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Topic: New Yorker, Atlantic, Harpers
| Author | Message |
| Team America | Posted – 3/19/2008 9:31:19 AM | show profile I like that Snapi. Will check my cereal box. It seems like people at MB have had some experience (in)directly with the New Yorker and there've been a few mentions of Harpers, but no one's said boo about The Atlantic. Is the Atlantic off the radar, in the tank or a different beast? |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 3/19/2008 11:59:34 AM | show profile MB is not generally populated by people who are writing for the big three. Which is why you are getting a lot of opinions, a few facts and nothing about the Atlantic. It may also be that those who do know, because of the anonymity of these boards, may hoard their knowledge for the people they know and whose work they respect -- as, here, other than the handful of us who use their real names, you really have no idea who you're talking to. Someone recently asked for a specific editor's name here....why would you hand an editor you like and respect over to someone with whom you have zero relationship or trust? Love or hate them, this is one reason FLX and ASJA keep and attract members, as someone in each of those has certainly written for Harper's and Alantic; not sure about the New Yorker and may be willing to share their experiences with a fellow member whose identity is clear and whose character they know. |
| qunester | Posted – 3/19/2008 2:54:25 PM | show profile I read The Atlantic when Mike Kelly edited it. Then I stopped. And with the latest issue--isn't Britney on the cover?--I have no desire to pick it up. It has had a wonderful reputation. You may also want to think about trying New Republic. But I would look at regionals first. Find a regional angle. They will let you go to town. Atlanta magazine was nominated for an ASME this year, in profile writing. So you can get that clip and use it to get your NYer or Harpers or Atlantic story. That really is the most realistic way to go. |
| Team America | Posted – 3/19/2008 11:31:33 PM | show profile Full Circle Thank you Caitlin and qune... I'm starting to think that I should join one of those orgs. I could go off on why I haven't 'til this pt. but that would be another thread. As for the Regionals, I suspect you are right and what's wrong with learning how to do something before you attempt to do it on a larger stage? Coming full circle, it looks like I'm going to take what I've been offered for the pitch from Outside... i.e. FOB... and try to spin what was excised into another feature pitch... just for yucks I'm going to launch it into the big 3 & will parallel some Regionals... fully expecting it will land at a Regional. So, that's Texas, Atlanta... This is a world I know nothing about... any other recommendations? Thanks again. |
| qunester | Posted – 3/19/2008 11:58:18 PM | show profile Jesus, man! Texas Monthly! New Yorkers would KILL to have a byline in that magazine! Try there. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 3/20/2008 3:00:25 AM | show profile That's true. At same time, once you've been around the block a few times, you realize it isn't that hard to get your stuff in front of editors, agents, and publishers. It's fairly easy to find the fax number or email address of almost anyone. Over the years, I've found that top editors at big magazines and publishing houses will respond to a letter from someone they don't know if you grab them. The grabbing them is the tough part. Personally, I've always had more success with writing and sending out finished essays than pitching magazine articles, because I generally don't know enough about the subject matter to write a compelling pitch until I've done the research. --here, other than the handful of us who use their real names, you really have no idea who you're talking to. Someone recently asked for a specific editor's name here....why would you hand an editor you like and respect over to someone with whom you have zero relationship or trust? -- |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 3/20/2008 3:02:37 AM | show profile Nothing wrong with this. I've actually send FOB pieces as queries for larger magazines. In one case, I simply sent the FOB from a small regional to a very big regional and said, "Want me to do a longer feature on this for you?" They bought it. -- Coming full circle, it looks like I'm going to take what I've been offered for the pitch from Outside... i.e. FOB... and try to spin what was excised into another feature pitch... just for yucks I'm going to launch it into the big 3 & will parallel some Regionals... fully expecting it will land at a Regional.-- |
| snappiness | Posted – 3/20/2008 10:16:38 AM | show profile I hadn't thought of pitching a regional far from where I live. Do you have to put a regional spin on the story to land a big regional? And what about the rates at the bigger regionals? My regional pays abysmally low rates, I basically can't afford to write for them. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 3/20/2008 2:22:01 PM | show profile In my experience, the bigger regionals tend to pay as well as the nationals. Generally, yes, the more a magazine pays, the higher its standards. I've resold pieces to low-paying regionals without a local slant. However, the big guys who pay well usually require more than just a regional spin. When I've written for any regional who pays $1 to $2 a word, the story has always been either a profile of someone from the region or a trends piece that is specifically about the medicine (medical advances by companies in the state for a state magazine). So, generally, you can't get away by taking a national story and putting a local lead on it. The local aspect (whether than means a city, a state or a region) has to ripple throughout the piece. --I hadn't thought of pitching a regional far from where I live. Do you have to put a regional spin on the story to land a big regional? And what about the rates at the bigger regionals? My regional pays abysmally low rates, I basically can't afford to write for them.-- |
| Team America | Posted – 3/20/2008 3:28:01 PM | show profile Funny. I just sent a(n) FOB clip as a pitch. A national mag is thinking about it. It would be a provocative story for them. But, I've had other situations where a brief piece written for the sub regional section of a newspaper... has disqualified a subject with my byline from a national magazine. These people can be pretty funny about precedent. |
| qunester | Posted – 3/20/2008 3:53:58 PM | show profile You're thinking about it too much. Wait too long and someone else will snag it. There are no rules. Things may happen, they likely will not. "Thinking about it" generally means no, in my experience, or they are checking the story out to see if someone a writer they work with might do it. That or they're trying to think of an angle. Either way, don't wait for an editor with alleged DMD --decision -making disorder-- hem and haw over it for longer than two weeks. A month at the most. Yes, regionals must have a local angle. Pitch your regionals fromwhere the story originates. Pitch a profile of someone involved in the story, if you want to pitch the big story eslewhere. |
| Team America | Posted – 3/20/2008 10:04:04 PM | show profile It's always hard to know what goes on qune... but she said she was bringing it into the next editorial mtg... And this really would be provocative for them... so, I expect there will be significant internal debate and flat out resistance. Actually, I think she is pretty brave to take the story in. It made me like her and feel incline to give her the benefit of the dbt. In other industries they like to hire consultants to do radical stuff... so, they can burn someone else at the stake if it doesn't work out. Don't know how that really plays out in publishing. |
