Info
Submissions
To submit a letter to the editor or an article query, please email editorial
WRITER’S GUIDELINES
WHO WE ARE
Each month, we harvest the latest and greatest in green living, social change, health and wellness, spirituality and personal growth to showcase stories that make us think, laugh, ponder, feel and — with any luck — act. It’s all part of our master plan to make lasting, substantive, positive change — around the block and around the world (for the small fee of… absolutely free).
CALLING ALL FREELANCERS!
We rely almost entirely on freelance material to fill our pages every month. We have only a few “regulars,” so the field is wide open to all who wish to submit. We depend on freelancers like you.
WHAT KIND OF ARTICLES SHOULD I SUBMIT?
We accept articles on a wide variety of topics including: green living, social change, health and wellness and spirituality/personal growth — in short, anything that deals with a progressive, healthy lifestyle.
The important words to remember when writing for us are “information” and “narrative style.” We strive to provide leading-edge editorial that is not only entertaining, but also directly usable by our readers — information that the mainstream media often abridges, is unaware of or is unwilling to print. Some content is local, although most is national and will run in all four magazines.
We accept up to five long (1,000-1,500 words) and short features (400-1,000 words) per issue, covering the areas mentioned above. In addition, we have a number of departments we run regularly:
On Our Radar:
Our front of book section: short, newsy blurbs on each of our coverage topics, including: green living, health/wellness, personal growth/spirituality, social change and local arts/entertainment.
Healthy Living:
Covers all aspects of whole person and whole planet/community health from diet and exercise to preventative and curative medicine. Segments included in every issue are “Yogapedia,” “Bodytalk” and “Tastebuds” (restaurant profile) in addition to a (700-1200 word) mini-feature.
Art & Soul:
Stocking the bookshelves, playlists and DVD collections of our readers with featured book, film and music reviews.
Life, the Universe and Everything:
A personal essay highlighting a seminal moment or event in the life of the writer, relating to one of our overarching themes.
Tune In:
A deeper look at pressing spiritual and philosophical questions. 700-1200 words.
FORMAT
Please send submissions typed and double-spaced via email or snail mail. If emailing, please attach a Word file, and also copy and paste in the message section of your email. Queries may be emailed to editorial.
If including graphs, charts or other original art, please send a hard copy in addition to a disk, or e-mail us for digital art submission guidelines. Original photos and illustrations are welcome and may be submitted along with your article for consideration.
NOTIFICATION OF ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION
Ah, the life of an editor — deadlines, deadlines and more deadlines! Every time we look up from our desks, it seems there’s another deadline to meet. So, we set aside time to look at submissions during our precious, limited “quiet time,” that late time of the month just after we’ve completed the last issue. Sometimes our response rate to submissions is probably not as rapid as you’d like it to be. If we do not immediately accept or reject your article or pitch, we may set it aside for a rainy day. If you are uncomfortable with ambiguity or are in a hurry because you want to submit it to other publications, be sure to make note of it on your submission. No matter what, if sending via snail mail, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for notification of acceptance or rejection. Articles will not be returned unless specifically requested, so be sure to keep a duplicate.
QUERY LETTERS
If you have not written for us before, please be sure to include your mini-bio and up to three published clips. Alternatively, you may submit a completed manuscript. If your article addresses the categories described above, your treatment of the issue, the timeliness of the article and the quality of your writing are the main keys to getting published.
KEEP IN MIND…
Keep in mind that our readers are more sophisticated when it comes to green living, health, personal growth and social responsibility. We prefer thoughtful, well-researched articles with an informed and upbeat tone. We favor a narrative approach in which “story-telling” is emphasized. We welcome investigative reports and personal interviews, but outside of our “Life, the Universe and Everything” section, we rarely publish personal essays. Please include reference material for fact verification, and avoid using anecdotal claims to support your thesis or argument.
DEADLINES
We accept articles any time. If you want your article to be considered for a specific issue, we should have it in hand three to five months before the month of publication.
PAY
Our rates vary dramatically with a starting range of $.25/word - $.75/word based on our experience with the writer, the writer’s professional experience, work involved and type and length of story. In the event that the magazine decides not to publish your assigned story, a kill fee of 50 percent of the original fee is offered. However, no kill fee is offered for unsolicited submissions or if this is your first assignment with us; you are free to publish the work elsewhere. If we do print your work, we customarily pay within 45-60 days of publication. We ask for one-time print rights in each of our four city magazines and non-exclusive perpetual website publishing rights.