Mission
Speaker is the official member publication of the National Speakers Association. Its purpose is to inform, educate and provide expertise to NSA members and others interested in the speaking industry. Our members have diverse backgrounds, though all are professional speakers who earn their income in part or whole through professional speaking, or are affiliate members who supply services to professional speakers.
Manuscript Submissions and Article Pitches
You can submit a manuscript or an article "pitch" to Speaker magazine. Articles that provide unique ideas or perspectives that specifically address the current needs and concerns of professional speakers are favored over generic articles. For greater consideration, submit an article pitch, which includes a specific focus (not topic) that answers this question: Why is this relevant, timely and interesting to professional speakers? Pitches also must include the name of the intended author, expert resources and length of article.
Any articles submitted for publication in Speaker should not be submitted elsewhere for publication. Articles that have been previously accepted or published elsewhere will rarely be accepted for publication in Speaker.
NOTE: The Editorial Advisory Board accepts primarily original, exclusive material written or submitted by NSA members in good standing. Occasionally, articles are written by non-members or freelancers with a particular expertise that benefits the membership (e.g., an attorney writing about copyright). All submissions must follow the guidelines outlined here for serious consideration.
Manuscript Content
The content of articles should fit easily into one of the four NSA competency areas and cover a range of categories and trends affecting professional speakers:
- Expertise
- Eloquence
- Enterprise
- Ethics
Please indicate whether the manuscript or proposed article is intended as a feature story or for one of the magazine's columns such as "Beyond Borders" or "Welcome to My World." Letters to the Editor, which express individual members' reactions to specific articles, also are encouraged. All letters should be typed, double spaced and 150 words or less. Letters must be of general interest to the membership and should not be self-promotional.
Manuscript Preparation
To have your submission considered for publication, it must be accompanied by a signed Article Release Form.
Speaker publishes articles that range in length from 500 (columns) to 1,500 (features) words. The editor reserves the right to reduce articles that are too long for the available space.
All submissions should be in MSWord format and be sent as attachments. Send them to Barbara Parus, Managing Editor, at Barbara@nsaspeaker.org.
The style of Speaker is journalistic, not academic. References need to be included when 1) Words have been quoted exactly from a source, or 2) Ideas or concepts are derived from a source that is not widely known; references should be incorporated into the text rather than supplied as footnotes.
References are not needed when ideas are paraphrased rather than quoted.
Writing Style
The tone of Speaker magazine is conversational, active and provides illustration to tell a story so that readers are left with a takeaway: useful information they can apply to their speaking business.
- Professional speakers have a range of specialties. Jargon and technical terms specific to a particular industry should be avoided. Acronyms should be spelled out on first use.
- Ethical, ethnic and prejudicial statements and implications should be carefully scrutinized before sending your submission. All self-promoting references must be omitted (e.g., "For more information, contact..."; "I'm offering a special discount on my services...").
- Gender-inclusive language is essential (e.g., "he or she" rather than "he"). Use plural pronouns to avoid the awkwardness of he or she whenever possible. Speaker is published 10 times annually (Jan./Feb., March, April, May, June, July/August, September, October, November, December). No issues are published in February and August due to NSA Convention and Workshops held during these months.
Review Process
E-mail all submissions to Barbara Parus at Barbara@nsaspeaker.org. Or, mail hard copies to:
National Speakers Association
Speaker Magazine/Managing Editor
1500 S. Priest Drive
Tempe, AZ 85281
You will receive confirmation that your manuscript or article pitch was received. The manuscript will be reviewed by NSA's Managing Editor as well as the current Editorial Advisory Board. Submission of an article does not guarantee publication. Articles accepted for publication usually appear four to six months after submission. No submission will be returned. Authors are urged to keep a file copy when submitting an article or news item to NSA.
Conditions of Acceptance
If accepted for publication, submissions/articles will be edited for style and clarity and galley copies will not be returned to author for approval. Manuscript submissions as well as the article release form implies author agreement with this policy.
The National Speakers Association retains first North American serial rights, electronic rights as well as nonexclusive reprint rights. Authors of articles retain all other rights. Speaker does not pay for manuscripts from members. Published articles from members are considered contributions to the discipline.