I want to get some articles published in magazines. More of a personal goal to prove I am good enough to do it than any sort of monetary reward, it’s a hobby extension really. I figure the FS forum has got to have some people who have succeed at this and probably a few gate keepers too. What advice would you offer to someone in my position? What pit falls should I avoid and what’s the best way to approach people with content?
I would contact the editorial staff at FSM and ask if they would be interested in an article on a how-to or a build. Then find out the parameters they need and go from there. Good luck
I have had two articles published in the FSM magazine…This is what I do. I do a complete mock up of the article, including photos, in MS Word and submit it to the magazine’s publisher. Your article needs to be organized and you need to have really good quality photos. The article should be unique and interesting. One of my articles was finishing a B-29 in Bare Metal Foil. Now, that was unique!
Good luck.
How do you mean a mock up article? I was thinking it would be simple to label each image a number (Pic001/pic002) and then have a complete document with each picture’s text written by it’s numer.
A mock up is a layout that follows what the finished article should look like in the mag. Look at an issue of FSM and note how the text and photos are laid out. It can help you decide what photos to include and what to say about them.
The writing needs to be tight, covering the salient points without getting too wordy. Use proper grammar and avoid slang. A formal writing style is better than drunken Casual Fridays style.
Although I have not submitted an article to any magazine, I have written many for our local club newsletter, and the points above are my observations.
Do you submit a full finished page they can stick right into the magazine or do you put together an example instead? Need to change my procress either way, maybe rethink how I would submit an article if I have to mock it up myself.
We used to have two regular contributors to FSM here all the time,long time members will remember Wbill76 and The Doog.If they were around,they would help.Great builders too,and down to earth guys who were just one of us.
Your suggestion also works. I used that system when I wrote my first article. Following is an example (the numbers refer to pictures):
Engine Exhaust
The exhaust on a B-29 includes a large engine exhaust pipe and a smaller pipe for the supercharger exhaust. The kit provides only the larger pipe which fits poorly into a recess in the nacelle, 10. I knew this could be improved, so I purchased aluminum tubes of two different diameters and painted them with a combination of Testors’ flat black and rust. Two holes for the exhaust pipes were drilled in the nacelles and the recess was filled with body putty, 11. Finally, the painted tubes were glued in place with epoxy, the nacelles were covered with BMF, and rivets were added, 12.
Doog posts long videos on youtube quite often still. Takes long breaks then shotgun blasts you with 6 hours of content over a week. His obsessiveness is as crazy as it is entertaining.
If you go up the page to the Product Info tab, then back down to the Contribute to the FineScale Modeler tab you will find submission guidelines including downloads of both the manuscript and photo criteria.
You have to be kidding? Karl Logan?
Yeah he had an obsession alright…
Robotism: You mean DoogATX right? I think The Doog aka Karl Logan is in prison right?
Yes, Doug/Karl Logan is in jail now. Before that though he did write quite a few articles for FSM.
I have had about forty articles published, the majority in modeling mags. In the trade, there is what is known as a query letter. This is a proposal as people have described above. Smaller mags are quite informal and will consider a submission without a query, but the bigger, older mags like the detailed query. I find FSM is okay with email proposals.
In big general circulation mags, the editor would then give you an assignment, which is kind of contractual. If you submit an article and it no longer meets their needs, they still send you some money. I don’t know of any model mag that does that. Basically, they consider what you are submitting is what is known in the trade as speculation, where you do submit an article without a firm query response, and they may still buy it. I always include in my query that I write on spec, and the editor is not obligated to do anything except look it over, and pay me if he uses it.
As far as submitting a manuscript, I still mail in the subscription. I submit the text, a thumbnail of all the photos, a hard copy seperate list of photo captions, and hard copy of any miscellaneous items like sidebars. I also include a data CD or DVD with an article text file in .doc format, other files I have mentioned (captions, sidebars, etc) on the disk (photos in jpeg, other text in .doc).
The trade used to require a stamped SASE for the return of the manuscript. Nowadays, with the ease of reprinting the material, I merely say in the cover letter to the submission, that I have not enclosed a SASE, and tell them to destroy the manuscript if they do not use it.
Editors used to prefer the text submission in a particular font and doublespaced. I don’t know if most mags still want it this way or not. I just use times roman, but I do still double space. Most mags do have a handout on their preferences. It used to accompany the answer to the query. Now adays it is frequently online. If you cannot find it ask in your query letter if they have a submissions guideline.
One last item. Do not staple the pages of the submission. And make sure each page is numbered, has your name and info on it, and the title of the article or what is known as a slugtitle- an abbreviated title.
So he is in jail,I occasionally check for updates but have not seen anything new since his arrest,didnt see no trial articles,although you would have thought it would have happened bu now.
Based upon my experience, I have found that FSM does not have any requirements regarding text font, size, etc. All that they require is that the text be submitted as a MS Word.doc. They will not accept a pdf file. I am sure that they take all of your text and pictures and dump it into a publishing program. They also reserve the right to change the wording of your article.
I guess he is not locked up at this moment. He was taken into custody last summer but released a few days later. His trail date is still pending.
Likewise about occasionally checking up. The last that I had seen anything was when he was taken into custody last summer.
Just to clear things up, DoogsATX is not Karl Logan AKA The Doog. Logan is the one under arrest.
DoogsATX was a past member here and has his own modeling web site with TONS of great info.
That’s how I have done several FSM articles. It’s very time consuming but it’s very rewarding to see your name posted and the $ paid is great too.
Good clear pictures are a must taken at the highest quality setting so they can be enlarged.
Articles can range from a built model explaining the build, paint and detailing steps or one photographing the steps as a WIP labeling each picture with a number and a detailed description for each.