Names(s) of editor(s).
Frequency of publication.
Circulation
Demography of readers.
Approximate number of manuscripts purchased
per issue (if any).
Method of payment (flat rate for manuscript,
pays per line of copy, pays per word, pays percent
of magazine royalties, pays in magazine copies,
pays nothing).
Rights purchased (all rights; first North
American serial rights; simultaneous, second
serial (reprint) rights; one-time rights; etc.).
Whether by-line is given.
Description of material desired.
Description of material not desired.
Whether photos are desired, and if so, payment
rates.
Minimum and maximum lengths of manuscripts.
Lead time for submission of season and holiday
material.
Whether unsolicited manuscripts are accepted.
Whether previously published submissions are
accepted.
Whether simultaneous submissions are accepted.
(Some magazines, especially regional ones, will
consider such submissions if the offered
manuscripts are not being sent to other
publications in their state or geographical area.)
Additional tips considered appropriate by
various magazine editors.
You should keep in mind that most magazine editors
have very specific ideas about material for their product.
Any deviation from their expressed standards is almost
certain to result in a manuscript’s rejection.
The editors, especially those of the major,
nationwide publications, can also be very selective in
accepting material. Some will reject, out of hand, any
offer of material from unpublished writers. However,
the editors of many other publications encourage
submissions by “new” writers. This is particularly true
of newly created, special interest magazines and many
of the literary publications, or ‘little magazines,” as they
are sometimes called.
For Navy journalists this preliminary research is
made much easier by the valuable assistance of the six
regional Navy Offices of Information (NAVINFOs).
NAVINFOs are field activities of CHINFO.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Manuscripts written as part
of your official duties for civilian magazines must be
marketed by a NAVINFO. You may send your
manuscripts to Navy-produced magazines (such as All
Hands) without NAVINFO. involvement, but the
aforementioned research rules apply.
Before sending your manuscript to a NAVINFO,
you should call or write that activity, explain your story
idea, then follow the guidance you receive. The
NAVINFO will contact those publications most likely
to use a particular story and notify you when and if a
market is found.
If the idea has been accepted, you will be notified
by the NAVINFO. They will then provide you
information similar to that contained in the Writer’s
Market, mentioned earlier. Your NAVINFO will provide
tips on the writing style preferred, advise you on when
to submit your material and make suggestions for the
length of your manuscript. The NAVINFO will also tell
you if a commitment has been made by a magazine’s
editor to publish your story or if it is to be submitted on
speculation.
The NAVINFO deals with the various magazines
through correspondence called queries. In this context,
a query is a letter from the writer, or in this case, the
NAVINFO, to a magazine’s editor. The query briefly
describes a proposed article, and if required, contains up
to three clips of the writer’s previously published
articles.
A favorable response to the query most likely
of publications have their own styleguide booklets that
are sent to potential writers. Early in your research of
magazines or from the information provided by your
NAVINFO, you gained a general insight into the style
and editorial content of the magazine ultimately
selected. Now you need to begin studying that magazine
in earnest. If possible, get three or four different issues
and read them thoroughly. Also, study the tips or
styleguide supplied by the magazine’s editor through
your NAVINFO. Observe the character of the language.
Note whether it is scholarly or adventurous, technical or
will contain specific style tips — a list of do’s and
don’s — on writing for that magazine. A large number
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