Purpose, Topics, Invitation to Writers
This site is a gallery for photos, writing and editing by Kathy Parrent along with written material by others. The topics should be related to nature, wildlife and the environment, gardening and nature photography. We are always seeking original guest blogs and book reviews on a broad range of topics that relate to these subjects.
If you would like to write a guest blog or book review, please propose your idea on the site’s contact form or contact me directly in advance of writing. We strive to review current books published at least within the past year, but will also consider works of the past several years that were important, unusual, helpful or with beautiful photography. For blogs, we look for original ideas or opinions on current topics or “evergreen” subjects. Please check in with me before writing. If we have not agreed in advance about the subject or book we cannot guarantee that your piece will be published.
Length
The length can vary. We are very flexible. The rough guideline is no shorter than 200 words and no longer than about 2,000.
Deadlines
We view the site as a quarterly magazine, with an approximate deadline of 4 times per year. In general, your writing will be published immediately after any editing is done, but might be held to assure that we have a steady flow of content. As this is a two-person operation that only gets by with a little help from our friends (and family), we do the best we can to stick to a schedule, but stuff happens. We still want to receive your admissions even if you missed the deadline! Just let me know.
Editing
We ask you to submit your best original writing without factual errors or typos. Our content is meant for the general reader; accessible, informative and professional. I reserve the right to edit your piece for clarity, tone and length and to proofread for grammar, syntax and originality. (In general, we follow the AP Stylebook.)
Payment
This is my labor of love. The IT work and design is done by a volunteer. “Science Matters” is also a voluntary contribution. We are not able to compensate writers at this time. When I can, I will pay you by buying the book you’re reviewing although it would help if you can get it from the library. We do not earn money from the site unless we receive donations or small fees for books purchased through this site. I am reluctant to seek advertisers.
Original Content
We prefer not to run content that was previously published elsewhere, but would consider it if you reworked a new or unique topic for this site. Once your work has been published on Green Thumb we would be pleased to see it republished elsewhere with credit to our site.
Please name your sources and use quotation marks when using the words of others. Even “open source” sites like Wikipedia require attribution. Plagiarized writing is unethical and will not be published. Theft of copyrighted material could even result in legal consequences for you and for us.
Avoid Promotion
This site is primarily a photo gallery. All the writing is meant to stimulate discussion of facts, issues and to provide for the expression of viewpoints, not to publicize people, companies, products or services. We ask that you provide thoughtful, fair opinions without undisclosed motives or financial connections.
Limited Photo Submissions
We do not accept others’ photos for the Photo Gallery, but you can include your original credited photos and any charts, graphs or illustrations in the public domain to accompany your writing. Book covers are always used with book reviews. I run lots of photos by others on the Green Thumb to the Rescue Facebook page so if you’d like to show your work you can send pictures to me there.
Book Purchases/Disclosure of our Affiliation
We have made it easy to purchase books reviewed on the site from local independent bookstores through our affiliation with IndieBound.org and may receive a small commission from them for any purchases made through our site.
If you have any questions or comments, please use our contact form.