Department Writing Guidelines Each department is assigned to a specific department editor. If you'd like to contribute a piece to a department, please contact its editor directly. General guidelines Read (or reread) our complete author and editorial guidelines for more information about submission and style. For departments, we try to have articles on a Scientific American level; that is, most of the article should be accessible to a general reader, with perhaps some part of it being more technical. Keep in mind that our department editors want to bring readers information they can really use, not just fluff or marketing material. Word count and formatting Each department editor accepts material in his or her own particular format, so be sure to contact the editor directly before sending in a manuscript. Department articles should be roughly 3,000 words, with illustrations and tables counting as 250 words each. Editing Our ultimate goal is to work closely with you to produce a technically accurate, timely, useful, and readable article. Accordingly, our editing process is entirely iterative: our editors will work back and forth with you until you're pleased with the final results. We'll start by making any needed changes for spelling, grammar, magazine style, and overall clarity and readability. These changes can affect the article's organization: as a magazine, S&P avoids many of the writing conventions of journals and transactions in favor of active, direct, lively, and interesting writing that "tells a story."