How to Write for Women's Magazines
Brainstorm ideas., Create a pitch., Conduct research., Write for the intended audience., Polish your article.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Brainstorm ideas.
Think of all the possibilities you could write about.
What do you particularly have to offer? What interests you? Try free writing (where you write without stopping and without worrying about grammar, content, etc., for a short period of time—2-3 minutes, perhaps).
You can make a list if that helps.
You’ll just want a lot of room for possibilities, because your first idea might not be accepted.Draw on your personal experiences.
Many magazines want to publish your life experiences.
Do you have any experiences that you think would speak to people or shed light on a hot topic in politics or culture? Do you simply have a skill that not many people have (e.g. calligraphy)? Writing from experience is a great way to get your footing when writing for magazines.Try new things.
Sometimes magazines like to publish listicles and reviews of products.
When you try something new, keep notes about your experiences.
This can be anything from a fancy meal to a new makeup product to a vacation spot you particularly enjoyed.
Trying new things is fun and can give you lots of material for writing for women’s magazines. -
Step 2: Create a pitch.
Most major magazines want a query or pitch rather than a submission of a manuscript.
A pitch is simply a short summary of your idea (typically a paragraph or two).
A lot of magazines will give specifics about what they want in a pitch, and what kinds of pieces they are currently accepting.
Revise your query to match the vision of the magazine and their submission requirements.Edit query for grammar, conciseness, and clarity.
If you want to write for the magazine, your query letter should demonstrate that you can write.
Grammar errors and typos are an easy way for editors to cut down the slush pile, and so it’s in your best interest to make sure your query is error-free., Sometimes you will need to research possible topics, especially if they’ve been written about a lot recently.
Research can also generate new ideas.
People tend to think of research as going through dusty books or simply googling a topic, but you can also go out into your neighborhood to find information about new trends, new ideas, and new ways of doing things.If you’re looking into how to do something complicated, or writing about a complex political issue, you will need to do research.
You may even need to do research for some personal articles.
You may need to check to see when things really happened (memories aren’t always trustworthy).
Be prepared to use the resources at your disposal.Give credit to any sources you use.
You don’t want to be accused of plagiarism when you write your first article for a magazine, so make sure to give credit to any sources you use.
Different magazines will have different style guides on how to give credit.
If your article appears online, this might mean simply linking relevant parts of the article to an online source., To do this you will need to read women’s magazines.
Most magazines would like you to be familiar with their magazine before you submit.
If you’re a regular subscriber to a magazine you want to write for, then you should have no problem.
If not, you should check out their most recent articles that are related to the ideas you have to get an idea of what they generally offer in terms of content, and what audience they’re aiming for.Some magazines tell you upfront who their audience is, and others are a little more subtle.
Either way, you’d do well to read their articles., You will need to edit carefully for grammar and style.
Again, you’ll want to produce a good piece for the editors to work with--if your editors are spending all their time working through your grammar errors, your piece is not as likely to become the best it could be.
Also remember to you’re your piece to match the style of the magazine. -
Step 3: Conduct research.
-
Step 4: Write for the intended audience.
-
Step 5: Polish your article.
Detailed Guide
Think of all the possibilities you could write about.
What do you particularly have to offer? What interests you? Try free writing (where you write without stopping and without worrying about grammar, content, etc., for a short period of time—2-3 minutes, perhaps).
You can make a list if that helps.
You’ll just want a lot of room for possibilities, because your first idea might not be accepted.Draw on your personal experiences.
Many magazines want to publish your life experiences.
Do you have any experiences that you think would speak to people or shed light on a hot topic in politics or culture? Do you simply have a skill that not many people have (e.g. calligraphy)? Writing from experience is a great way to get your footing when writing for magazines.Try new things.
Sometimes magazines like to publish listicles and reviews of products.
When you try something new, keep notes about your experiences.
This can be anything from a fancy meal to a new makeup product to a vacation spot you particularly enjoyed.
Trying new things is fun and can give you lots of material for writing for women’s magazines.
Most major magazines want a query or pitch rather than a submission of a manuscript.
A pitch is simply a short summary of your idea (typically a paragraph or two).
A lot of magazines will give specifics about what they want in a pitch, and what kinds of pieces they are currently accepting.
Revise your query to match the vision of the magazine and their submission requirements.Edit query for grammar, conciseness, and clarity.
If you want to write for the magazine, your query letter should demonstrate that you can write.
Grammar errors and typos are an easy way for editors to cut down the slush pile, and so it’s in your best interest to make sure your query is error-free., Sometimes you will need to research possible topics, especially if they’ve been written about a lot recently.
Research can also generate new ideas.
People tend to think of research as going through dusty books or simply googling a topic, but you can also go out into your neighborhood to find information about new trends, new ideas, and new ways of doing things.If you’re looking into how to do something complicated, or writing about a complex political issue, you will need to do research.
You may even need to do research for some personal articles.
You may need to check to see when things really happened (memories aren’t always trustworthy).
Be prepared to use the resources at your disposal.Give credit to any sources you use.
You don’t want to be accused of plagiarism when you write your first article for a magazine, so make sure to give credit to any sources you use.
Different magazines will have different style guides on how to give credit.
If your article appears online, this might mean simply linking relevant parts of the article to an online source., To do this you will need to read women’s magazines.
Most magazines would like you to be familiar with their magazine before you submit.
If you’re a regular subscriber to a magazine you want to write for, then you should have no problem.
If not, you should check out their most recent articles that are related to the ideas you have to get an idea of what they generally offer in terms of content, and what audience they’re aiming for.Some magazines tell you upfront who their audience is, and others are a little more subtle.
Either way, you’d do well to read their articles., You will need to edit carefully for grammar and style.
Again, you’ll want to produce a good piece for the editors to work with--if your editors are spending all their time working through your grammar errors, your piece is not as likely to become the best it could be.
Also remember to you’re your piece to match the style of the magazine.
About the Author
Timothy Hernandez
Timothy Hernandez specializes in non profit and has been creating helpful content for over 3 years. Timothy is committed to helping readers learn new skills and improve their lives.
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