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Topic: what issues are mags (monthlies) working on now?
| Author | Message |
| seeattleme | Posted – 1/9/2008 7:38:07 AM | show profile Can someone tell me-- roughly--what issues are closing right now? Spcifically, when is copy due in for June, more specifically, for the women's magazines (Glamour, Self, etc.) Thanks. |
| redheadedone | Posted – 1/9/2008 10:36:39 AM | show profile most magazines work three months ahead. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 1/9/2008 11:51:36 AM | show profile Yes, but if you are pitching ideas, you have to keep in mind that the editor has to read it, bring it to the editorial meeting for discussion, etc. So if your pitch is aimed at a specific month, it should be at least five months ahead. --most magazines work three months ahead.-- |
| pleiades | Posted – 1/9/2008 11:55:36 AM | show profile We're working on our June issue. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 1/9/2008 12:35:20 PM | show profile I know of at least one major women's magazine where you need to be pitching October stories now, mainly because they fill their calendar slots once as they find good ideas. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 1/9/2008 1:13:13 PM | show profile Thanks, but I meant closing issues, which issues are closing now. |
| SPF 30 | Posted – 1/9/2008 6:07:04 PM | show profile Maybe define what you mean by closing? We're "closing" our April issue right now, meaning the final proofs are going off to the printer. But the copy was due in four months ago, and it sounds like that's the "closing" you're looking for. Or maybe I'm not reading between the lines... |
| WritingEd | Posted – 1/9/2008 7:07:55 PM | show profile Exactly. We don't go off to the printer until about a week before the issue is mailed, during the first few days of the issue month. So we're just starting on our February close. But articles were assigned out in October and November with early December deadlines for this issue, and we determined our mix of stories long before that. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 1/10/2008 6:31:30 PM | show profile Thanks. I had a newsy item that just happened that will be right for June (has to do with a bill, summer school, etc) and was wondering if it was too late. I am well aware that magazines assign stories six five four months before hand, but every once in awhile something happens in the world that needs quick coverage, so magazines have to be flexible, bump stories currently assigned and make room for the newsworthy stuff. You know, to compete with the INTERNET and all. This kind of inflexible thinking ("We assign stories six months before closing, everything for July was assigned months ago") is why print is in trouble. The good mags--Vanity Fair, New Yorker, etc --think nothing of bumping a story that's taking up space when something like 9-11 or the current primary results happen. There is always a chance a story will be bumped to make room for something more timely. That's why I was asking (closing schedules, not assigning schedules). I've worked on newspapers and can finish a 5,000 word article (or three 1200 word features) in one day. I also checked out the editorial calendar and got my answer there. Look at the calender, they list closing dates for that reason. Thanks for the help, everyone. Some, however, might not be so condescending in their response. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 1/10/2008 11:09:15 PM | show profile Who was being condescending? We were simply trying to figure out what you meant by your question and answer it. |
| SPF 30 | Posted – 1/11/2008 12:35:02 AM | show profile Hey, GraniteGirl, if it was my response that came across as condescending, I apologize -- I didn't intend it that way. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 1/11/2008 1:14:18 PM | show profile The question was pretty simple: "What magazine issues are closing right now? When is copy due in for June?" I didn't ask if it was too late to get anything in June, or about the scheduling process in general. Just if June was closing. Cause I know from experience that stories will be bumped when shit happens. The responses I got didn't answer my question. Whatever, I got the answer myself. I just asked one of my editors. Who said, we're closing April right now. No big deal. |
| WritingEd | Posted – 1/11/2008 1:50:09 PM | show profile Sorry, but the way you worded it was not so simple and not so clear. Working on an issue, closing an issue, and dates when copy is due in are all different. It wasn't clear in your post whether you understood those differences. "When is copy due in" could have meant due in to the editors, due to go through layout, due in to the printer, etc. Really, no need to take a "whatever, I'll do it myself" attitude with people who were taking the time to try to understand what you were actually asking. |
| seeattleme | Posted – 1/11/2008 7:23:49 PM | show profile "What issues are magazines closing right now, when is copy due in for June" is awfully simple to me. As it was to the editor I asked. I wasn't asking for "pitch 101". I was asking when copy was due for June. I'm wording it word for word as I did originally. See the original question. You wanted to give a "lesson" instead of the answer. A common problem on this board, but not one I'm responsible for because of "poor wording". |
| WritingEd | Posted – 1/12/2008 12:13:48 AM | show profile Your comma splice makes your reply tougher to comprehend, but "whatever." |
| SPF 30 | Posted – 1/12/2008 12:46:58 AM | show profile Geez, GraniteGirl, what is with the attitude? In your original post, you say "Can someone tell me ... what issues are closing right now?" and then go on to say "...when is copy due in for June..." The two questions aren't the same, are they? One deals with what issues are going out the door, and the other deals asks when copy was due in for a particular month. Each of us tried to help you by asking for clarification -- but didn't coat our words in artificial sweetness, which seems to be what you were looking for -- and then even apologized for perhaps having been the one who came across as condescending. And you turn around with that granite chip on your shoulder and lash out defensively. Nice. Your original question was unclear. We tried to help you. You got defensive and lashed out. Next time, why don't you just consult an editorial calendar? You obviously don't need our help. |
| wallieflwr | Posted – 1/14/2008 2:28:46 PM | show profile um, pliades seemed to understand the question. |
| wallieflwr | Posted – 1/14/2008 2:30:47 PM | show profile writing ed: The grammar police are back!!!! Goody! People who spell check and copy edit their Mediabistro posts! God bless em. Sounds like she knows editors, and has trouble getting work. Despite her wild irresponsible comma splicing. Meanwhile, hmmmm...How's work in HR, BTY? |
| wallieflwr | Posted – 1/14/2008 2:31:28 PM | show profile I meant she has "no" trouble getting work. The world is ending. A typo!!!!! |
