Guidelines for Submitting to The Siren Who can submit? What kinds of work can I submit? Are there any limitations on length? What about using copyrighted material in my video or audio production? Will my submission definitely be published in The Siren? Are there limits on how many pieces I can submit? How do I submit? When do I submit? What if I have questions about the process?

Guidelines for Submitting to The Siren

 

The Siren is entering a new phase in its history.  For the first time, the staff of The Siren would like to invite the entire student body to submit creative work to be published in our literary web magazine.  Check out these guidelines to find out more about how this works.

 

Who can submit?

 

Students of any grade level who are currently enrolled at Sion may submit to The Siren.  Teachers and members of the Sion staff, you are also invited to submit.  In most cases we will NOT accept submissions from students not currently enrolled at Sion; however, we reserve the right to make exceptions (for example, we may on occasion accept a submission from a Sion alum).

 

What kinds of work can I submit?

 

The Siren is defining itself this year as a a "literary magazine."  However, we are asking that you consider the word "literary" in a broader sense, to encompass any creative work that demonstrates imagination and originality.  Here are some categories or genres of work we are looking for:

 

• Short fiction 
• Poetry
• Personal essays / narratives
• Works of art in tradititional media (paint, pastels, ceramic, etc.), two- or three-dimensional
• Short movies.  Types of movies you may wish to submit:  documentary, fictional (scripted movie with actors, props, etc.), slide show, live performance recording, interview, flash animation, how-to . . .  do some research on the web to explore other ideas.
• Photo essays.  A photo essay is a collection of photographs that are connected stylistically, topically, or thematically.  We strongly suggest that you submit creative text to accompany each photograph. 
• Audio productions.  Types of audio productions you may wish to submit:  documentary, radio drama/comedy, live performance recording, essay reading, storytelling, interview, how-to . . . you may wish to explore audio podcasts in iTunes to gather ideas.

 

Are there any limitations on length?

 

Yes, for some types of submissions.  Here they are:

 

• Short fiction:  5000 words
• Essays:  3000 words
• Photo essays:  10 photographs
• Audio productions:  15 minutes
• Movies:  15 minutes 

 

What about using copyrighted material in my video or audio production?

 

If you must use any copyrighted material, give full credit to the source and use only a small amount of the work (that is, a small amount in relation to the whole).  For example, if you need to use a popular song for a movie production, do not use more than 30 seconds of the song.  We are interpreting 30 seconds of a song as within the realm of "fair use."   When in doubt, email us at ndsiren@gmail.com or consult this page:   fairusechecklist.pdf.

 

Will my submission definitely be published in The Siren?

 

We hope to publish the majority of the work that we receive.  However, we reserve the right to reject some submissions.  Criteria for acceptance include but are not limited to the following:

 

• Submission guidelines have been followed.
• Fair use guidelines have been followed with copyrighted material.
• In cases where revision is requested, the feedback has been seriously considered and concerted effort at revision has been applied.
• The student has made a genuine effort to acknowledge and/or abide by the basic conventions of the genre or form.  An example of NOT making a genuine effort to abide by basic conventions:  student submits a 2000 word personal narrative that contains only two paragraph breaks. 
• Nonfiction content is free of egregious factual errors.
• Gratuitous, sensationalized, inappropriate, rude or deliberately offensive content has been avoided.  Borderline cases will be referred to the Siren's publication board.

 

Are there limits on how many pieces I can submit?

 

You may submit no more than two works at a time.  After your submitted work has been accepted and published OR you have received notice of rejection, you may submit again.

 

 

How do I submit?

 

Follow these steps:

 

Text submissions

 

1. Place at the top of the document:  full name, grade level, phone number, email address, title of piece.  Save as a Word document and name the file "lastnameshortenedtitle.doc" (the .doc extension will automatically be added). For example, if your name is Angela Butel and you are submitting a poem called "Rubik's Cube,"  you would name your document  "butelrubiks."
2. Email the document as an attachment to the Siren email address: ndsiren@gmail.com.  Wait for a confirmation.  Continue checking your email, as you may receive a version with comments inserted and suggestions for revision.

