Writing for the Florida Music Director

There are two types of articles published in the Florida Music Director (FMD):  Featured Articles, and Component and Committee Chair Articles.  The requirements for both types of articles are described below.  Please keep in mind that article length is affected by the published format of each FMD issue (either printed or digital).  All articles are subject to review by the FMD Editor, FMD Editorial Board, the FMEA President, and the Executive Director of the Florida Music Education Association.

Featured Articles

The Florida Music Director publishes featured articles for music educators of all levels, Pre-K through college.  Articles generally focus on concepts for the practitioner with practical ideas applicable to music teachers in all areas.  Articles should clearly identify problems and offer solutions or considerations for addressing concerns or issues.

• Featured articles to be considered for publication are usually 3 to 5 pages in length for printed issues and 5 to 10 pages in length for digital issues. Each page should be approximately 500 words per page, double-spaced, and include references to all citations.  Most articles contain a small number of references for work or information provided by outside sources.  Citation and reference styles should adhere to the latest edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).
• Videos to support or to present information are encouraged for all digital issues. MP4 files that are too large to be sent via email attachment should be sent separately using www.WeTransfer.com or a file sharing service such as Dropbox or Google Drive. We recommend videos be encoded using the YouTube Recommend File Specifications with a minimum resolution of 1080p.  If recording videos with a phone, please hold the phone horizontally: No vertical video please.
• Photos will be considered for all issues. The author must provide credit sources for all photos.  Photographs must be professional and accurately reflect the written article.
• All submissions are reviewed by the Editor of the FMD and may be sent to reviewers for final decisions.
• Articles accepted for publication become property of the Florida Music Education Association.  Requests for reprints of articles should be directed to the Editor at Kelly.Miller@ucf.edu.
  
• Featured Articles must be submitted in electronic form (email) and will be reviewed by the Editorial Committee. The Editor, working with FMEA staff, will assign placement of submitted articles upon approval. Graphics associated with submissions must be in tiff or jpeg formats attached to the article with designation of graphic within the article.  Each author should submit a biography of no more than fifty words.  Email articles and bios to Kelly.Miller@ucf.edu with a copy to val@fmea.org

Component and Committee Chair Articles

Component and Committee Chair articles are due on the 1st of each month.  This will give the needed time to review submissions and check any editing with the authors.  Please limit the length of all component articles to 500 words.  If you have a topic that requires more length, please inquire about the feasibility and space available for an article, rather than using the component column.

A current picture of each president or chair will also need to be on file in the FMEA Office and will appear with each column, as well as on the Board of Directors page and website.

The FMD uses the New York Times Style Manual and all submissions will be edited to conform to that style.  

Email all component and committee chair articles as Microsoft Word .docx or .rtf files to val@fmea.org.