Feature Articles

Publishing Opportunities for ASPRS Sustaining Member Companies

Feature Articles showcase how technologies, produced by sustaining member companies, are being used in the industry. These articles are semi-technical or non-technical and meant to extend the impact of PE&RS to an even broader range of readers. Each article should address topics of broader interests with a strong impact on the geospatial community and accommodate the interests of readers with a diverse level of geospatial knowledge. ASPRS does not pay for articles but PE&RS is a good public relations/marketing vehicle as it is read and recognized around the world. An article in PE&RS will bring recognition to your company.

Though subject to professional editing, Feature Articles are not to be peer-reviewed and therefore should not contain lengthy lists of references or complex equations. High quality photos and graphics are encouraged.

Feature Article Proposal Preparation and Submission
Interested authors should send a short (150 – 300 words) proposal to PE&RS Feature Article Editor for review. The proposal should include the title, the authors and their affiliations, the intended audience, summary of the work, its impact and significance, and a brief description of supporting graphics you will provide. Proposals will typically be acknowledged within 3-5 business days.

Submitting Manuscripts
Once the proposal has been approved, authors must submit the full manuscript electronically in Microsoft Word format to the Feature Editor following the guidelines outlined below. With your submission please also include your address, contact information, and a brief biographical paragraph that specifies the way you prefer your byline to appear, your title, your affiliation, and any relevant experience. Upon receiving the manuscript, the Feature Editor will notify the corresponding author of its receipt. Each submitted Feature Article will be reviewed by the Feature Article Editor with help from the Editorial Board to determine whether it is suitable for publication. All articles accepted for publication are subject to copy editing for clarity and for conformity with the PE&RS style guidelines. Authors will be expected to review the final galley proofs before publication.

Publication Duration
Getting an article from idea to publication varies. The typical lead time between the final submission and publication is one to two months.

Format Guidelines
Manuscripts submitted must be prepared as outlined below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the guidelines will be returned for format revisions before they will be considered.

1) Typing: All pages must be numbered at the bottom of the page and double-spaced. An 11 or 12-point font such as Times New Roman or Arial is preferred. Authors should use 8.5 by 11-inch or A4 International (210- by 297-mm) paper size with 30-mm (1.25 inch) margins all around.

2) Length: Feature Articles can vary from 650 words up to 2,500 words with additional images, graphs, tables, diagrams, or other appropriate illustrations.

3)Title: Authors should strive for titles no longer than eight words.

4) Figures and tables: All figures and tables must be cited in the text. Authors should note that figures and tables will usually be reduced in size to optimize use of space and should be designed accordingly. For purposes of initial review, figures and tables can be embedded in the manuscript. However, it should be noted that accepted articles will require that all figures be submitted as separate high-resolution (300 dpi) png, pdf, jpeg, or tif graphic files. Illustrations should be 300 dpi eps, pdf, or tiff images. If the manuscript contains copyrighted imagery, a copyright statement must be included in the caption (e.g. ©SPOT Image Copyright [year] CNES).

5) Color illustrations: A few color illustrations may be included, at no cost, as long as they add value to the article. The Feature Article Editor will contact the corresponding author if there are any questions regarding color illustrations.

6) Metric system: The metric system (SI Units) will be employed throughout a manuscript except in cases where the English System has special merit stemming from accepted conventional usage (e.g. 9- by 9-inch photograph, 6-inch focal length). Authors should refer to “Usage of the International System of Units,” Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing [itals]1978 44 (7): 923-938.

7) Equations: Keep equations to a minimum. Authors who believe that equations are necessary should express equations as simply as possible. They should include only those equations required by an average reader to understand the technical arguments in the manuscript. Manuscripts that appear to have excessive mathematical notation may be returned to the author for revision. Whenever possible authors are encouraged to use the Insert and Symbol capabilities of Microsoft Word to build simple equations. If that is not possible, the author must indicate, in the letter of transmittal, which software was used to create the equations. Microsoft Equation, Microsoft Equation Editor or MathType format should be used only if absolutely necessary. Equations must be numbered but unlike tables, figures, color images and line drawings, should be embedded in the text file.  

8) References: A complete and accurate reference list of works cited in the text is essential. Cite references to published literature in the text in alphabetical order by authors’ last names and date. For example, Jones (1979), Jones and Smith (1979), or (Jones 1979; Jones and Smith 1979) depending on sentence construction. If there are more than two authors, they should be cited as Jones et. al. (1979) or (Jones et. al. 1979). Personal communications and unpublished data or reports should not be included in the reference list but should be shown parenthetically in the text (Jones unpublished data 1979). For more specifics on references please refer to the Reference Section of the Instructions for Authors of Peer-reviewed Articles. [put that in quotes? – maybe provide a link]

9) Journal cover. Authors of a Feature Article often purchase the cover of PE&RS for the month their article is published. This cover can demonstrate some aspect of the article. Please note that purchasing a cover for a particular issue of PE&RS does not guarantee publication of a Feature Article. The article must meet the publication criteria outlined above. For more information about purchasing the cover please contact: PE&RS Advertising, Bill Spilman, Phone: 877-878-3260, Email: bill@innovativemediasolutions.com.

We look forward to your submissions. If you have further questions about these Guidelines or wish to submit an article proposal, please contact:

PE&RS Feature Editor:
Michael Joos, CP, GISP
featureeditor@asprs.org