Watch & Clock Bulletin Submission Guidelines

The Watch & Clock Bulletin presents horological history and research as well as technical and human interest articles. The publication process takes an average of 6–12 months from the initial submission to publication, depending on the quality of the writing, time for review and author revisions, subject matter, and availability of space. Adherence to the following guidelines is the responsibility of the author and required for publication consideration. NAWCC members as well as nonmembers are invited to send submissions.

Text

Text must be submitted to editor@nawcc.org in a Word doc; PDFs and handwritten manuscripts are not accepted.

All submissions are reviewed as received; no changes can be made by the author until the article is accepted and an edited version is sent for their review. Every article must include an About the Author paragraph (containing a brief bio and horological interests) and three to five key words for indexing at the end of the Word document.

All works must be original. The author must state if a work has been published previously or is being submitted elsewhere. It is the responsibility of the author to verify that all portions of the submission, including but not limited to text, charts, photographs, illustrations, and tables, do not infringe on any statutory or common law copyright or on any proprietary right of any third party.

All submissions are edited for spelling, grammar, organization, and adherence to NAWCC style.

Figures and Tables

Photographs and illustrations must be submitted separately from the text as JPGs, TIFs, PSDs, etc. (minimum of 300 dpi or 1,000 kb). Each file must be named Figure 1, Figure 2, etc., followed by the author’s last name. All figures must be cited in the text in numeric order. If the size of an image’s subject is not specified in the main text and it is unclear how large the subject is by looking at the image, please include a scale in the image or an explanation in the accompanying caption.

All figures must have captions. The caption contains a brief description of the figure; it may be either a phrase or a sentence or two. This information should not be repeated in the text. Include captions at the end of the text document. The following situations require sourcing to be added to the caption:

  • Public domain: If an image is identified as being in the public domain, it should be sourced as “Public Domain” with the name of the original source if available. For U.S. publications, only works published in 1924 or earlier are in the public domain. For all other works, please see “Private property” below.
  • Private property: If the figure was created by an individual or entity other than the author, it is the author’s responsibility to obtain written permission for use (in most cases, an email is fine). The caption should contain “Used with permission from” followed by complete information provided by the source.
    • Note 1: The absence of a copyright statement or mark on a website does not absolve the author from having to obtain permission. All websites containing original work are inherently copyrighted; a copyright statement or symbol is not necessary.
    • Note 2: Orphan works (i.e., works for which there is a copyright holder but it is impossible to identify or contact that holder) cannot be used.

In some cases there may be a fee to use an image. In the majority of cases, this fee is the responsibility of the author. However, the author may contact the editor if the figure is integral to the article and the author’s financial situation prohibits them from paying the fee.

After written permission has been obtained, the author must send the documentation to the editor for the Publications Department records. If permission requires that a copy of the printed article be sent to the original source, it is the responsibility of the author to send the copy.

All tables must be cited in the text in numeric order. If a table was not created by the author, the same procedures for figures regarding permission must be followed. Permission information is provided in a source line at the bottom of the table. Include tables in a separate Word doc or at the end of the text document; do not embed tables in the text.

References and Endnotes

Both references and endnotes require the use of superscript numbers or letters cited in the text in numeric order. The NAWCC Watch & Clock Bulletin does not use the “author, date” citation style in the text, nor does it use footnotes. References provide source information; endnotes provide related information that distracts from the flow of the text.

Personal communications (letters, conversations, and emails) may be mentioned in the text or cited in the endnotes. In both cases, they must include the following: the first and last name of the individual, his or her title or brief identifying information, type of communication, and the day, month, and year of the communication. Formatting rules for references and endnotes are identical.

Click here for sample endnotes (PDF)