January, 2023
Christine, our chair, opened the meeting and presented the evening's topic - submitting to magazines. Robbie led the talk and pointed out the variety of specialist magazines. A submission could concentrate on almost any topic you can think of, so everyone has a story to tell, if you are knowledgeable on the subject matter. She suggested ideas for bio, or 'a day in the life of' and she described a story she wrote that had been accepted for The Lady magazine.
Robbie explained that monthly magazines require your story to be submitted up to 3 months in advance, and for an annual up to 12 months in advance. All mags have a website with guidelines, check the magazine guidelines. They will say what sort of material they want, or dont want, the length etc. Make a note of the editior's name lways write to the editor in person.
Records office in Chichester is a good source of material, for example photographs. Create a story, with anecdotes, not just a list of facts. For example, Robbie had a story accepted by the magazine Bygone Kent about a cottage that was dismantled from it's original location in Kent and relocated in the Weald and Downland museum.
Rather than write a story and then think about who to send it to, identify a publisher first and then write the story in the style of the other stories in your target magazine. Start with a hook, an interesting aspect of the article and make sure that flows comfortably into the main story.
After our break for tea and biscuits, Robbie announced a competition. Members were asked to write an article on any subject, aimed at a named magazine. Maximum 500 words. Johnathan talked about his experience writing for the student magazine at Chichester University. The meeting closed with Christine asking for suggestions for future meeting speakers.