author, especially if she or he is connected to Spiritual Directors International as a member, office-holder, conference presenter, or author of other books in the field of spiritual direction. Finally, a question that might be helpful to reflect upon after reviewing an item is: “How was I inspired, surprised, challenged, or deeply moved?” by the material.
Each review needs to be approximately 425-500 words in addition to book title, etc. Please refer to back issues of Presencia journal for ranges of style and length. At the beginning of each review, list book title and subtitle, full name of author, place of publication, publisher, date, number of pages, and price (if known). An image of the book cover (if it is photogenic) may accompany your review. Submit your review electronically to [email protected] in a Microsoft Word document, or insert the text in an e-mail. Please include a few sentences about yourself for your biographical note. Your review may be edited for content, style, and length.
