I write for frum magazines AMA

amother

Impatiens

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:28 pm

What are your thoughts on showing women/young girls in magazines?
What type of articles do you write? How did you get started? Does it pay well? Is it a FT job?

amother

Quince

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:33 pm

Is it fair to say that a solid majority of writers in frum magazines lean more towards the modern/liberal side of the frum spectrum?

amother

Topaz

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:39 pm

amother Quince wrote:

Is it fair to say that a solid majority of writers in frum magazines lean more towards the modern/liberal side of the frum spectrum?

I'm not OP but I have written for the magazines and I don't find this to be true at all.

My questions:
Do you stick to one publication or do you write for several?
What type of pieces do you write? Fiction? Personal essays? Features? Recipes?
And the biggie - how much do you make per word??

amother

Ecru

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:45 pm

amother cornflower wrote:

Why are there so many typos? Grammatical errors? It bothers me to read otherwise decent articles.

Not OP but I once worked in publishing. It's about manpower. Simply, the more eyes that review a writing, the more mistakes will be caught. One or two copyeditors might not catch all the mistakes while a team of 5 or 6 can.

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:54 pm

amother Impatiens wrote:

What are your thoughts on showing women/young girls in magazines?
What type of articles do you write? How did you get started? Does it pay well? Is it a FT job?

My job has no bearing on my opinion on that matter. I write for magazines, I don't make the rules.

I write many genres - essays, fiction, nonfiction, feature article. I write for kids, teens and adults. I started by writing and submitting. I got some rejections and some acceptances. I also pursued every writing lead I saw. Soon I had name recognition, I developed relationships with editors and began to get steady work. It doesn't necessarily pay well, but I'm a pretty quick writer. For work done on my own time, at home and without any outlay of costs, I think it's good money. Right now it's not my full time job, though that might change soon as I make more money and receive more writing jobs.

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:54 pm

amother Quince wrote:

Is it fair to say that a solid majority of writers in frum magazines lean more towards the modern/liberal side of the frum spectrum?

I don't know other writers any more than you do. That doesn't describe me at all.

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:55 pm

amother cornflower wrote:

Why are there so many typos? Grammatical errors? It bothers me to read otherwise decent articles.

That's the job of the copyeditors and proofreaders. It does boil down to manpower.

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:56 pm

HarrietW wrote:

What types of articles usually get the budgets backlash?

I've never gotten heavy backlash bH. People can get nitpicky though. I

amother

cornflower

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:58 pm

amother Ecru wrote:

Honestly it is so frustrating and I stopped buying because it was almost becoming a game "how many typos this week".
I had even emailed one magazine with a list of a few major ones from that week and asked if I could get a job editing. They told me they have enough editors... well some must have been asleep because you had no verb in one sentence and another was cut off...

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 9:59 pm

amother Diamond wrote:

How do I write for magazines, too? Do I just send stuff in and develop the confidence to get over rejection?

That really is the only way. As frustrating as that might sound. Magazines are always looking for good writers. Once they find them, they try their best to hold onto them.

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 10:01 pm

amother Topaz wrote:

I write for many publications and refuse to be exclusive to any one. I enjoy the variety of writing in different styles for different magazines. I write all of the genres you mentioned aside from recipes.

As for pay - some articles are per article. For the articles where I'm paid per word it's between 12 and 15 cents per word with additional payment for interviews. That might sound low but I'm quick and it can add up.

amother

Begonia

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 10:25 pm

How do you streamline your writing process to make it worth it?
I've written for magazines, but by the time I'm finished tracking down my sources, interviewing them, outlining and then writing the article, I'm left with basically minimum wage for the hours I put in. (Ten cents which was the going rate a few years back, x 2000 words = $200, divide that by 10-20 hours depending on how many sources and how much writer's block.) And I was never paid extra for interviews. I love interviewing and would love to write more but right now need to devote my time to my oh-so-boring day job which actually pays the bills.

amother

Peach

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 10:27 pm

amother OP wrote:

Do you use your real name or a pen name? Does the pen name vary for the different magazines?

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 10:28 pm

How did you start?
Did you take any courses?
Where was your first article printed
Do you use a pen name
Have you written books

amother

Wed, Oct 04 2023, 10:30 pm

amother Peony wrote:

Do you ever get any of your ideas from over here?

No. For sure not directly. If I did it's more a matter of something I read sparking an idea that turns into a full story or article. The same as overhearing a conversation or noticing something on the street. I definitely don't come here looking for ideas!