Pacifica is published quarterly in January, April, July and October. It contains news and research articles. We also publish books on a fairly regular basis.
The Study Circle does not pay for contributions. However, we are in some circumstances willing to reimburse out-of-pocket expenses, e.g. for photocopying, but only with our prior agreement.
The author retains the copyright in his work and assumes responsibility for any prior copyrighted material which it may contain.
PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT
We expect manuscripts to be in English, but in some circumstances we can arrange an English translation if necessary. See below for notes on typesetting and style.
A paper version must accompany any computer file. If pictures are included, we will place them in the text.
TEXT
Manuscripts can be submitted in any form, in the following order of preference:
1. Microsoft Word document without images. Mark picture positions on paper version and supply files/photos.
2. Other Windows-compatible format, e.g. .txt or .rtf file. Do not include pictures in the file. Mark positions on paper version.
3. Typewritten text printed in black ink on white unfolded A4 or US Letter paper. Mark picture positions on the pages.
4. Handwritten (if more than 1000 words please contact us first). Mark picture positions on the pages.
Text may be in any font and size. We will convert it to 12 point Times New Roman.
TABLES
If included, please contact us beforehand.
ILLUSTRATIONS
A brief caption is required for each illustration.
Colour photographs or high quality colour photocopies are acceptable.
Electronic images such as .jpg, .tif etc. may also be used. All such images should be provided at 300 dpi, except for clear line black & white images, e.g. postmarks, which should be scanned at 1200 dpi in black & white mode (i.e. not greyscale).
We suggest that we are contacted about image files before producing them.
Do not send philatelic items etc. without prior agreement.
EDITING
The Editor may edit an article or book. Only minor changes to the text, to ensure conformity of style, will be made without reference to the author.
Spelling and punctuation may be amended if considered necessary. However, manuscripts with a multitude of spelling, punctuation and/or stylistic errors will be returned to their authors for correction.
American English and British English are equally acceptable.
TYPESETTING / STYLE INSTRUCTIONS
We use the following standards, based on James Negus' work Philatelic Literature. Please use them.
use air mail, not airmail
use datestamp, not date stamp, not date-stamp
use gram, not gramme
use handstruck, not hand struck, not hand-struck
use post office, not postoffice, not post-office
use prepaid, not pre-paid
NAMES
For book and magazine titles and the names of ships, trains and aircraft, use italics with no quotes.
Fiji Philatelics, the Niagara or RMS Niagara, Concorde.
Note that HMS, RMS, SS, MV etc. are in upright capitals without full stops.
DATES
Normally 15 December 1999 or 15 Dec 1999, not 15th December 1999, not 15th December 1999
An exception is when quoting postmark dates.
NUMBERS AND CURRENCIES
Numbers are spelled out completely if less than 11, e.g. one, two, three, … ten not 1, 2, 3, … 10
For numbers greater than ten use digits. Commas are to be used to separate thousands from 10,000 upwards.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
gram = g, ounce = oz, pound (weight) = lb, millimetre = mm, foot = ft, inch = in
Unlike ordinary numbers, figures up to ten will be given in digits, not spelled out. E.g. 2 oz
One space should be present between the number and the unit. No -s will be added for plurals.
15 mm not 15mm, 5 oz not 5 ozs
ABBREVIATIONS
Figure = Fig. with capital and full stop.
Number = No. with capital and full stop.
Titles: use Mr. Mrs. Ms. Miss (no full stop) Dr. Prof.
PHILATELIC ABBREVIATIONS
Capital letters, no full stops:
GB Great Britain
GPO General Post Office
NZ New Zealand
SG Stanley Gibbons
UK United Kingdom
UPU Universal Postal Union
US United States
Lowercase letters, with full stops:
c.d.s. circular datestamp, plural c.d.s's
f.d.c. first day cover, plural f.d.c's
perf. perforation, plural perfs
GENERAL
Please do not typeset the article/book unless we agree beforehand.
Do not use two spaces between sentences etc., use only one space.
Do not leave a space between the end of a sentence and the full stop.
Do not use multiple spaces to centre or place text at the right of the page. Use tab stops.
Spell check and read the text.
Use double quote-marks for quotations.
If the quotation itself includes another quotation, use single quote-marks inside double ones.
The first word of a sentence is always spelled out, never abbreviated.
REFERENCES
A list of references, if required, should be provided in the following form:
Barnes, R., Aerogrammes of Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), Pacific Islands Study Circle, UK, 1995.
Please contact us for more information, or with any questions. Thank you.