We always welcome essay submissions from our readers for the Baseball History Comes Alive website.
If there is a baseball history topic you’d like to write about and submit for publication here on the site, just let me know. Here are some general guidelines for guest submissions:
- Please run your idea by me first before starting. That way I can be sure it’s not a topic we’ve covered recently. Contact me at this address: Livac2@@aol.com. Generally, we try to stick to baseball history topics before 1970. That goes along with our Baseball History Comes Alive theme. But that’s not a hard-and-fast rule.
- I usually recommend keeping the essay to between 800-1200 words. Again, that’s not a hard-and-fast rule. If you feel the need to go over this word limit, please do so. I like to point out that, in general, the shorter it is, the more likely it will be read to the end.
- I encourage contributors to write in a non-formal, conversation style. In general, I try to avoid stiff, formal prose. That means it’s OK to use contractions where appropriate, and writing as if you’re talking to the reader. Using “first-person” writing is always good, as is humor, and including your own personal information or reflections. Again, these are just general guidelines and you’re free to write in a style you’re comfortable with.
- My job as editor is to proofread and make copy edit suggestions where I think they would help enhance the quality of the essay. Anything other than minor corrections, I’ll run by you. We might go back and forth a couple times before the essay is published.
- Be sure to include any sourcing information you use for the essay. I always list sources after the essay.
- After the essay is published on the site, it’s nice to respond to readers who leave comments. When appropriate, some of the articles are also published on my Facebook page, Old-Time Baseball Photos, where we have a readership of over 95K. So your essay will get wide exposure.
I hope you’ll consider sending an essay for publication here on Baseball History Comes Alive. We enjoy giving our readers a chance to contribute to the site. It’s always a nice feeling to see your name attached to a published article. And it’s also fun to engage in discussion with the readers. The positive feedback we receive here always makes the effort worthwhile.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Gary Livacari
