What are magazines looking for?

Elfrida

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 2:05 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

Fiction needs to be incredibly well written to be published. They usually rely on thier regular staff of writers for fiction.
Most of the magazines look for short, true-to-life essays and musings, not fiction. Things like "Our Days" in Ami, the last page in Family First, etc. They have plenty of fiction offerings from their regular writers. They are always short on real-life stories.

Do you have a connection with one or more of the magazines, or is this extrapolation based on what you see bring published?

Mama Bear

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 2:21 pm

Elfrida wrote:

Do you have a connection with one or more of the magazines, or is this extrapolation based on what you see bring published?

Yes I have close connections with 1 and past connections with 2. Based on what the other 2 accepted from me and based on what the close one emails out recruiting, this is my assessment.

amother

Powderblue

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 3:32 pm

amother [ Hotpink ] wrote:

I went through a medical issue with ds, and kept a small blog updating friends and family about our adventures. I've often thought about submitting it for publication, but would I lose all rights to it if I do?

Yes - unless you work something out with a magazine. You would have to get permission to reprint it.

qwerty4

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 4:12 pm

I think Binah is the easiest in accepting a short fictional story. I have been published in Ami and Binah in the past, and was not happy with Ami's editing. They took a piece about a topic I felt strongly about, and changed the tone in the editing. I asked them not to publish it if it's changed, and they did... Responses were also hard to get by.

amother

Navy

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 5:48 pm

I found Mishpacha the hardest to get into (they have a solid roster of writers so it seems they're not really looking for more) - but they are the most pleasant to work with.
Ami was easier to get into so there's more opportunity to write for them - but I dislike the processes. Lots of unknown, no responses, and didn't love their editing.
Binah is the most nit-picky hashkafically and didn't love having to cater to that.

Fiction is the hardest because it's easier to get a personal essay right than fiction. So much possibility for holes, gaps, etc. With non-fiction, the fact that it is TRUE makes it solid enough. It's really really hard to do fiction right and I think that's why magazines are picky about it. (Ami barely publishes fiction at all, I think bc of this.)

It may be easier to get "in" with non-fiction pieces and once you've established yourself as reputable to the editors, they may be more amenable to your fiction.

amother

Ivory

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 6:52 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If they didn't respond to you, it means they're considering your writing Smile

Well, if anyone from the magazine happens to be reading this, it would be nice to send an email confirming that you received the submission even if you haven't yet made a decision one way or another. Just a bland form letter, a typical auto-response kind of thing.

tigerwife

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 7:12 pm

amother [ Ivory ] wrote:

Yes, that is what I’ve received in the past. An automated email. Now I wonder if I even emailed the correct address🤔

PinkFridge

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 8:52 pm

amother [ Hotpink ] wrote:

What about Wellsprings?

Mama Bear

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 8:57 pm

amother [ Navy ] wrote:

EXACTLY THIS!!!
mishpacha is hard to break in to, but they are amazing. Ami is always looking for submissions. And fiction is really hard to get published. it's easier to get personal stories in.

amother [ Chartreuse ] wrote:

I was wondering the same about serial stories. Do magazines prefer writers from their existing team or do they ever accept a submission from a new person? I am writing a novel and would love to publish via magazine versus standalone novel.

You never know. You should definitey get in touch with one of them and give them a synopsis of your story. they might want it.

SuperWify

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 9:04 pm

I agree about he fact that ami isn’t looking for fiction.

I wrote a great (in my opinion obviously) fiction last summer for their contest and they said it wasn’t good for the contest but is it possible it is based on some truth because they would put it in the truth or consequences section.

It was a completely made up story and I told them that. Had I said it was based on facts it wouldn’t been published there as a “true” story.

amother

Chartreuse

Wed, Jul 15 2020, 9:05 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

You never know. You should definitey get in touch with one of them and give them a synopsis of your story. they might want it.

Thanks for responding! Do they not request to read the whole manuscript in advance? I am also a little nervous to give over the synopsis as it is a pretty unique story... so I have any protection over my idea?

amother

Denim

Thu, Jul 16 2020, 12:22 am

amother [ Powderblue ] wrote:

Are you on soferet? You should talk to Ann on there.

Most people get rejected unless they know exactly what the magazines are looking for, style wise, word wise, them wise. They also need to be a certain length. Ask them how long their short stories are or essays.

I've had a couple things accepted but 90% of what I sent is rejected. I don't have energy anymore to lose the rights to my own pieces of work right now too.

Are you saying that you lose rights just by submitting even if it is rejected??

amother

Powderblue

Thu, Jul 16 2020, 4:01 am

amother [ Denim ] wrote:

Are you saying that you lose rights just by submitting even if it is rejected??

No. I'm just saying there's two issues. 1. Getting rejected all the time. 2. When accepted - losing your rights.

Mishpacha has sold their articles to nonjewish newspapers. They won't even inform you if they do.

amother

Linen

Sun, Jul 19 2020, 8:06 am

I've been published a number of times in frum magazines, and have never had trouble getting permission to reprint a piece (in another publication or a book). So while they may take the rights - which is annoying - it doesn't mean you won't be able to reuse your piece.

seeker

Tue, Jul 28 2020, 12:31 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Definitely proofread and proofread. I felt that my stories were tightly written - unique-ish plot, quirky characters, no holes left unanswered.

Now I want to read them! Let us know when you get published!

I didn't read all the replies so I don't know if you addressed this already, but I always include a "cover letter" with my pitches/submissions and I have a pretty high acceptance rate. Use this email to open up a dialogue with the editor. If the submission you sent doesn't fit their needs, ask what their needs are, is there any modification that would make the piece work for them, is there some time in the future that it might be more wanted... Request feedback. I'm not sure how much time editors have for giving feedback on pieces they're not using, but if you ask earnestly then they often do want to help, they share your writer's soul and have certainly been in your position at some time in the past.

amother

Papaya

Tue, Jul 28 2020, 5:11 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

If they didn't respond to you, it means they're considering your writing Smile

Good to know.
I stopped sending to Ami because they don’t respond.
And when I do send to other publications (who take forever responding sometimes) I tell them to let me know if it’ll be published to make sure that it wasn’t yet published elsewhere because I’ve sent it to other publications as well.

I’m not ready to give up my rights if it won’t be published anyway. Or if they’ll take months deciding. No way.