As the Hispanic population in the United States grows rapidly, so does its purchasing power. There will be 50 million Hispanics in the U.S. by next year — that’s 16 percent of the U.S. population, according to Magazine Publishers of America. By 2011, the buying power of Hispanics is projected to reach $1.2 trillion, MPA says. Hispanics in the U.S. are buying more of everything — including magazines. An estimated 75 percent of Hispanic adults read around 10 magazine issues a month and even prefer magazines more than any other form of media.
As a result, the number and circulation of Spanish-language magazines has spiked. The demand has significantly boosted sales of Spanish-language editions of U.S. women’s magazines, where readership has been one of the highest in the Spanish-language magazine market. For freelancers who can report and write in Spanish, this means greater opportunities to influence a large and important audience.
Harper’s Bazaar en Español, a joint venture between the Hearst Corporation and Editorial Televisa, was one of the first Spanish-language women’s magazines to meet the new demand when it launched in 1979. Deborah Uranga, Harper’s Bazaar en Español‘s editorial coordinator in Mexico, says the spinoff, like the original, is “for all women who love fashion, beauty and luxury.” Eleven years later, in 1990, Marie Claire México y América Latina and Cosmopolitan‘s Spain edition were launched, followed by Glamour México and Glamour Latinoamérica. The first Spanish-language issue of Glamour, the result of a deal between Condé Nast Publications and Miami-based Ideas Publishing, hit newsstands in 1998. Maria Juliana Garzon, editorial coordinator for Glamour, says that both editions “get to the heart of what women want: Individuality, confidence and empowerment to make smart choices [and coverage of] a mix of in-depth issues on beauty, fashion, travel and entertainment, relationships, career and health,” familiar subjects in most women’s magazines.
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While Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Glamour in Spanish share similar editorial missions with their English-language counterparts, the former magazines serve a readership based mostly outside the United States. Still, all four magazines invite U.S. freelance writers to contribute content.
Break in with an unusual angle
Any U.S. writer with a great idea can break into Harper’s Bazaar, Uranga says. Like their English-language versions, Spanish-language magazines are looking for fresh angles on issues that appeal to their market — mostly young, Hispanic women — and original stories. Cosmopolitan, for example, recently accepted a story pitch on the “new” secrets to success. Marie Claire published a first-person story about adopting a baby from Haiti.
Laura Villarreal, deputy editor for Marie Claire, encourages submissions to sections like the five-page “Reporte Global,” which tracks events around the world; the six-page “Apertura,” which contains more photos than text; and the two-page “Yo lo viví,” which recounts women’s life experiences. While writers are free to pitch to any section, acceptance rates for these pages are highest.
| “At Harper’s Bazaar in Spanish, we try to expose the emerging talents of all of Latin America […], but we don’t focus only on Hispanic figures. We try to be global.” |
Ana Aulina, head of documentation for Cosmopolitan, says freelancers typically get assigned stories related to work, money and for the “Real Life” section. Stories related to sex, health, beauty, fashion, nutrition and cooking are written in-house. Garzon says that freelancers usually get assigned profiles, along with diet and relationship stories. Freelancers can break into the magazine by pitching ideas to the sections “Primera Fila”, “Cine,” ” Columna Glamour,” “Tu Mundo Nutrición,” and “Tu Mundo Psicología.”
Stories recently pitched and published at Cosmopolitan include “The New Secrets to Success,” which quoted Spanish experts and “Low-Cost Christmas,” which includes a list of cheap places to shop in Spain and tips to save money during the holidays. Freelance-written stories at Marie Claire include September’s “The Escape of Desire,” about women’s weakening libidos; October’s “I Have a Multiracial Family and I’m Not Angelina,” written in first-person by a woman who adopted a baby from Haiti; and November’s “The Other Berlin,” which includes eight testimonials from women who grew up in Berlin before and after the wall was destroyed. Glamour recently accepted and published “The Magic of Sex.”
Master the pitching vernacular
These magazines ask for clips and pitches in Spanish, with the exception of Cosmopolitan (which accepts English clips and pitches, too). All sections of Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire are open to freelancers. All four magazines prefer pitches by email. Cosmopolitan‘s lead time is two months; Marie Claire‘s is two to three months, and Harper’s Bazaar‘s lead time is three months.
Shape your story for a Latin American audience
Most of these mags’ audience is in Mexico, and U.S. freelancers should keep in mind what resources are accessible to Mexican and other Latin American readers in terms of retailers and merchandise, Uranga says. Freelancers should also be aware that the coverage in these magazines reflects U.S./Latin American differences in culture, habits and lifestyles, Uranga says. While Spanish-language magazines cater to Latin-American readers, Uranga says her magazine does not focus solely on Hispanic trends and achievements. “At Harper’s Bazaar in Spanish, we try to expose the emerging talents of all of Latin America. We report on what’s happening from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina, but we don’t focus only on Hispanic figures. We try to be global, giving Hispanics special recognition when they deserve it.”
