Submission Guidelines

Heart of the Matter Online’s unique style consists of educational journeys, inspirational tutorials, and joyful experiences submitted by “real people.”  Our vision is to bridge the gap between the child and the parent, a relationship designed by God. We hope to provide resources so that families can take ultimate control of their child’s well-being and education, as well as articles that are informative, engaging, factual but entertaining, and above all, filled with love!

Submit

Want to join the Heart of the Matter team? Whether you are looking to become a scheduled writer or wish to submit a one-time piece we are always looking for writers that are talented, engaging and have a passion for mentoring homeschool families.

Guidelines

Your article must meet our guidelines to be considered. Articles should be edited carefully for spelling, grammar, and form. It should appear as you would like to see them published.  Please email your submissions to submissions@heartofthematteronline.com. Along with your submission please include your First and Last Name, State or Country where you reside, Email Address, and the Date. We only accept electronic submissions. Any submission sent to any other Heart of the Matter email address may be automatically rejected without notice.

• Articles must be between 750 and 1200 words.
• Formatting must be set to Times New Roman, 12pt including before the paragraph and a single return between paragraphs. Please do not indent or format your submission. If submitting a Word document all pictures MUST be sent separately or the article may be rejected in its entirety.
• Articles must be non-fiction pieces that target families with children from birth through college. We are looking for projects, crafts, and well-researched  information that appeals to a wide variety of families and will inform families on subjects relevant to their lives. Write what you know (i.e. special needs, large family schooling, organization, unit studies, and so on.)
• Articles must be written from a biblical, not doctrinal, perspective. We welcome the use of scripture but be advised that we do not accept devotional style material. Scripture is not required.
• Each quarterly magazine issue is theme based and the content you submit should be relevant to the theme. Please see our Contribute Page for current opportunities.
• The following must be included on the first page: the author’s name, address, email address, phone number, title of piece and the word count of the article.

Response
We make every attempt to respond as quickly as possible. However, please understand that it may take us a few weeks or up to a few months to reply. If you have submitted an article and we have not responded within two months please feel free to contact us about the status of our decision.

Acceptance
If you are accepted you will be notified via email. We will then let you know when your article will appear and we will also request a short biography and photo to accompany your article. This will be needed within 3 days. Ownership of the articles remains with the author however, once an article is published it will not be removed from the site.

Payment
Writers are not compensated for articles submitted to The Heart of the Matter. Submissions are done on a voluntary basis alone.

Be Advised

We reserve the right to:

• Edit for content, length, or wording
• Change title if it does not suit the content
• Refuse any article at any time that does not best serve the Heart of the Matter audience.

Our readers dislike condescending and judgmental articles.  We want to meet the needs of every family. That includes those in urban and suburban areas; families with moms that stay-at-home or work outside of the home; families that consist of lots of children or just one child, single dads or single moms, new families, homeschooling families or co-schooling families, grandparents or other family that are primary caretakers of children. All classes, all races, all denominations have the one thing in common: a desire to be the very best that they can be.We retain the right to Editorial Discretion when reviewing the articles being submitted.This includes the right to change ‘slang’, wording, and reject photos submitted as well as reject the article entirely. We will, however, make every attempt to maintain your personal flair in your article.

Any article found to be plagiarism may result in legal action. Please make sure all of your sources are are given proper credit.

Photographs

Photographs must be horizontal, must be at least 600px (width) by 400px (height) or larger, of good quality, with a clean background and proper lighting. The editors reserve the right to refuse any photographs that do not meet standards.

By submitting your article you agree to the following:

I certify that I am the author or sole owner of the article that I am submitting to Heart of the Matter and its subsidiaries. I certify that I have given reference to any sources that may have been cited within the article. I certify that I have permission to use any copyrighted material within the article. I give permission to Heart of the Matter to publish, display, edit, modify, and otherwise use the material for any purpose in any form and on any media. I understand that I am giving Heart of the Matter non-exclusive rights to archive my article on the site for future readers for an indefinite amount of time. I understand that I do not lose rights to my work at any point in time.