The current guest article guidelines are below. They are always being tweaked and edited as needed, so please be prepared to be flexible. Everything we do is in the best interest of the readers! Thank you.

Guest Author Guidelines:

All of our core contributors and most of our guest contributors have at least 15 years of experience. However, depending on the subject and quality of the article, we will consider submissions from anyone in the field. We will need proof of qualifications and references before publishing any articles. Articles should focus on topics directly relating to concert band.

No mentioning of specific businesses, products etc. This includes the article itself and the short bio at the end.

Guest contributions should aim to be between 500-1500 words (roughly) depending on how much you need to cover the subject. Hopefully, you can see from reading the site that our vision is “an inch wide and mile deep.” So whatever we post is a very small idea explained in very large detail.  

It must have at least one (more is better) engaging picture -no student faces. It must be a picture you take yourself (for example, on your phone) not one from on-line. We are very respectful about copyright. Everything must be the original source. All photos/graphics should be .jpg if possible. If this is not possible, let me know and we’ll see what we can work out.  Here are 2 examples – engaging picture, pictures to enhance post. When submitting images with an article, please send them as separate files.

The editor will make edits based on readability, content, tone, and prior posts on the site. The guest author will be able to decide whether or not to accept the edits. Both parties will agree before anything is posted. Submitting the article doesn’t guarantee it will be posted – we don’t commit to any new guest authors before reading the actual article.

Articles can be posted anytime within 6 months of final approval (it is usually within 2 months). If possible, follow the BDTS Facebook page so you can share your article and respond positively to any questions or comments that are posted on your article. 

Names/bios of guest authors will be at the bottom of the article and can be anywhere from 1-4 sentences. (There is also an option to publish anonymously. The editors will still need your bio to verify experience but the name of the author does not have to be included online.)

What to do next:

1. Please read a number of our articles (10 or more) to get a feel for our site expectations
2. Come up with 1 or more ideas of posts with a 1 paragraph description for each idea
3. Write up your 1-4 sentence bio. Again, check the site for examples.
4. Email banddirector@banddirectorstalkshop.com with your proposals and bios and we’ll try to reply within 2 weeks.

Thanks for your interest in contributing to BandDirectorsTalkShop.com!