Query Series: Really Know the Magazine
This is the first in a series of posts on querying magazines.
When you’re getting ready to pitch an idea for an article, it’s time to do your homework. Even if you subscribe to the magazine you’re about to query, you need need to look at it with a fresh eye. To learn what you need to know:
- Look at the magazine as if you’ve never seen it before. It helps to start at the back cover and work your way forward. It’ll be easier to analyze the magazine rather than getting drawn in. Note where you find the shorter, news-oriented items, the longer articles and the regular columns.
- Check the masthead and contributor page. Which pieces are written by magazine staff, which by outside contributors? There’s no point in pitching an article for a column that’s typically written in-house.
- Pay attention to the ads. Advertisers are smart–they know who to target with their messages. So look at the ads in the magazine and consider:
How much money does a reader of this magazine make? Is the typical reader male or female? Based on what appears in ads, what do the magazine’s readers aspire to? If you know who the ads are for, you know who your audience is. - Read the submission guidelines. The word guideline is a euphemism. Consider the submission guidelines inviolable rules. If a magazine typically publishes 1,500-word features, don’t pitch a 2,500-word feature. Don’t send short fiction if they don’t publish it. You can find submission guidelines at the magazine’s website, usually under Contact Us.
- Find the open door. Some guidelines indicate which types of articles are open to writers new to the magazine. When you see these hints, follow them like a trail of bread crumbs. They’ll lead you where you want to go.