 

Artwork submissions (traditional media):

 

1. Decide on a title for your piece.  Scan or photograph your work with a digital camera.  Note that there is a scanner in the library.  If you are scanning, please choose 300 dpi as your resolution.  Save in the jpeg format.  Save as "lastnameshortenedtitle."  For example, if your name is Mary Lincoln and the title of your work is "Portrait of Abe While Enjoying His Oatmeal," save as "lincolnportraitabe." 
2. Write the following into an email message:  full name, grade level, phone number, full title of piece.  Attach the image file to the email.  Email to:  ndsiren@gmail.com. 

 

Photo essay submission:

 

1. Decide on 10 or fewer photos that you want to put together into a photo essay.  Make sure that these photos are linked thematically, topically, or stylistically.  Put the ten photos into a folder on your computer, move the folder onto a flash drive.  Make sure the folder is named clearly.  If the individual photos have numbers for file names, that's fine.  DO NOT SUBMIT MORE THAN TEN PHOTOS.  
2. Open up a Word document.  At the top of the document, write the following:  full name, grade level, phone number, email address, title of photo essay.   Next, write some text to accompany your photo essay, if you want text to accompany it.  You can make the text straightforward, like photo captions in a newspaper, or you can compose something more creative to accompany the work.  You could write a short reflection to go with the entire piece.  If you like to write poetry, you could do something like write one haiku for each image; you might want to write one longer poem, and decide which lines are displayed with which images.   In any case, if you you are using a separate piece of text to accompany each photo, you need to break it down clearly in your document.  The simplest way is to place the file name for the photo above the text that goes with each photo.  If the file names for the photos are numbers, just put the number of the photo above the text that goes with that photo.
3. Save the word document with this naming guideline:  "lastnameshortenedtitle."  So if your name is Jesse James and your photo essay is called "Banks of Missouri," your document name would be something like "jamesbanks.doc".  Place the word document in the same folder that contains the images on your flash drive.
4. Write your name on your flash drive.  Drop flash drive off in room 205, Ms. Hodge's desk.  Place in the box labeled "Siren submissions."  You can pick it back up within a few days.

 

Movie submission:

 

1. When editing movie, please try to add title at beginning and credits at end.  In credits you need to acknowledge source of any copyrighted material used (see above section on copyright).  You also need to give credit to anyone involved in making the movie.  Make sure movie is in either mp4 or Quicktime format.  Save it with this naming guideline:  "lastnameshortenedtitle."  So if your last name is Cameron and your movie is a how-to knitting movie called "Cabling 101," save it as "cameroncabling."  Save it to a flash drive in its own folder.
2. Open up a word document.  Write the following into it:  full name, grade level, phone number, email address, title of movie.  Below that, write any information you want to share about the making of the movie.  If you didn't place any credits in the movie itself, you definitely want to place them here, if you had any help with recording or you used copyrighted music (remember that you may not use more than 30 seconds.)  Save word document with same naming guidelines:  "lastnameshortenedtitle."  Save the document in the same folder on the flash drive.
3. Write your name on your flash drive.  Drop flash drive off in room 205, Ms. Hodge's desk.  Place in the box labeled "Siren submissions."  You can pick it back up within a few days.

 

Audio submission:

 

1. When editing audio segment, please try to add an intro that gives a name to the piece, introduces it, and gives full credit to everyone involved.  If you use any copyrighted song clips (see above section on copyright), give full credit to source in the "outro" at the end.  Save the piece as an mp3 or a wav file.  Save it with this naming guideline:  "lastnameshortenedtitle."  So if your name is Sharon Smith and your audio segment is called "The World According to Broadway Cafe Regulars," save it as something like "smithbroadwaycafe."  Save it to a flash drive in its own folder.
2. Open up a word document.  Write the following into it:  full name, grade level, phone number, email address, title of audio production.  Below that, write any information you want to share about the making of the piece.  If you didn't place any credits in the audio segment, you definitely want to place them here, if you had any help with recording or you used copyrighted music (remember that you may not use more than 30 seconds.)  Save word document with same naming guidelines:  "lastnameshortenedtitle."  Save the document in the same folder on the flash drive.
3. Write your name on your flash drive.  Drop flash drive off in room 205, Ms. Hodge's desk.  Place in the box labeled "Siren submissions."  You can pick it back up within a few days.

 

When do I submit?

 

First semester submissions will be accepted between now and December 1st.  Second semester submissions will be accepted between the Jan. 5th and May 1st.

 

What if I have questions about the process?

 

After you have read this document, email The Siren at ndsiren@gmail.com or come by room 205 after school.