Which magazines pay the best for articles?

insocal · #21 03/17/08, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonnie L

Which reminds me, could somebody explain "clips" to me? Are Xerox copies good enough? Or a print copy off my computer with publishing info? Or do I need to get multiple copies of the newspapers?

Tia!

I just send a photocopy of the article in context; that is, the whole page it's printed on. I keep a tearsheet of the original in my files to copy off. I have not heard that it's a problem, but if some freak starts photoshopping fakes, who knows?

Bonnie L · #22 03/17/08, 05:52 PM

And a tearsheet is the whole page? I hope the cut out article with the date & newspaper name is okay - that's what my dh has been doing (he's my 1 man fan club & keeper of the flame). How do you get a copy of the page that's readable? In the paper I write for - with tabloid size pages - the whole page would shrink to unreadability.

Marvella - Either you write very short articles or you are undervaluing your work. An article/month for a subscription works out to about $8/article!

doohap · #23 03/18/08, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bonnie L

. . . How do you get a copy of the page that's readable? In the paper I write for - with tabloid size pages - the whole page would shrink to unreadability. . . .

Copy the top half on one 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, the bottom on another, overlapping a little, then paste together. NEATLY!

doohap

michiganfarmer · #24 03/18/08, 02:22 PM

Good to see you again Jesse!

jnap31 · #25 03/18/08, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cash

What's your background in writing? Have you ever written freelance articles? Have you visited the websites of the magazines you admire and downloaded their writers' guides? Do you have any contacts on their staffs? Have you been asked to write for them? Are you aware that magazines like Backwoods Home and Mother Earth News receive literally hundreds of unsolicited articles each month and that 99.99 percent of them are rejected?

And I can stone-cold guarantee that any article that is written with as many grammatical and spelling errors as your post contains will not survive past the first five seconds that some intern spends on it as she works her way through the slush pile.

Sorry to be so blunt, but if you're looking for a way to make some money for your family, you will get a better return on your time by working in a 7-11. I've been on both sides of this equation, and it's no fun.

Thanks for your advice, No is the response to your questions Guess that means their is no hope for me in your opinion? You should know first that I did get a degree from college in elementary ed. I even got an A in english she loved my many essays at the time I learned about and cared about puntuation and the little details that concern so many at HT that obviously are not really homesteading IMHO or they would not have such time for their critisisims fact is I am only writing this as it is raining cats and goats so came in to town to sell eggs and go to the library, Otherwise I would be digging rocks out of the garden. I will not be at a 7-11 Can make my living as my own boss on my little two acres just fine thankyou.Guess you will be awfully surprised when in a year or two you start reading some of my articles I will be sure to post here when they are coming out.By the way I am one of those few folks that have made written goals and when I left highschool I had 5 all accomplished guess I better make more now.You have obviously had a hard time of it I am sorry about the negative experiences you had in your writing career.

RichieC · #26 03/18/08, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnap31

Thanks for your advice, No is the response to your questions Guess that means their is no hope for me in your opinion? You should know first that I did get a degree from college in elementary ed. I even got an A in english she loved my many essays at the time I learned about and cared about puntuation and the little details that concern so many at HT that obviously are not really homesteading IMHO or they would not have such time for their critisisims fact is I am only writing this as it is raining cats and goats so came in to town to sell eggs and go to the library, Otherwise I would be digging rocks out of the garden. I will not be at a 7-11 Can make my living as my own boss on my little two acres just fine thankyou.Guess you will be awfully surprised when in a year or two you start reading some of my articles I will be sure to post here when they are coming out.By the way I am one of those few folks that have made written goals and when I left highschool I had 5 all accomplished guess I better make more now.You have obviously had a hard time of it I am sorry about the negative experiences you had in your writing career.

Wow. Not helping the ole' cause there.

jnap31 · #27 03/18/08, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cash

What's your background in writing? Have you ever written freelance articles? Have you visited the websites of the magazines you admire and downloaded their writers' guides? Do you have any contacts on their staffs? Have you been asked to write for them? Are you aware that magazines like Backwoods Home and Mother Earth News receive literally hundreds of unsolicited articles each month and that 99.99 percent of them are rejected?

And I can stone-cold guarantee that any article that is written with as many grammatical and spelling errors as your post contains will not survive past the first five seconds that some intern spends on it as she works her way through the slush pile.

Sorry to be so blunt, but if you're looking for a way to make some money for your family, you will get a better return on your time by working in a 7-11. I've been on both sides of this equation, and it's no fun.

Quote:

Originally Posted by texican

To heck with writing.........

why are you paying for compost???

Scrounge, my man, scrounge. Pick up the bags of leaves when it's leaf raking time. Make friends with all of the tree clearing operations (urban lots, rural electric line clearing, etc.) to get all of their chips... spend a little time looking around, surely there's some free organic matter somewhere... do you have a radio 'swap shop'... we do... I'd be calling every couple a days asking for any kind of organic matter I could get my hands on... rotten hay is the best...

ok..., I'll let the writers get back to recommendin'...

