Let’s Go Shopping

Do you like to go shopping for new school clothes? How about a trip to the grocery store to pick up a box of your favorite cookies? Or the toy store, where maybe your mom or dad let you pick out something you would really like for your birthday.

Each store sells certain items. You would not go to the toy section to look for cookies, and I doubt you would find very interesting clothes at the grocery store.

It is the same with magazines. If you are looking for a place to sell your story, you need to send it to the types of magazines that are interested in what you write. Many adult publications feature non-fiction articles or stories. You see them at the check-out counters all the time. The titles address how to stay healthy, plan a family budget, or talk to your boss. Grown up stuff.

Some magazines like stories, but they want only certain kinds of stories. If you have written a story about visiting your grandpa at the nursing home, and the magazine only wants outside adventure stories, it is not the magazine for you. It would be like going into a clothing store and asking for directions to the toy section!

You can usually tell what a store sells as soon as you walk inside. The grocery store does not look the same as an auto parts store. This holds true for magazines as well. Look at the table of contents inside the magazine.

Usually, there is an email or mailing address inside the cover that will tell you where to write to get more information about that particular magazine. Write to that address and ask for guidelines.

Just as you choose the right store to make a purchase, select the right publication to make a sale.

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Patti Shene