Writing for a magazine?

Kondor

Kondor

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Lately I've had a good article to write in mind, I was wondering if anyone does this already for hunting / outdoors magazines or anything similar ? I am a HUGE fan of Steven Rinella from MeatEater , how he got started in the industry was on his own he started writing for magazines and from there everything just sort of clicked, I'm not looking to make my own show, althought it would be awesome I'd really just like to write an article and wondering if anyone had any advice as they do this now or how to go about it... many thanks!
 
Go on the doublegun forums. (American, focused on SxS shotguns and rifles). Find user name Larry Brown. PM him your questions. He is a professional full time writer focused on the shooting sports and hunting. And a nice guy.
 
I'm a professional full time freelance writer in the commercial fishing and marine world.

It's hard to break into magazine writing cold with full-size articles, though it can be done.

Usually people break in by writing "front of book" short items, establishing a relationship with editors and then work into longer things.

I used to write for BC Outdoors now and again and once got an article into Outdoor Life.

Look up magazine writing on the 'net. There is tons of advice there. Learn how to write a query, select your market and send it off.
 
Best of luck to you.

If you do make it, please try to pay more attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. than the average hunting/outdoors writer does.

I find it incredibly painful to read the majority of stuff out there. The editors are asleep at the wheel.
 
Kondor said:
Lately I've had a good article to write in mind, I was wondering if anyone does this already for hunting / outdoors magazines or anything similar ? I am a HUGE fan of Steven Rinella from MeatEater , how he got started in the industry was on his own he started writing for magazines and from there everything just sort of clicked, I'm not looking to make my own show, althought it would be awesome I'd really just like to write an article and wondering if anyone had any advice as they do this now or how to go about it... many thanks!
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My Brother's girlfriend got an article published in one of the Provincial outdoors magazines. Her process. Write it, and submit. She got six pages published in Yukon Outdoors, IIRC.

Start by hunting through your preferred magazine's submissions policy, ask about it directly, if you cannot find it online, go from there.

And, I agree in full with the recommendation to be very aware of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

When you "Loose" the hounds, someone else is in trouble, when you "Lose" the hounds, you are! :) (pet spelling peeve!)

Cheers
Trev
 
ironsighter said:
On point but ironic, because a sentence should never begin with "and".
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At this point I just had to butt in.
I have had no formal training whatsoever, in writing or grammar of any type, but I have a book, Outposts and Bushplanes, published by a major book publisher, Hancock House, when the odds of getting a non solicited manuscript printed, were about 3%. I have also had either four or five major length articles printed in Canadian and US magazines. One example is in the Nov./Dec. 1999 issue of the old Outdoor Edge, which was the publication given to all members of the provincial wildlife organizations for the four western provinces. My article was the major story in that issue.
I will bet that in every article I have had printed and in my book, I have started a sentence with "and," and not one of the editors changed the sentence!
The key to the whole thing is "easy reading." Ask any publisher.
Bruce
 
H4831 said:
At this point I just had to butt in.
I have had no formal training whatsoever, in writing or grammar of any type, but I have a book, Outposts and Bushplanes, published by a major book publisher, Hancock House, when the odds of getting a non solicited manuscript printed, were about 3%. I have also had either four or five major length articles printed in Canadian and US magazines. One example is in the Nov./Dec. 1999 issue of the old Outdoor Edge, which was the publication given to all members of the provincial wildlife organizations for the four western provinces. My article was the major story in that issue.
I will bet that in every article I have had printed and in my book, I have started a sentence with "and," and not one of the editors changed the sentence!
The key to the whole thing is "easy reading." Ask any publisher.
Bruce
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My remark was to illustrate the irony of rral22's statement, not to condemn anyone for beginning a sentence with "and". However, in every case of a sentence beginning with "and", there is a better way to write it.

Yet, there is a certain amount of "author's license" (which is generally more liberal for poets) that allows some flexibility - especially if the "readability factor" is high.

Regarding "readability"; one merely has to go back and read the OP's OP to see that discussing grammar, punctuation, etc. is not out of place in this thread.

Congratulations on your success, by the way. I'd like to find a copy of your book and read it some time.
 
Lot of self published stuff out there, but that costs bucks and you've got to market it yourself. Done a handful of magazine articles. couple I even got paid for. :) Lots of writers out there, but the magazines seem to prefer to stay with a handful and over use them. case in point, TJ Schwanky. Got a good hunting story, Alberta Outdoorsmen will publish it and give you a hat and T shirt. Then, you can tell people you're a published author. :) Really exceptional stuff, like a record bagged, you can probably flog to the international media, especially if you speak the language,like a friend of mine does.

Canadian authors on matters of firearms and shooting.

Jim Zumbo's career cratered as well, after some onpopular comments on certain firearms. got to be with the programn.

Grizz
 
Give it a whorl ... after collecting and ingesting all the recommendations you can.

And be prepared for rejection ... very few first submissions make it right out of the gate.

The Me & Jim Bob went Casting/Blasting pieces and took a limit apiece are a dime a dozen ... and virtual non-starters.

Good illustrative photos are a plus.

Have a look at what's in The Big 3, Gray's Sporting Journal, The Shooting Sportsman & Sporting Classics to get a feel for what they're publishing, and the general
type of photos accompanying articles. Most of their "contributing editors" write pretty well. Pay attention to style and content. Read some Gordon Mac Quarie, Gene Hill,
Nash Buckingham, Ed Zern and the like ... pretty damn good stuff that has endured, a few continue to remain in print, long after their passing.

Good luck and don't get discouraged.
 
I have written for motorcycle magazines as a seasonal full-time job for six or seven years, and sniffed around the idea of working for hunting mags too.

My advice would be the same as below. And as he said, don't expect it to get you more time in the field, whether it be behind handlebars in my case, or a gun. If anything, it often ruins the experience afield.



Wilbur1005 said:
I have written and sold hundreds of outdoor articles, wrote and sold three books and did chapters in three others. My books were "The Hunter's Book of the Pronghorn Antelope published by Winchester Press 1982, Hunting Predators for Hides and Profits published by Stoeger 1985, and Small Game and Varmint Hunting, also by Stoeger 1989. As well, for twenty years, I wrote for Shooter's Bible before it was sold. I don't do it any longer, as I consider myself retired. Most of this was for the American market, but I can tell you, that following the our Firearms Act, American editors do not want anything to do with Canadian authors on matters of firearms and shooting. If you have a very well crafted, up north, guided hunting article about fat American rich guys spending big dollars, they may well take it. I'll tell you what Jack O'Conner told me - pick a writer that you like, study his style, understand his turn of phrase and write from a well planned outline. Try get three or four thousand words, then edit it down to the current 900 to 1200 words. Submit it, and wait, some times for two years. In the big markets you can expect $2.00 per word for your best stuff. It goes down from there to regional and local magazines. Another thing, don't forget photography. Shots of live animals in a natural surrounding typically bring $300 to $1200 each. Finally, it is very important to have a goal in mind for your writing - fame, money, bragging rights, other job opportunities, but I promise you what you won't get is more time in the field. If you would like more blunt advise feel free to send a private message. Otherwise, get to work and pound that key board every day for at least two hours.
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