Well I have scrounged a lot in the past but honestly it takes a lot of organic matter to make a little compost once it decays, and the $ I spend in gas getting the organic matter is not as cost effective as just buying the finished compost I get a huge truck load 5 cubic yards for 21.85 with tax it is 50 min away so a bit of a trip but I would need to make 10 trips or 20 to make that much from old hay.I grew $225 worth of lettuce in one load of compost last spring so It more than pays for it's self.

jnap31 · #28 03/18/08, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donsgal

Go to the library and borrow the 2008 (or 2007) Writers Market. It's in the reference section. There is one section on magazines which explains who pays for what and how to get the writers guidelines, format for submission, etc. Very informative and handy.

donsgal

Thanks I will do that next fall when I have the time again.

jnap31 · #29 03/18/08, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTNwomanAR

Jnap, I can't help you with the writing thing...but I remember that Fayetteville has some kind of compsoting program, where you can bring a truck and get a load of compost for 5-10 dollars per load??? Not sure if they still do it....but if they do, it would be a good deal. I understand what you are saying about the clay and rocks.....my place is the same way....I plant stuff in tires, using some of the better dirt from my place, and some potting soil.....works really wel..

I have seen worse than my place Yelleville comes to mind, atleast under all the rocks I have 2 feet of decent clay soil, getting to it is the hard part! I am making more raised beds now after seeing Goat lady's set up last year I made a few cold farmes that have several hundred brassica seedlings in them now.Still need to meet you sometime call me and I will give you directions if you want to barbecue some time at our place were only 20 miles from you I think.

hunter63 · #30 03/18/08, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnap31

I am going to be writing some articles this winter more than likely and was thinking of submitting to the paying pubs I enjoy. Like countryside the best but no $ their and i am making my families living full time trying to farm two acres of rocks with some clay and lots of purchased compost so need to be paid. Thought maybe Back woods home or MEN any more sugestions? and ahich of those two pays the best? Thankyou.

I say go for it, if they can publish my ramblings, I don't see why you would have a problem.
They are looking for ideas, not punctuation and grammar, any idiot can use a spell checker.
Lot of people, spend a lot of time telling you what you can't do, skrue um, don't know till you try.

I didn't make a lot of money at it, but was something I still don't believe happened, but it was fun.
Listed now on the Authors of America site.
Have fun.

jnap31 · #31 03/18/08, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by akhomesteader

I've been published in both BackWoods Home and BackHome magazines. They both pay about the same. The big thing is pictures and graphics they both like good pictures to illustrate their articles. Don't let anyone talk you out of submitting articles and don't get bummed out if you get a rejection they will usually tell you why they couldn't use your article. Get someone to proof your work.
I would send a query by email give them a brief outline, word count, and what you have for illustrations or pictures.
They both have submission guidelines online.

Good Luck

Thanks for the encouragement I will be sure to have my mom or sister proofread.

jnap31 · #32 03/18/08, 03:29 PM

Thanks max good to see you, I will be calling you soon.

Freeholder · #33 03/18/08, 04:08 PM

Jesse, Backwoods Home has a website, and their writers guidelines are on there. They published an article I wrote (it was more or less requested, via a contact I had with a lady who was working there at the time), and were open to more if I'd been able to think of anything else to write about, LOL! They wanted articles written by someone who was doing something, not articles about doing something by people who were just writing about it. I hope that makes sense! In other words, they wanted the person raising the goats to write about their goats, not someone who wasn't raising goats and didn't have a clue, but just interviewed the goat raiser.

I've had some other stuff published on-line (no pay).

It will help if you can pay more attention to grammar and punctuation -- I know that on a forum it's easy to get in a hurry writing and not want to stop and take time for that stuff. But editors of publications are going to want their writers to be a little more careful. But, I think you have things to write about that would be well worth reading, and that's the most important thing! That's what the editors of magazines like Backwoods Home are looking for, stuff that's really going to be helpful to their readers.

Let us know if you get an article accepted, and I'll make a point of reading that magazine! (At the library -- can't afford subscriptions.)

Kathleen

jnap31 · #34 03/18/08, 04:11 PM

Thanks Kathleen like I mentioned I will have my mom proofread first and of course if I am not in such a hurry and use word I will make her job easier. LOL When was your article published? I am sure I read it probably have it at home. What you say makes perfect sense plenty of people take what others write and re-write it I will be writing from my experiences.

Freeholder · #35 03/18/08, 04:19 PM

I think my article came out about two years ago. It was on Kinder goats, and the only one on that breed that they've published, so you should be able to find it.

I like to have a proof-reader, too, even though I do fairly well with grammar and punctuation. There's always something that you miss, just because you've been working with the article so much you can't really see it anymore!

Kathleen