Arches editors Chuck Luce and Cathy Tollefson

On this page:
Arches staff and contact information
Frequency and circulation
Arches mission
Environmentally friendly printing practices
Guidelines for contributors

STAFF
Chuck Luce, editor and designer
cluce@pugetsound.edu
253.879.3318

Cathy Tollefson ’83, assistant editor, Class Notes
ctollefson@pugetsound.edu
253.879.2762

Barbara Weist, Web manager
bweist@pugetsound.edu
253.879.2691

CIRCULATION
Frequency: Quarterly.
Circulation: 40,500 worldwide, concentrated in the western United States

MISSION
Arches is published mainly for alumni, but also for students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of the University of Puget Sound. Its mission is to foster communication among these constituencies and with the university by reporting on issues of importance to both.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PRINTING PRACTICES
1. Arches is printed with soy-based inks on paper that contains at least 10 percent post-consumer waste. The paper is certified by SmartWood to Forest Stewardship Council standards, and it is manufactured 20 miles from where Arches is printed and mailed.

2. Arches is printed using a computer-to-plate process. This process has several environmental advantages over the old film-to-plate technology.

• CTP work flow generates no film to make plates or to produce proofs. That means that we no longer generate eight layers of 30” x 40” film to print each 16-page form of the magazine, and we no longer generate four layers of acetate for every eight pages of proofs. So, no chemicals to make and develop the film, and no film going to the landfill.
• Corrections in a CTP work flow require no film, stripping base, or overlay proofing materials.
• Plates made using a CTP work flow are more precise, which means make-ready times are much shorter, and less paper, ink, and solvents are consumed during make-ready.

3. Printing plates are aluminum, and they are recycled.

4. Inks are soy-based rather than petroleum based, and all leftover inks are recycled.

5. The printing plant has a new recovery system in place that captures ink and solvent gasses and redirects them to the press’ heat-set ovens. This burning not only eliminates the release of VOCs into the air, it also reduces the amount of natural gas the plant uses to heat the ovens by about 60 percent.

6. The plant launders fabric shop rags rather than using a consumable
product.

7. In the plant, all paper waste is shredded and bailed for recycling.

8. On campus, finished magazines not distributed are recycled.

9. The paper Arches is printed on is 100 percent recyclable.

GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Thank you for your inquiry about writing for Arches.
In many ways, Arches is a distillation of the university itself: It is a digest of university news. It is a means of stimulating thought and advancing ideas. It keeps readers informed about the accomplishments of students, faculty, and graduates. And it is a conduit for dialog, allowing alumni to become partners in discussions about issues concerning the university.

Arches facilitates the continued intellectual engagement of its readers, not by promoting Puget Sound but by exemplifying it. It publishes stories that provoke thoughtful people, engage the heart and mind, inform and stimulate debate, and document activities and progress at the university.

Audience
Our readers are sophisticated, well-read people, most of whom have, of course, been to college. They number 32,000 alumni, 2,500 parents, 1,500 friends of the university and other influential people, and 2,000 people on campus and in the neighborhood.

Submissions
While a large portion of Arches is written by staff and regular contributors, we encourage freelance authors to submit query letters for features and departments.
Please note that it’s rare for a writer new to Arches to land a feature assignment. Direct your efforts toward establishing a working relationship with us via department assignments first.

Style
Writing for a university magazine is different than writing for a newspaper or commercial magazine. The stories in Arches are closer in conception and execution to thoughtful essays than to news features. They should involve the reader, awaken the imagination, and have take-away value. We accept only authentic, well-researched, well-crafted stories (see the section on accuracy, below).

As with any magazine, you should carefully review several issues before submitting a query. Major departments are as follows:

Features of between 1,500 and 2,500 words on people, places, or ideas related to the university. These are usually assigned by the editor, but queries and spec stories are considered.

Alumni Profiles, several per issue, 300-600 words, appear interspersed among Class Notes. We choose subjects not because they are rich and famous but because they are interesting or inspiring.

In Their Own Words, personal stories told in the first person.

Zeitgeist, short campus news items, sports, and potpourri, often surprising, off-beat, or humorous.

Process
An assignment letter is signed by the editor and writer before work begins. Arches buys first North American periodical rights. Payment is made when the article is deemed publishable by the editor.

Once an article is accepted, it normally moves steadily through the editing process and is printed in the issue for which it was scheduled. However, requirements of the magazine can change, and occasionally an article is reassigned, postponed, or killed. If your story was accepted for publication but dropped, you will be paid in full. If the story does not meet our requirements, you will be paid 50 percent of the agreed fee.

We prefer to receive submissions via e-mail or on CD.

Accuracy
Arches prides itself on providing readers with reliable information. In general we require confirmation of all facts and figures used within an article from a primary source. You should be aware that it is routine for us to share articles with subjects to check for factual accuracy.

Proposals
If you have not written for Arches before, the best way to start is by writing a long letter to the editors. Tell us what you’ve been reading and writing about, and send at least three samples of your work. Include a SASE if your samples must be returned. We are not responsible for unsolicited artwork, photographs, and manuscripts, so please don’t send originals or anything that you can’t afford to lose.

We will review spec stories but prefer queries over completed works. Allow 6-8 weeks for replies.
 
Photography
Arches uses both stock and assigned photography. Because we use groundwood stock for the magazine, we prefer high-quality color transparencies in any format or high-resolution digital images. We like a variety of images to choose from (two or three dozen), both vertical and horizontal, as well as varying viewpoints and framing. While we often use stock photography to illustrate articles, we have very specific requirements. You are welcome to mail a portfolio; however, please contact us first to let us know it’s coming.

Pay varies according to how a photograph is used, and at what size.

Statistics
Frequency: Quarterly.
Circulation: 40,500 worldwide, concentrated in the western United States
Leadtime: Six months
Payment: Full payment on acceptance. Buys first North American periodical rights. Byline given. Kill fees.
Photos: Photos reproduced in four-color to illustrate content; usually assigned but spec submissions on topics related to the university or people associated with it considered. Credit given, photos returned, payment negotiated.