How to Study a Magazine

by Kathryn Tyler

“Study the magazine.” The advice echoes in writing lectures, books, and workshops. But what exactly does this mean? Obviously we are supposed to read the magazine, but then what?

In order to place your articles in publications, you need to be able to examine the magazine in a focused way so that you can determine the editors’ needs and then propose a way to meet those needs in your query letter.

You can approach market research in two ways: study magazines you like and then develop ideas for them, or formulate an idea and then find a magazine you think will publish it. I find I have greater success with the former. I choose magazines I want to write for, study them, and then cultivate ideas based on my interests and their focus. With that in mind, consider these market research recommendations.

Editors’ Needs
Before you pull a copy of a magazine off the shelf, get an idea of what the editors need. The best way to do this is to read a current issue of Writer’s Market and other publishing books available, such as Get Published: 100 Editors Tell You How by Diane Gage and Marcia Coppess. The publication listings will include information on the percentage of freelance articles used, the type of rights bought, and when and how much they pay. Such information may help you determine if you want to study this magazine at all; for instance, some writers never work for magazines that pay on publication, while others refuse to sell all rights.

The Writer’s Market listing will also let you know if the publication accepts fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photos, or fillers. Such facts help you avoid time-consuming mistakes like sending your short story to a magazine that doesn’t accept fiction.

Next, send a letter and self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) asking for the magazine’s writer’s guidelines. Although many guidelines do not offer any more information than what you will find in Writer’s Market, some will give you enough juicy tidbits to make it worth the stamp. For instance, the writer’s guidelines for Woman’s Day magazine tells freelancers to whom they should direct their queries. Without such advice, you may send your query to a name picked off the masthead at random, dooming your idea to a long, unprosperous life in that editor’s in-basket. Guidelines can also direct you away from staff-written topics and shape your ideas to fit required lengths.

Graphic Layout
Once you have a general idea of what magazine editors need, you’ll want to dig out several months worth of back issues. You don’t need to pay for them; view them at the library or ask a friend for copies. However, be sure that the issues are current enough to reflect any recent editorial changes.

One caveat: never submit to a magazine that you haven’t read at least one issue. It’s extremely rare you would receive an assignment, and it may color an editor’s impression of you when you query again with an appropriate submission.

Locate the date on several issues. How often is the magazine published? Weekly? Monthly? Bi-monthly? The frequency of publication effects the timeliness of the topics featured. If the publication has a four month lead time, you wouldn’t want to propose an article that would be out-of-date in two months.

Look at several covers. What does the cover depict? Food? Women? Crafts? Though Glamour and Woman’s Day are both women’s magazines, their covers say very different things; Glamour always shows a female model, whereas Woman’s Day always illustrates a luscious dessert. What type of headlines are listed on the cover? “75 Ways To Get Organized” or “What Men Really Want In Bed?” The headlines will give you a taste of how the magazine approaches a topic. Two magazines may publish articles on money, but one might report on the ten hottest mutual funds for the year while the other tells readers how to slash their grocery bills.

Open up the cover and look at the table of contents. The way in which a magazine is organized can help you discern where your ideas will fit - or not. What columns are “in every issue?” Take note of these departments. They can indicate great places to break into the magazine - or places that regular contributors have locked up.

Keep turning pages until you reach the letter from the editor. This column can give you insight as to the focus of future issues. Then you can slant your query to that perspective. For example, if the editor-in-chief promises more money-saving tips in upcoming issues, you’ll want to dash off a thrift-related query.

Also, glance over the masthead. Are there any contributing editors? If so, write down their names. These people have regular columns or fields of expertise, which means you should avoid their specialties like the plague.

Thumb through the front matter. Are any of the articles accompanied by a small picture of the author? Such columns are written by regular contributors, so, again, steer clear of them. Articles without bylines can also be subtle hints that articles in this section are written in-house. Staff usually write food, fashion, beauty, and home decorating articles because of the need for high-quality photography to accompany them.

Look at the letters from readers, also positioned near the front of the publication. If you can satisfy a reader’s request for an article, your query suddenly becomes a hot commodity. Complaint letters from readers also indicate topics you may want to avoid.

As you flip through the “well,” or middle, of the magazine, assemble a mental profile of the reader. Look not only at the articles, but also at the advertisements. Advertisers spend a lot of money researching the demographics of their customers; Purina would not place a full page ad in a magazine if it didn’t think it could sell some dog food.

For example, what type of woman do you picture when I say: milk, baggies, minivans, book clubs, indigestion medication, salad dressing, and collectible dolls? How about if I say: sports cars, perfume, alcohol, contraceptives, sunblock, cigarettes, credit cards, and tanning cream? You imagine two very different women, right?

Article Content
Finally, find an article you can imagine yourself writing or resembles the type of article you intend to write. Read through it once, then dissect it. Is there a byline or an author’s biography at the end? Those two characteristics will help you find places where the magazine accepts freelance submissions.

How long is the piece? Some magazines regularly run features of no more than 1,000 words, while others consider nothing under 2,500 words. Get an idea of how narrow or broad your topic needs to be to fit editorial space considerations. Count the number of sentences per paragraph to familiarize yourself with the depth of each concept. Is the piece written in the first-, second-, or third-person? You’ll want to structure your query the same way. You wouldn’t, for instance, want to pitch a personal experience piece on lung cancer if the magazine only considers third-person reportages.

Look at the number of facts, anecdotes, and quotations. Does the author quote a lot of experts or does she interview “average” people? Is one physician quoted throughout the article or several? Are all the facts attributed to sources or is the information presented in a straight-forward, omnipotent manner? How does the author lead into the article? The answers to these questions will give you some insight how much pre-query research to do. You’ll also learn what type of lead to use in your query or outline.

Is the piece broken up with subheadings or sidebars? If every article contains at least one sidebar, be sure to suggest possible sidebars in your query letter. What about photographs? Look for photographic credits. Is the name the same as the author or is it the name of a stock photo agency? Some magazines, particularly travel magazines, won’t even consider your proposal unless you can provide pictures. Others will buy photos from a stock agency or send a freelance photographer after the article has been assigned.

Lastly, read the magazine. Now you’re adequately informed to slant your idea to the editors’ needs and write a stellar query letter. Though it may seem exhausting, market research is an essential part of publishing your work. And the time you spend studying a magazine will pay off when you read your byline on their pages.