Five Markets for Short Articles

An earlier post touched on writing shorter articles, and more of them, as one way of increasing freelance income. Now seems like a good time to post some paying markets for short articles, so here goes:

Backpacker
Freelancers most often break in here with shorter pieces (up to 1,200 words) on backpacking adventures, nature, techniques about hiking and other outdoor activities, tested recipes and food suggestions, and health issues ranging from poison ivy to snakebites to altitude sickness.

Payment is on acceptance and the magazine wants all rights. Pays $.60 to $1.00 a word, depending on complexity and demands of the article and experience of the writer. Guidelines are available here.

ByLine Magazine
For End Piece, the magazine wants a strong, thoughtful, first-person essay of 550 words, related to writing. May be humorous, motivational or philsophical.

Read the magazine for other departments. First $ale carries 250-300 word accounts of a writer’s first sale. Writing-related humor of 50-400 words is needed for Only When I Laugh. For Great American Bookstores, editors want features on outstanding independent bookstores in 400 words (with a high quality photo) (500 words with no photo). Stores should be unique in some way and also promote writers. No chains, children’s only, or used bookstores. Here are writer’s guidelines. Mail/phone: ByLine Magazine, P.O. Box 111, Albion, NY 14411, 585-355-8172.

Underwired
This website for women welcomes personal essays (800-1200 words) for publication every month. Pays $100. A list of themes on topics of interest to women is on the website and contributions should relate to a theme. Wants personal essays (800-1200 words) and is always looking for new contributors. Buys one-time rights. No fiction or poetry. Check the website for monthly themes. The complete calendar will be published soon.

Smithsonian Magazine
The magazine does, on occasion, accept unsolicited manuscripts and proposals, most commonly for departments and particularly for The Last Page, a monthly 550-700 word column that aims at humor. Because of the difficulty in judging humor, the magazine wants to see only completed manuscripts for the column. Payment ranges from $1,000 to $1,500. See writer’s guidelines here.

According to the Smithsonian:

“The article should be amusing and the tone genial — a story rather than a list of jokes or situations. The story usually relates to the writer’s own particular experience. For example, what happened after he shaved off his moustache; what it’s like to be colorblind (or a hypochondriac); or how an innocent-seeming toy ant farm turned into an unintended lesson in life. A Last Page story has a beginning, middle and end, and something happens. The best way to learn what a successful Last Page piece is, and how it works, is to study several of them.”

Guideposts Magazine
The magazine is looking for true stories of hope and inspiration. Pays $250-$500 (occasionally higher) for full-length articles of 750-1,500 words; $100-$250 for shorter manuscripts (250-750 words) and $25-$100 for short features and fillers. No fiction, essays or sermons. For department requirements and writer’s guidelines, go to the website.

So there you are — five markets that could help add to your income. Please let me know if you find it helpful to learn about markets here. If so, I’ll search out more from time to time. If you have some markets to share, please let us know.

Please leave a comment.

Use the listed information at your own risk. Words into Print gives no warranty to
completeness, accuracy, or fitness of the markets, although research is done to the best of our ability.

© by Laverne Daley 2008

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Three Things New Writers Need to Know About Copyright

The whole concept of copyright can be puzzling to new writers. I tell them to think about it like this: The work we produce is the “copy” and our ownership of that copy is the “right.” Your work is copyrighted when you create it, and you own all rights to it, unless or until you allow someone else to use it or you transfer your rights to others. Note, however, that when you write anything under a works-for-hire agreement, you have no rights whatsoever to the work you create.

That said, here are three essential things writers need to know about copyright:

1. You don’t have to put copyright information on any manuscript you send to an editor or agent. In fact, you should not. Those who work in publishing know that you own the work you create. When you put copyright information on a manuscript, it makes you seem like an amateur who is expecting someone to steal your work — not the impression you want to give an editor or agent.

2. It is wise to include copyright information on work to be published in other situations, especially on the Internet. That gives notice to others that you own the work and you don’t want anyone infringing on your rights to it. It’s important to put copyright information on posts on your blogs and anywhere else where those who might not know better could lift your work — or large parts of it — for their own purposes. That’s one reason you’ll find copyright information at the end of every post on my blog. The proper form to use is the word “copyright” or the copyright symbol ©, the date and the author.

3. For the most protection, you have to register your work with the Copyright Office of the U.S. Library of Congress. This is especially true for book authors. Magazine writers rarely register their individual published work because magazines register every issue of their publications (writers still retain their original copyright protection on their own completed work). Currently, the cost for a paper copyright application is $45. The cost for electronic copyright filing is $35. Those fees may increase soon.

You can visit the Copyright Office website for details about a possible fee increase in the future and for more information about copyrights.

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©2008 by Laverne Daley

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Mr. Magazine,™ His Work and How That Helps Freelance Writers

Here’s a question for magazine writers and for those who want to be magazine writers: Do you know about the work of Mr. Magazine™? Dr. Samir Husni, Chair of the Journalism Department at the University of Mississippi, is Mr. Magazine™ and he’s probably the most informed person you’d ever find on the subject.

For 22 years, Mr. Magazine™ has been putting out his Guide to New Magazines. He is also editor of The Future of Magazines and author of Launch Your Own Magazine: A Guide for Succeeding in Today’s Marketplace.

Back in the days when I was writing a weekly marketing and communications column for a business newspaper, he was the expert source I tapped for specialized information about magazines, especially newly launched ones. His fame has grown even more since then.

According to Forbes Magazine, Dr. Husni is “the country’s leading magazine expert.” CBS News Sunday Morning called him “a world-renowned expert on print journalism.” The Chicago Tribune went further, naming him “the planet’s leading expert on new magazines.”

He’s been interviewed by most every major print publication in the country. He has appeared on Good Morning America, CNN, PBS, and CBS News Sunday Morning and many other TV shows. He’s presented seminars on trends in American magazines to the staffs of magazine groups and associations, and he’s been an expert witness in lawsuits involving Time, Inc., and American Express Publishing.
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Click over to his website to find out which new magazines are coming on the market now and which are biting the dust. Curious about the effect of new media on newsstand sales? Want to learn why Wal-Mart is giving the boot to some 1,000 titles from its shelves? Like to find out which were the 17 hottest new magazines launched in 2007 and what they’re like? Mr. Magazine™ has the answers.

Those 17 publications are all potential markets for you and me, just like these three new magazines he focused on recently: Corporate Leader, which covers men and women who are running today’s corporations; Rounder, for those interested in gambling and the gambling lifestyle, and the bi-monthly Science Illustrated, the largest-circulation magazine in Scandinavia, which is making its debut on U.S. newsstands.

If you’re really serious about being a magazine writer, you might consider another — although belated — New Year’s resolution: to check into Mr. Magazine’s site on a regular basis. I know I’ll do that without fail.

Please leave a comment.

©2008 by Laverne Daley

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