Updated: 13 Dec 2022
A. General
The Managing Editor of JOMSA welcomes articles from OMSA members. Please submit articles to him by email Editor (click for email). Please note that given the all-electronic nature of publishing today, we can no longer accept articles by non-electronic mail or in a non-digital format.
The information below should answer most of the questions that an author might have. Any additional inquiries (e.g., subject matter, topics, etc.) should be directed to the Managing Editor at the email address above or by phone (434.760.1901). Articles of one page to 15 pages (including illustrations) are most likely to be published in a timely fashion.
B. Text
1. Text should be submitted in an email attachment in MS Word. The text should be in a single column, single-spaced without photos.
2. The text should be in Helvetica Neue 10-point font. If you do not have this font, then send the text in Times New Roman 10-point
3. A space should be left between paragraphs, and the first line of the paragraph should not be indented. Leave only one space after periods (stops) and semicolons.
4. Quotes three lines or less in length should be included in the text with quote marks at each end. Quotes longer than three lines in length should be in Helvetica Neue 9-point (or Times New Roman) font and should be indented three spaces on both margins.
5. Numbers ten or less should be written out in full, while numbers 11 or greater should be in Arabic numerals.
6. All dates should be American style (i.e., April 3, 1968) unless they are included in quoted text. The year is set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of commas (e.g., On December 12, 1898, orders were sent out for the arrest of Sitting Bull.)
7. For 1st, 2nd, etc. do not use superscripts.
8. All words, including ranks, units, services and dates, should be spelled out in full (i.e., Lieutenant, 3rd Infantry Regiment, United States Air Force, April 15, 1900).
9. In the description of medals, any inscriptions, clasp names or naming details should be in capital letters, Helvetica Neue (or Times New Roman) 9-point bold font without quotation marks (i.e. FOR BRAVERY, AFGHANISTAN NWF 1919, or 11345 SGT. JAMES A FISH, R. A.)
C. Illustrations
1. All illustrations should be submitted as separate .jpg, .tif or .pdf files at publication size and 300 dpi resolution. White background works best but other backgrounds are acceptable. Color photographs are preferred rather than black and white images. Photographs should be sent separately as email attachments. If you have hard copy photographs only, and are unable to scan them at 300 dpi, contact the Managing Editor for assistance.
2. All illustrations (except tables) should be indicated as figures and numbered consecutively (i.e.,Figure 1, Figure 2) and the figure should be indicated in the text. The identification of each photo should be clearly indicated in the file name of the photograph. A suggested caption should be included for each illustration. Captions should generally be short and succinct – most detail should be included in the text, not the caption. All figure captions should be in Helvetica Neue (or Times New Roman) 9 bold font.
3. An author is reminded that it is his or her responsibility to ensure that illustrations (photographs, maps, diagrams, etc.) submitted with articles are either in the public domain or used with permission if copyrighted or otherwise protected as intellectual property. An author whose article is accepted for publication will be required to sign an agreement holding OMSA harmless for any legal liability that may arise out of claims of copyright infringement for the use of these illustrations (see Section E, below).
D. Endnotes and citations
1. The JOMSA uses “Endnotes” at the end of the text; it does not use “footnotes.” When writing an article, do not embed endnotes in the text. Rather, place superscripted endnote numerals in the text manually. Type out endnotes at the end of the text. JOMSA uses Chicago documentation style for book and article citations in both Endnotes and References.
2. Endnotes: The first time an article or book is cited in the endnotes a complete citation should be used:
For a book: 1. Joseph K. Smith. Italian Gallantry Medals (San Francisco: University of California Press, 1997), 39.
For an article: 1. Smith, Joseph K. “Italian Gallantry Medals,” Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America 94 (March 1993): 39.
Additional citations should be indicated as ‘4. Smith, 41.’
3. References: References should in alphabetical order by last name of the principal author or first word of the title (if there is no author) and follow Chicago documentation style for Bibliography.
4. Citing articles and books in References:
a. Book with author: Smith, Joseph K. Italian Gallantry Medals. San Francisco: University of California Press, 1997.
b. Book without author: French Campaign Medals. Paris: Modern French Publishers, 1999.
c. Article: Brown, James P. “Numbering on Silver Stars.” The Medal Collector 31 (March 1998): 52-58.
d. Website: Lussier, Richard. “Golden Proprietor’s Jubilee Flag Medal for His Tyrolean Kaiser Jaeger Regiment Number II.” Orders and Medals Society of America. October 19, 2022. https://www.oma.org/golden-proprietors-jubilee-flag-medal-for-his-tyrolean-kaiser-jaeger-regiment-number-ii/. Where neither a publication date nor a revision date is available, include the date when you accessed the page instead.
e. All Endnotes and References should be in Helvetica Neue (Times New Roman) 9-point font.
E. Author agreement with OMSA
Authors will be required to sign an “Agreement between Author(s) and the Orders and Medals Society of America” before their article is published that, among other things, indicates that:
The author(s) represent(s) and warrant(s) that he/she/they are the sole and original owner(s) of the work, including drawings, illustrations, photographs, and other material furnished by him/her/them (except for material in the public domain). The author(s) represent(s) and warrant(s) that he/she/they have not previously assigned, pledged or otherwise encumbered any of said rights; that the work is not subject to any claim of ownership or authorship by any other person(s); does not contain any defamatory or libelous material, or infringe on any trade name, trademark, trade secret, or copyright; that the work does not violate any right of any person(s); and that any required waiver or consent has been obtained. The author(s) shall indemnify OMSA for, and hold it harmless from, any loss, expense, claims, damages, or recovery occasioned by or arising out of any breach or alleged breach of any of the foregoing warranties.
F. Cover Illustrations
1. Cover illustrations are generally chosen from illustrations submitted for “feature articles.” Feature articles are generally longer articles (10-20 pages) on an interesting and/or significant topic that are well-illustrated.
2. Authors of articles that might qualify as “feature articles’ are encouraged to submit high-quality, high-resolution illustrations, not used in the article itself, as potential cover illustrations.
G. Some Final Comments
1. When submitting articles please include your phone number and email address so that the Managing Editor can contact you if any questions arise.
2. Please remember that the Editorial Team (Managing Editor, Articles Editor and Technical Editor) is editing issues of JOMSA approximately four months prior to publication. This means that any article submitted will be published at the earliest at least three to four issues (six to eight months) after the date of submission.
3. Approximately one to two months prior to publication of your article the Managing Editor will email you page proofs of your article for proofing, accompanied by a copy of the “Agreement between Author(s) and the Orders and Medals Society of America.” This is not the time to make major revisions to your article, but rather an opportunity to correct small errors. Any corrections to the page proofs and one copy of the “Agreement” should be returned to the editor within five days. If the corrections on the page proofs are minor, you may either scan the relevant page proof as a .pdf and return it by email to the Managing Editor or identify the corrections by page, column, and line in an email to the Managing Editor. You will need to print, sign and scan the “Author’s Agreement” as a .pdf and return it to the Managing Editor via email. Your article will not be ready for publication until a signed “Author’s Agreement” is returned.
