Guidelines for Submitting Articles to The RRAGS to Recovery Newsletter

The RRAGS to RECOVERY Newsletter is a broad-based recovery- and service-oriented journal for NA members. One of our key roles is featuring updates and information from our Area. Our editorial content ranges from personal recovery experience to opinion pieces of concern to our area, right through to humor or nostalgia about recovery. While we prefer electronically submitted material, we will gladly accept handwritten materials as well.

Editing

All manuscripts go through a review and editing process. We look for a tone that reflects a spirit of unity and mutual respect. Any article that slanders another NA member will be rejected. Explicit sexual references and all obscene and vulgar language will be deleted from published articles. Articles that are written in a “preachy or teach-y” tone may be edited to read from a more personal one. We make other edits in keeping with NA’s understanding of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, using standard NA language such as “clean,” “recovery,” and “addict.” Implied endorsements of outside enterprises are deleted, as are any other references that may be perceived as being in conflict with NA’s spiritual principles. Authors’ names are printed using the first name and last initial, unless the author asks to be identified as “Anonymous.” Opinion pieces that challenge prevailing interpretations of the Twelve Traditions are welcome, and in those cases, some of the editorial guidelines noted above may be relaxed.

In addition, submissions are copyedited to ensure ease of comprehension and adherence to the rules of English grammar, i.e., we will review and revise sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, etc. Editorial staff may also substitute different words for clarification, but content and the author’s intentions are retained in the copyediting process. We do our very best to maintain the tone and voice of the author. We prefer definite, specific, concrete language and orthodox spelling.

Ready to Take that First Step?

Below are some ideas to hopefully inspire you and stir up those creative juices. You may want to select an item from the list below to use as a starting point. Remember these are just suggestions. If you do not find anything that piques your interest, please feel free to come up with a topic of your own. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

¨ What is your favorite recovery quote and why?

¨ What is your favorite spiritual principle and why?

¨ What does working the steps mean to you?

¨ Online meetings? Do these meetings work for you?

¨ How do you handle disruptions at your home group?

¨ What is your experience with children at meetings?

¨ How do you know it is God’s will?

¨ What does it mean to be responsible and productive in NA and in society? Is being productive and responsible synonymous with being boring?

¨ How do you develop healthy intimate relationships?

¨ How does your gratitude speak?

¨ How do you continue to make amends? Are you ever finished making amends?

¨ Are there any other requirements for membership?

¨ Rigidity: How did you learn to lighten up?

¨ Holiday or vacation report—“When I went to a meeting in Paris…” etc.

¨ Service positions you can do in your pajamas?

¨ NA in your community…worldwide is cross-town; i.e., what it means to recover in your community.

¨ Ask an old-timer and/or ask a newcomer. What is it like to be new to recovery? What do you do differently after staying clean for many years?

¨ Why do you go to conventions, learning days, dances, or other NA-related events?

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Helpful Writers’ Tips

Today we live in a “sound bite” and “bullet point” society where information is rapidly fired out across the Internet, television, radio, and the printed word. In recent years, many of us have become used to digesting large amounts of news and facts in a blink of an eye. So it is little wonder that we tend to lose focus when reading anything longer than three or four paragraphs. Our hope with these writers’ tips is to help you find your voice and keep the interest of the reader at the same time. Please let us know if you have other suggestions and/or tips that may be helpful.

¨ One of the most important things about writing is to remember that you will rarely write exactly what you want to say on the first try. Writing is really about rewriting and revising. Get all of your thoughts down first and then worry about making those words paint a picture.

¨ Try to be as clear and to the point as possible. “Keep it simple” is an excellent principle to embrace!

¨ We suggest sharing from the “I” perspective (personal experience), rather than the “you,” which oftentimes can sound pedantic (“teach-y”) or condescending.

¨ Write about one topic per paragraph.

¨ Avoid trying to fit too much information or background explanation in your first few opening paragraphs. You want to build the reader’s interest so that he or she will want to continue reading.

¨ Avoid using acronyms, jargon, or colloquialisms without explanations. Try to keep in mind that the magazine is read by members worldwide and is published in four other languages besides English, so that while something—such as HMO—may be quite familiar in the US, a member in Spain or Japan or New Zealand will probably not understand what you are sharing. If you must use acronyms or colloquialisms, offer definitions either directly after the word or as an endnote after your article.

The following suggestions are taken from the Basic Text solicitation but can be applied to writing for The NA Way Magazine as well.

¨ Try saying what you are saying in different ways. For instance, you could write,

I really wanted to use, or

When I drove past the corner, I was gripping the steering wheel so hard, I left nail marks in the vinyl.

Sometimes it is not what you say, but how you say it that gets the message across.

¨ Try playing with the order of your writing: What happens if you start in the middle? What happens if you tell “the end” first? And so on.

¨ Put us in your shoes. Do not just tell us how you felt; describe the things that made you feel that way. Paint us a picture. For instance, you could write:

I was grieving, or

All of the colors were gone, and it seemed impossible to get out of my pajamas, go to a meeting, or even make toast.

¨ Write in the language you use, not in the voice you imagine an “author” should have. You are writing about what you have been through. Make it as important for your reader as it was for you. Make it stand out. Make it live.