Write for Us!
From the start, each issue of C&B News is essentially a compilation of whatever has been submitted to our editorial inbox by the announced deadline. We welcome articles, letters, photography, illustrations, cartoons, etc, from anyone who lives in, has connections with, or is able to write with authority about the neighbouring communities of Balerno, Currie, Juniper Green, Baberton Mains, and/or Colinton.
Although issues now regularly consist of 48 pages, available editorial space can be tight; we therefore retain the right to edit submissions as required.
If you haven’t contributed to C&B News before, please get in touch with the editor first to ensure that what you want to write about isn’t something already being covered by someone else.
© Copyright
You will always retain ownership of your articles and photography. However, submission of any material to C&B News will be taken as permission for us to publish your contributions in both our print and digital editions.
Articles published by C&B News may also be republished by The Scottish Beacon, the collaborative network of independent local and hyperlocal newsrooms of which C&B News is a founding member.
Do please let us know if any aspect of your submission has been created by someone else, and that you have their permission to use it. This is particularly the case of photographs—just because a picture is freely available online doesn’t mean it’s actually free to use.
Deadlines
Submission deadlines for forthcoming editions are listed here; each issue also includes the next edition’s details as part of the production credits on page 2.
Please consider these deadlines sancrosanct, as we have made commitments to deliver each issue on specific dates to our printer, our advertisers and – of course – our readers.
Submitting your article even just a week after the listed deadline means your work will most likely be first-in-line for the next edition. That might be too late for you—especially when it comes to our double-month summer and winter issues (July/August, and December/January).
Types of articles
C&B News publishes a range of articles:
• NEWS STORIES: (150-300 words) Usually focused on recent or forthcoming events, and local people, these should ideally be written in the third person and from an impartial/objective perspective.
We are happy to include reports of local group meetings in our “Local Updates” pages, which round off the news pages each issue.
Ideally accompanied by a photograph or three.
• FEATURES: (400-600 words). Occasionally less time-specific, but nevertheless still relevant; these articles are focused on a particular community organisation, project or activity.
These can be written in a more informal (or first person) style, but still in continuous English—please avoid using bullet points or particularly “imaginative” formatting.
Ideally accompanied by a photograph or three.
• COMMENT: (300-600 words) C&B News is happy to carry opinion pieces – from either individuals or organisations –within its “Views” section.
The paper already regularly gives space to the area’s MP, Constituency and interested List MSPs, local City of Edinburgh Council ward councillors, and members of the four Community Councils operating within our distribution area.
Ideally accompanied by … Oh, you get the idea!
• LETTERS: (up to 300 words) These can be on any topic relevant to our communities. You must include your name and which “village” you live in, but do let us know if you would prefer us not to publish your name in the magazine.
• WHAT’S ON: Our regular listings section details both regular and one-off local events, meetings and activities across the five villages. For more information on what information to provide, please check here.
Some more advice
• DO submit all articles as either an attached Word file or as text pasted within the body of your email.
• DO include a byline (your name, as you would like it to appear in the paper: eg, Jane Smith) and your affiliation (eg. Balerno Bowling Club, Currie Resident, etc).
• DO let us know if you would prefer your name not to be included and we will consider your request. It has always been our policy NOT to publish anything submitted anonymously.
• DO list contact details, event listings information or other “calls to action” at the end of your article. This means we can highlight the information more easily, making it simpler for readers to find.
• DO keep website URLs as short as possible, since many interested readers will have to type them manually from the print edition. If necessary, use services such as tiny.url or bit.ly to create shorter URLs. (Warning: if you don’t, WE WILL!)
• Alternatively, DO feel free to submit a relevant QR Code and we will endeavour to include it.
Photographs
In recent years it is fair to say that C&B News has benefited from the near ubiquity of digital photography. It is rare now for us to publish many articles which do not have at least one photograph connected with them, and we encourage contributors to do so.
Please attach photographs as individual image files; DO NOT embed them into a Word document or PDF, etc.
If you fear the files will be too big to email, please use a free file-transfer service like WeTransfer, Dropbox or Google Drive.
Whenever possible, let us know the name of the photographer, so we can credit them on the page. We generally don’t use watermarked photographs as we believe placing photo credits underneath the images makes them easier to read.
It is also helpful if you can list any individuals (age 13 or older) depicted in the photographs—normally from left to right, top to bottom. Regarding children under 13, please confirm the permission of their parent, guardian or care-giver for us to publish their image in the magazine.
Please note, if you’re hoping your photograph might be a contender for use on either our front or back covers, it ideally should be a “portrait” image—that is, taller than it is wide.
Style Guide
Regarding spelling, formatting and grammar, C&B News largely (though not exclusively) follows the Style Guide published by The Guardian newspaper, as it’s among the most comprehensive, detailed, and easily accessible out there.
This isn’t about it being “right” or “wrong”, per se; it’s simply about avoiding potentially distracting inconsistencies in writing style across a publication which relies on at least 50 different contributors each issue.
For example: C&B News formats dates thus: number, month, year—as in: 23 November 2024. Also note: the name of the publication is C&B News, not “CandB NEWS”, “C+B News” or even “the C and B news”.
Any more questions?
Please email Paul Fisher Cockburn via editor@candbnews.com