Editorial Submissions
Writing for Site Prep
We are pleased to hear of your interest in writing for Site Prep magazine and look forward to working with you. Site Prep is a national publication for contractors that focuses on site preparation for construction, including site clearing, demolition, earthmoving, utilities and environmental activities.
Articles for Site Prep generally fall into one of the following categories: project profiles, practical application articles, new technology discussions, business management articles and personal profiles.
Articles must be impartial, unbiased discussions of advances in technology, developments in methods and beneficial techniques. All articles must be exclusive to Site Prep magazine.
Article Length and Graphics
A standard-length article ranges between 1,800-2,200 words with three graphics. Case studies and columns are shorter, generally around 1,000 words with one graphic.
We usually include a minimum of three pictures with each standard-length article. Choose images that depict the essence of the process, including shots of equipment in action. Our graphic requirements are available for reference; please be sure to review our requirements because we have stringent standards for graphic quality.
Article Submittal
Articles can be e-mailed to Editor Karen M. Scally at scallyk@bnpmedia.com or sent on CD/USB to Site Prep, 2401 W. Big Beaver Rd., Suite 700, Troy, MI 48084. Please ensure the document you send is saved in Microsoft Word or text-only format.
Please also include an author byline and brief author bio. Authors of articles must be different than those quoted in the body of the piece. The person in the byline is viewed as the “interviewer” of those quoted in the article. (This excludes first-person submittals.)
We require receipt of articles at least two months before issue date, preferably in the first business week of that month. For example, the deadline for an article submitted for our April issue would be the first week of February. This allows us time for edits, questions, approvals, layout and production.
Upon receipt of your article, Site Prep editors will review and edit your article for content (organization, flow, etc.) and style (grammar, punctuation and spelling), and may contact you with questions. All final decisions on style and content are at the discretion of the editing staff.
Editorial Rights
All materials submitted to Site Prep must be accompanied by a signed release form, which will be e-mailed to you as a PDF. Signing and returning this form ensures that you grant Site Prep’s parent company, BNP Media, the rights to publish your material across all of its formats. Forms must be signed and faxed to 248-786-1398 or scanned and e-mailed to scallyk@bnpmedia.com.
Writing Guidelines
This list of guidelines highlights the typical information that should be included in a project/application article submitted to Site Prep.
Describe the theme of the story. Think of its appeal to contractors around the country. Ask yourself, “Why would I want to read this?” Be creative and use details.
Walk the reader through your experience. Basically, just tell a story. Be real. Describe the project and how you and your crews did the work.
Name any equipment used and how. Be sure to list the make and model of each piece of equipment used on the site, including machines, special attachments, etc.
Include contract elements such as contract value, size of site, scope of work, scheduled completion date, etc.
Explain any problems that arose during the project and how they were overcome. Problems are nearly inevitable and happen to everyone. Explaining the ways they were overcome lends credibility to you and your company.
Explain how the process is beneficial. Describe the benefits of the process you used over other processes, if applicable (e.g., GPS machine control over conventional grading and staking).
Include quotes from those involved in the project. Please include job titles for each person quoted in the article. Quotes are very important to a story; they lend the personal touch and weight that our readers want by proving real people completed the job.
Final Checklist
After you’ve finished writing, ask yourself these questions:
- Read your piece aloud. Step back, and think of yourself as the reader, not the author. Does it make sense? Is it easy to read? Is it interesting?
- Are all names of individuals, companies and equipment manufacturers spelled correctly?
- Are all job titles, company locations and addresses accurate?
- Are all quotes accurate and approved by the speakers?
- Have you written brief descriptions of all photos to be used as captions?
- Have you included an author bio? If not, write two sentences that summarize your current position and career experience.
Need Help?
Remember that you don’t have to be an experienced writer to submit an article to Site Prep. That’s why we’re here. Simply concentrate on the technical and practical details of the article, and we’ll help with the other details.
We welcome any questions you have along the way and are happy to help you at any stage of the writing process. Contact Editor Karen M. Scally at scallyk@bnpmedia.com or 248-244-6465.