This week’s Monday Markets includes a magazine for teens, as well as one that is written for Denver residents, motorcycle enthusiasts, and IT professionals. I was impressed with how 5280 and Canadian Biker are very specific about what they are looking for when considering queries. Knowing what editors are looking for makes the job of pitching to magazines easier for freelance writers.
Listen is a magazine primarily aimed at teenagers, but some younger and many older readers are subscribers as well. It encourages development of good habits and high ideals of physical, social, and mental health. It bases its editorial philosophy of primary drug prevention on total abstinence from tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Because it is used extensively in public high school classes, it does not accept articles and stories with overt religious emphasis.
Listen regularly seeks professionally written, teen-oriented articles and true stories running 800 words, and quizzes and shorts no more than 500 words.
Pays $50-$150 depending on length and type of article.
5280 is Denver’s premier guide to the arts, entertainment, dining, and lifestyle issues in the Mile-High City. First published in 1993, the magazine has a circulation of 80,000, which translates to a total readership of approximately 184,000. The vast majority of these readers live in the Denver metro area. Most are in their late 30s to early 50s, and have an average household income in excess of $100,000 per year. Ninety-one percent are college educated, and an almost equal number own their own homes. All of which means that our articles must be targeted specifically to the needs and interests of an affluent, educated audience.
The best places for new writers to break into the magazine are our Profiles (800-1,000 words), Getaways (1,000 words), or Atmosphere (300-400 words) sections. You can also propose feature stories (2,000-4,000 words), though these assignments are less likely to go to newcomers. Our restaurant reviews are written by our regular restaurant critic and are not assigned to other writers. We do not publish fiction or poetry.
Pay is negotiated with writers on a case-by-case basis.
For more than 27 years, Canadian Biker Magazine has offered a uniquely Canadian take on the sport and lifestyle of motorcycling. Published ten times a year, with offices in Victoria, British Columbia, Canadian Biker delivers experiential-style accounts of life on two wheels in our ten provinces and three territories. We try to serve all this up with a quirk and a twist because we believe that, above all, motorcycling is about having fun and enjoying life here in the greatest country on earth.
Though we place a high premium on the first-person open-road story, Canadian Biker is primarily about motorcycles themselves. To that end, an editorial staff of seasoned test riders and specialist editors evaluates all the important new bikes of the season and brings clear unbiased reports to the reader, whether their tastes lie in the sport or cruiser realms or somewhere in between. These we complement with personality profiles, event reportage, industry news and choice selections from Vintage, Off-Highway and Custom worlds.
Though we’re mandated to inform motorcycling Canadians as events unfold, our number one mission is to produce a crackling good read, supported by top-notch photography and high editorial standards.
A Word Regarding Freelance Submissions
Canadian Biker Magazine encourages freelance submissions, but we are not a training ground for amateur writers. We will consider queries only from writers with a strong publishing background or individuals recognized as experts in their field. New writers who can demonstrate a commitment to the craft through their attendance at workshops or formal training sessions will also merit consideration.
We actively discourage lengthy memoirs, pages of loosely connected travel journals, flowery philosophical prose or purple ramblings about the “ethereal joys” of motorcycling. Nor do we consider dry tech tips or “how-to” advice for entry-level riders because the majority of our readers are veterans of the open road and we do not believe in naïve preachments to the already converted. Writers of shop profiles, book, movie or artist reviews, blatant product endorsements, political rhetoric, rants, poetry and fiction must also find their markets elsewhere. Flawed logic, factual and grammatical errors, lack of style, self-aggrandizements and general bad writing are the classic traits of untrained writers or scribblers with zero respect for our readership. Hastily thrown together story pitches or those containing any of the preceding blemishes will not be indulged by editorial staff.
Pay is negotiated on a case by case basis.
How-to articles: How-to articles offer IT professionals information that helps them perform specific tasks that their job requires. A how-to article should describe the specific problem it will help the reader solve and should include concrete examples that guide readers through the solution, help them troubleshoot problems and make appropriate choices, and ensure predictable results. Articles must provide value beyond what our readers can glean from reading other readily available sources of information (e.g., Microsoft documentation). Articles can target novice, intermediate, or advanced readers, but the technical-ability level must be consistent throughout the article.
- How-to articles for Windows IT Pro present explanations of, techniques for, and experience with technologies that solve problems and make the most of Windows OSs.
- How-to articles for SQL Server Magazine should offer detailed, step-by-step instructions and guidelines for SQL Server developers, administrators, or business intelligence (BI) professionals.
Length: Up to 2500 words.
Strategic articles: Strategic articles highlight one theme and investigate relevant policies, trends, technological developments, or situations important to the IT industry. Factual information must support observations. Strategic articles aren’t opinion pieces but rather analytical assessments of specific aspects of the industry.
- Strategic articles for Windows IT Pro should examine specific significant situations, problems, or technologies as they affect Windows systems administrators.
- Strategic articles for SQL Server Magazine explain relevant database, development, or BI technologies; implementation techniques; and best practices and help IT managers both make decisions regarding database technology and execute those decisions.
Length: Submit articles up to 2000 words.
Reader to Reader: Reader to Reader articles share firsthand tips, techniques, innovative solutions, and valuable experiences with industry products or processes. If you have an idea for a submission that doesn’t warrant a longer article, write it as a Reader to Reader contribution….
Pays on publication. Rates are negotiated with individual writers.
I believe Listen Magazine was listed in Monday Markets previously.
Hi Roxie,
“Listen Magazine” may or may not have been listed previously, but I’m glad Jodee listed the magazine again because this is the first time some of us have heard about it.
Thanks, Jodee!
Bobbi
Thanks Jodee,
I’ll probably check out Listen magazine. I have enough relevant and recent experience dealing with the sort of problems teenagers face.
-Nathan