Guidelines for Writing Nuts & Bolts department articles for Natural Home

Includes: Main article, Sidebar, Do/Don’t Box, Chart, List of Resources

Natural Home’s “Nuts & Bolts” department follows a specific style and format, so please refer to a recent article to see how its various elements have been done in the past.

Here’s the type of information we want to cover on the product categories we spotlight in Nuts & Bolts:

• What kinds of green options to conventional products are available to consumers?
• What are the particular assets of greener alternatives? Why are they more eco-friendly and healthier for people and the planet than conventional?
• Details on the pros and cons of these more natural options. (For instance, perhaps a product is less toxic, but it may not be as long-lasting as the more toxic version.)
• What to expect when installing and using these products.
• Is the natural product more expensive, and if so, how is that cost justified?

Here are the basic guidelines for the components of your article that you must provide:

1. Main Text: 700–800 words on the product options in the category

Please compare the natural products with their conventional counterparts and explain the benefits of the natural options.

You should also interview one or two experts on the subject—ideally individuals who aren’t manufacturers who will have a vested interest in their particular product. (Good interviewees would be members of national associations, green builders or consultants, and/or retailers of green materials who are familiar with more than one brand of a product.)

• Discuss the green options—what works, what doesn’t, what problems have occurred with the products, what manufacturers have done to address them.

2. Sidebar: (200 words) Pick an interesting short subject that relates to the subject matter such as “How to Lay Tiles” that you think readers will really benefit from and go into detail about it in easily understood terms.

3. Do/Don’t Box: (30 words total) List one “Do” tip and one “Don’t” tip that applies to what to expect when installing or using the product.

4. Chart: Please discuss content with the assigning editor. The chart could give a quick overview showing the pros and cons of each particular product. Or, it could cover some other content that will be handy for the reader and that lends itself to chart form. Keep it brief with minimal words (but be complete with the information).

5. Resources: List 5 to 10 resources where readers can buy the green products mentioned. Include company name, phone number, web address and a one-line product description. (See recent Nuts & Bolts resource boxes).

A Few Words about Fact Checking

• The information in your article—whether long or short—needs to be attributed. If you’re writing about topics such as pesticides and health, water purity, or about the environmental impact of certain actions, you need to cite expert sources. These may include leading researchers, government agencies (EPA), environmental groups (Pesticide Action Network), or other valid groups that distribute reliable information.

• We expect you to turn in an article that is accurate, and we will fact-check it before publication. To expedite that process, you must include a list of sources and contacts for your piece. This information may not be published in the final article, but it MUST be supplied for fact-checking.

• Quoting from books, studies, and journals may be necessary for your article. Please note them in your text. The information may be edited out of the final version, but at least this way the source is right at our fingertips. And, when you quote from a printed source, you should make a photocopy of the pertinent page and mail it to the editorial office. If you’re quoting from Web information, please include the URL in parentheses right in the text. We’ll edit it out after we’ve checked the piece.

If you’re quoting from a book: List the author, title, publisher, and year. The Green Kitchen Handbook by Annie Berthold-Bond (Harper Perennial, 1997).

If you’re citing an article: List the full name of the publication (no abbreviations), date published (either Month, Day, and Year, or Volume and Number), and page numbers (New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 45, no. 3; May/June 2002, p. 203-224.) Scientific journals are acceptable sources, but consumer magazines generally aren’t.

• Quoting authors and experts: Please list the person’s professional affiliation, place of business, and academic degrees. Use M.D. or Ph.D. (sandwiched between commas) behind the name. Andrew Weil, M.D., of Arizona State University, wrote the book; not Dr. Andrew Weil.

• For the fact-checker to verify quotes and information cited in your article, you need to provide contact information for each person interviewed, including a phone number and an email if possible. This is critical, since we may need a new quote, clarification, or even approval if the quoted information is controversial.