Guidelines for Writing The stories published in From Our Lips to Your Ears are true personal anecdotes that reflect the everyday lives of interpreters.  Your story should enable the reader to gain a better understanding of why your job as an interpreter is important and how your daily work touches people’s lives. Ideally, your story should accomplish one or more of the following things: - Enable the reader to imagine the scene vividly - Engage one or more of the five senses - Evoke emotions - Help the reader feel more connected to others The best stories will help the reader experience a glimpse of life through the eyes of the interpreter. Here are five basic guidelines for writing your story: 1. Tell an interesting story. Your story might be happy, sad, funny, exciting, thought-provoking, heartwarming, or a combination of these.  Most of all, it needs to be something that others will find interesting. Have you told this story to others in the past?  If so, did it get a laugh, a smile, or did it spark a reaction or conversation from the listener?  If so, it is worth submitting.  If not, you may want to tell your story to a few people first, and ask them whether or not it is something they think others would enjoy reading. 2. Use a conversational writing style. Use your authentic voice. Imagine you are talking to a friend, and tell the story using this type of familiar tone.  Try not to be too formal with your writing style, while still using correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. Write from your heart, and let your passion for your work come across clearly. 3. Have a clear beginning, middle and end.  Be sure to describe events in the order in which they transpired. Give the reader enough context to understand what you are describing.  Assume that the person reading is an average member of the public who is not highly familiar with interpreting.  Many good stories start with a concrete action. In the middle, well-written stories usually include dialogue. Often, the best stories will pack a punch at the end by including a result, a lesson learned, or a moral for the reader. 4. Maintain confidentiality. Do not use actual names of individuals, organizations, or any other information that could reveal the identity of the people you are writing about, aside from yourself.  Instead, you may use other names. If your story is chosen for publication, you will be required to sign a release form indicating that you have done this. 5. Edit down. The stories selected for publication will range from about 500-1100 words in length. Chances are, the first draft of your story may be longer. If you need help, ask a friend to give you honest feedback about what sentences and/or phrases you might remove while still maintaining the essence of your story.  All submissions will be edited prior to publication, but the more streamlined your story is, the better its chances for acceptance. Story Submission Guidelines Before submitting your story, please review these important guidelines: - No anonymous submissions are allowed. - Send only one copy of each submission. - Submissions will not be returned, so please do not send the original. - Electronic submissions (either online or via email) are preferred. - Hard copy submissions via regular mail are also permitted. - For hard copies, typed submissions are preferred; neatly handwritten submissions are acceptable. Acknowledgment of Submissions Please note that no acknowledgment cards will be mailed after a story is received if it arrives by postal mail.  The only way to receive an acknowledgment of your submission at this time is by submitting online, either through the website, www.fromourlips.com, or via email. By submitting through the website, you will be taken to an acknowledgment screen directly after hitting the “Submit my Story!” button. This screen will inform you that the story has been accepted into our submission process. You are strongly encouraged to submit stories online as it is both the fastest and easiest way to process and review your submission. If you submit your story via email, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to indicate that your story has been received. Acceptance Process Authors of stories that are selected for publication in From Our Lips to Your Ears will be notified using the contact information submitted with the story. If you change your contact information, please notify the editor to ensure your  most updated information is on file. Upon notification of selection, you will be required to sign and return a release form. If you do not return the release form, your story will not be published. In addition, if your story is selected as a featured story, you will be asked to provide a short bio to print at the end of your story. This will provide you, along with any organizations that you may wish to represent in your bio, with additional opportunities for recognition. If your work is featured in the book, closer to publication time, you will receive a Contributor’s Media Kit to help you spread the word about your participation in the book. The best part: all of your efforts to share information about your participation in the book will serve not only to provide you with some well-deserved recognition for the important work you do, but will serve to promote greater awareness of the interpreting profession at large. Remember, you may submit as many stories as you like.  You are encouraged to submit stories at your earliest convenience. Then, if additional experiences occur during your work between now and the closing of submissions that you would like to share, they will be gladly received. While it is anticipated that approximately 50 featured stories will be accepted for the From Our Lips to Your Ears book, excerpts, quotes and other information may also be published in the book. So, even if your submissions are not used as featured stories, it may be that your work can be incorporated in other ways. Your submissions will also be retained in case they might be helpful for future publications.