Understand the magazine’s goals
While the English- and Spanish-language versions of one magazine may have similar agendas, not everything that would appeal to a Glamour reader in the U.S., for instance, would interest a reader in Latin America. Both Uranga of Harper’s Bazaar and Garzon cite readers’ interest in luxury and upscale brands, a factor that Garzon says separates Glamour readers in the U.S. from those in Latin America. “Many upscale brands that in the U.S. would not normally [target] Glamour readers as part of their [marketing] plan do include our readership audience as part of their campaign,” Garzon says. The Spanish-language editions of Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Glamour use material from their English-language editions that is relevant to its Latin-based market. The October edition of Glamour, for example, ran an interview with Russian model Sasha Pivavorova by Alessandra Steinher that also appeared in Glamour UK. Villarreal says it is common to purchase articles and photos from the English-language Marie Claires, or sell them some of the Latin American content. Spain’s Cosmopolitan borrows heavily from other editions of its magazine, Aulina says.
Know the competition
To know your audience better, know what magazines these publications are compared to. Also keep in mind that pitching an article inspired by a story in an English-language magazine won’t work — according to editors, their readers pick up magazines in English, as well. Harper’s Bazaar and Glamour in Spanish compete with magazines that appeal to similar tastes, regardless of language. Harper’s Bazaar en Espa__ol compares itself to other magazines covering high fashion, whether it’s written in English or Spanish, Uranga says. Marie Claire‘s competitors are Elle and Glamour, Villarreal says. Aulina says Cosmopolitan competes with Spanish editions of Glamour and Vogue, along with Spain-produced Woman and Ragazza. Garzon cites Allure, Lucky and Spanish-language women’s magazine Vanidades as Glamour México and Latinoam_?rica‘s main competitors.
The breakdown
Find a copy: To get familiar with the magazines’ content and differences in writing style and tone, browse copies in newsstands or online. Harper’s Bazaar can be found in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Chicago. Marie Claire is also sold in cities with a large Hispanic population, such as L.A., New York and Miami. Glamour is distributed in Miami. Cosmopolitan‘s Spain edition is not available in the U.S. For writers who don’t live in these cities, both Glamour and Cosmopolitan publish content on their Web sites.
Circulation and frequency:Harper’s Bazaar en Español: Annual circulation of about 275,000 in Latin America and the U.S.; eight issues/year with two special editions in October and March.
Marie Claire: Circulation of about 115,000 in Mexico and the rest of Latin America; 12 issues/year.
Cosmopolitan in Spain: Circulation of 132,000 for its regular-sized edition and 95,000 for its pocket-sized one; 12 issues/year.
Glamour: Annual circulation of about 380,000 (about 43,000 of those copies are exported to the U.S.); 12 issues/year, with a special Mexico edition on style in November.
Percentage of freelance-written content: Freelance submission acceptance rates at Spanish-language women’s magazines are comparable to their U.S. counterparts — writers have about the same chance of getting their story published in Spanish as they are in English. At Harper’s Bazaar, about half of all story proposals are accepted and about 30 percent of the magazine’s content is written by freelancers. Both Spanish-language editions of Glamour use freelancers for about 20 percent of their content, although Glamour México has more content than Glamour Latinoamérica. Marie Claire also depends on freelancers for about 20 percent of its content, while less than 10 percent of Cosmopolitan is freelance-written.
Pay rate: Varies, but significantly lower than pay rates at the English-language editions. Many of these magazines pay by the page, with the exception of Marie Claire. Harper’s Bazaar pays $150 per page. Uranga could not estimate how many words are typically on one page. Villarreal says Marie Claire‘s rate is lower than the average $1-$2/word usually given at the major English-language women’s publications, but still higher than the rate at most magazines published in Mexico. For feature stories, Marie Claire pays between $500-$1,500. Cosmopolitan pays about 125 euros a page, depending on the story. Twenty-five percent of this amount is deducted if invoices are not accompanied by a Spanish residency certificate or tax relief form.
Contact info:
Harper’s Bazaar en Español
Av. Vasco de Quiroga 2000
Santa Fe, Mexico
CP 01210
+52 555 2612600
FirstInitialLastName AT editorial DOT televisa DOT com DOT mx
[No Web site]
Direct pitches to editor-in-chief Toni Salamanca: tsalamanca AT editorial DOT televisa DOT com DOT mx
Glamour México y Latino América
800 Brickell Ave, Ste. 901
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 371-9393
FirstInitialLastName AT condenastamericas DOT com
www.glamourlatam.com
Direct pitches to editorial coordinator Maria Juliana Garzon: mjgarzon AT condenastamericas DOT com
Cosmopolitan Spain
Albasanz 15
28037 Madrid, Spain
FirstInitialLastName AT gyj DOT es
www.cosmopolitan.com.es
Direct pitches to articles editor Brenda Chavez: bchavez AT gyj DOT es
Marie Claire México y Latino América
Av. Vasco de Quiroga 2000
Edificio E, Piso 3
Santa Fe, Mexico
CP 01210
+52 555 2612600
[No Web site]
Direct pitches to deputy editor Laura Villarreal: lvillarreals AT televisa DOT com DOT mx OR editor Monica Martinez: mmartinezgom AT editorial DOT televisa DOT com DOT mx
Anna Bitong is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles.
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