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ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING AN ARTICLE?
VISION MAGAZINE WRITERS’ GUIDELINES
Vision Magazine is a monthly publication distributed free at over 1,900 locations in California, Arizona, and Hawaii. With a readership of 270,000 and growing, Vision Magazine is a venue for purposeful and holistic living and serves the community as an inspiration for both thought and action. We are positive media, telling the stories that need to be heard. We reflect a readership of well-educated, holistically focused, spiritually-oriented, environmentally and socially-concerned people.
Here is some more information that may help you when sending articles and queries to the magazine:
- GET TO KNOW OUR “VISION”: If you have never written for Vision before (or it has been a while), the best way to publish is to first become familiar with the magazine and the style of our articles, topics, monthly themes (different every month) and monthly sections. Our website is www.visionmagazine.com, or pick one up at the stands. We look for material that is informative, expands our understanding and seeks to present solutions.
- WHAT WE PRINT: We welcome material in different formats including: commentaries, reviews, news articles, human interest articles and (on occasion) short fiction and poetry as long as they are well written, follow basic grammatical and formatting rules, adhere to the magazine style and purpose and are within the word count, theme and deadline guidelines. Unsolicited material will be returned only if envelope with return postage is provided. (Note - articles not related to the monthly theme may be held for use at a later date.)
- WHAT TO SUBMIT: You can either submit an article outright, or you can submit a complete query with an idea and how you would go about writing about it. Please include suggestions as to theme/month and section where you think the article could go. The more specific you are, the more it helps us “see” the article and how it can fit into an issue. The editorial calendar as well as these writers’ guidelines are available on the website. Please be aware that feature articles are 2,000 words, departmental articles are 700-1000 words and café/holistic products/reviews are 400-500 words. The word count guidelines need to be followed as closely as possible. Please keep sectional pieces to a max of 1,100 words and features to a max of 2,200 words. For example, if you send a 6,000-word article as a feature or a 150 word review, we will not publish it (yes, this has actually happened).
- HOW TO SEND: E-mail is best, as text in the body of the e-mail message or as an attached Word document. Font: 12-point Courier. Single-spaced, no indents. Spacing between sentences: one space. No footers or headers. You may send queries and manuscripts to editor@visionmagazine.com, through regular mail to Vision Magazine, Attn: Editorial, 1281 University Ave., Ste G, San Diego, CA 92103 or through fax at (619) 296-1910.
- FORMAT: Give our graphics guy a break. He works hard and has to walk a whole two blocks away to get his morning coffee (organic/fair-trade, of course). To this end - the simpler, the better. Your submitted article should be single-spaced, using 12-point Courier New font. Please use only one space between sentences. Do not include headers and/or footers and DO NOT INDENT THE FIRST WORD OF EACH PARAGRAPH. Simply put a space between paragraphs. For more specifics, download the Vision style sheet online at www.visionmagazine.com or contact editor@visionmagazine.com.
- BE EARLY, EARLY, EARLY: Please submit queries six weeks before the intended published month (Ex: August 20 for the October 1 issue). Unsolicited complete articles are due by the first of the previous month (Ex: July 1 for August 1 issue), and completed solicited articles are due by the 10th for the following month (Ex: July 10 for August 1 issue).
- PAYMENT – CASH AND OTHERWISE: We do sometimes pay freelancers, but we are a free regional publication with a modest budget, so it is normally only after they have written for us for a while. Pay or not, if you have another service you are promoting that our demographics might be interested in, publishing an article in Vision is a great way to promote it! Keep in mind that although 90,000 issues go out each month to readers in California, Arizona, Hawaii and Louisiana (and soon to be other regions as well), each of those issues is read by an estimated 3-4 readers. That is close to half a million cultural creatives reading your article and your bio.
- PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS: Articles, including reviews and cafe' pieces, need to come equipped with photos and/or graphics. If you suspect that obtaining photos will be an issue, let us know early on so we can work something out. Photos and graphics should be at least 300 dpi and in digital (sent via e-mail) format.
- FACT-CHECKING AND SOURCES: Ensure your facts are accurate with detailed figures, statistics and quotes cited by reputable sources using an appropriate format. It is the writer’s responsibility to include citations when needed, not the magazine’s. When should you use a citation? All quotes should always reference who is speaking (i.e. “This is the quote,” said White. Or According to an article that appeared in the July 21 edition of the New York Times, “This is the quote.” (“Article Name,” publication, date). Use common sense. If it is a quote, a specific statistic or a general statement that is extraordinary (Ex: It was confirmed that the UFO was sited over Santa Fe), then you need to reference the information.
- BIO / CONTACT INFO: If submitting a feature article or a sectional piece, please include a bio with contact information (100 words or less) that is both current and accurate. Smaller articles (reviews, cafes and holistic products) will appear with name or initial credit only.
- RIGHTS: Our regular policy is that Vision Magazine reserves one-time rights on an article published with a window of three months where the exact article. published with us may not appear in other publications in the same publication region.
Thanks for your interest in Vision Magazine! We look forward to working with you!
Vision Magazine 2010 Editorial Calendar
January:
Everyday Heroes
February:
Sexual Politics
March:
Compassionate Living
April:
Greening Our Lives
May:
Global Soul
June:
Lost and Found
July:
Activism
August:
Nourishment
September:
Educating Ourselves
October:
Symbolism
November:
Gratitude
December:
Daily Living