I have a non-fiction article that I want to submit to a magazine (Military Heritage to start with.) and have looked at their submission guidelines. My problem is this: I found the guidelines somewhat vague. Never having submitted a non-fiction article to a magazine, I was wondering if anyone knows of a good site that shows a standard manuscript format. Also, does anyone here have any pointers when making this type of submission. The article is related to the Revolutionary War, about 3000 words, (Which is within their length guidelines.) and I have photos that I am also submitting to accompany the article. However, they want paper submissions and my photos are, of course electronic. Any feedback would be helpful. I'm looking at William Shunn, nothing specific to non-fiction. I think where the magazine is vague, I'll just follow basic short story form. Anyone see issues with that?
The best thing you can do is actually telephone or email the magazine and ask them. All magazines have guidelines for submitting articles but they vary depending on the type of publication. Give the magazine a call, say you have an article you would like to submit and ask to speak to their relevant person on the editorial team. I would definitely not advise sending in any copy or photographs without contacting someone at the magazine first.
ms format is the same, whether it's fiction or non... as for photos, you can mention in the query letter that you have some to accompany the article, but you only submit the text... i used to be a freelancer and i mentor writers of all breeds, so if you need further help, feel free to drop me a line any time... good luck with your article! love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
