The “right way” is a myth. Everyone has something to tell and something to learn. The more one knows about lutherie (or anything), the more one realizes how much more there is to know. We exist to provide a forum of information exchange between Guild members, and we are interested in publishing methods, opinions, and designs which are backed by experience.

With the exception of material generated by GAL staff and contributing editors, articles published in this magazine are voluntary submissions. We are a non-profit educational organization; we don't pay for content.

Members are urged to contribute articles (large or small), interviews for our "Meet the Maker" series, letters, and reviews, as well as both questions and answers for our columns. Please contact the editor by e-mail before starting on a major project or an interview, as it is possible we already have something in the works that could change your direction. Be aware that the process of editing and laying out a major article or interview can be complicated and take considerable time. It's like making a guitar; there are a lot of steps involved, and it takes time to produce quality work.

We do not reprint articles that have already appeared in other publications or on the Internet. Authors of American Lutherie articles retain the copyright and grant to GAL an irrevocable license to publish the articles and to republish them in collective works and revisions. We ask that authors who reprint their articles in other publications or on the Internet give GAL full credit as the original publisher and provide a link to the GAL website. GAL retains exclusive right to the layout of all articles and all graphics produced by the GAL staff. Do not scan our magazine pages and put them on the internet.

We don't primarily look at length when considering an article. We are more interested in "information density." We have a lot of stuff waiting to be printed, and a limited number of pages. Take all the space you need to get the lutherie aspect across, just be sure that it moves along at a good clip and that there is something useful and/or enlightening in every part of it. If it ends up too long, the editor will bring it to your attention.

Text of articles should be submitted by e-mail or on disk. Just flow the text into the body of an e-mail message. Or an attached Word doc is OK. PDF can work well to give me a look at an article draft, but it will usually not work for making an actual manuscript submission. If there is special typesetting involved, like a lot of foreign-language diacriticals or math formulae, a Word doc is probably best. If you use a Mac, be extra careful. We are strictly Windows, and we can sometimes have issues with native Mac applications. Please be sure that any formats you use are Windows-compatible. This is a good reason to send us text in the body of an e-mail rather than as an application file.

Please send photos as separate files, not as pictures placed in a Word doc. Photos should be large, not-compressed, hi-rez, extra-virgin files right off a digital camera. Just attach them to the e-mail message. Our connection is robust and fast, so large attachments are fine. Or send them on a CD. Or you can use a transfer site like YouSendIt.com or 2Large2Email.com. If the photos are "chemical," please send the negs if you have them, or good prints if you don't. We will return original negs and prints if you so request.

We'll electronically redraw diagrams and charts in most cases. Send a sketch and we'll send back a proof for your approval.

Contact the editor with any questions and to submit files:

Tim Olsen, editor:
tim (at) luth.org