How to Study Magazine Markets Before You Query

When you first pick up a magazine in which you think you might want to be published, how do you study that magazine market? Do you look for key factors that might make or break your chances of breaking in? Magazine markets are notoriously competitive and only the most diligent of writers will succeed. Following are a few of my best tips on how to study magazine markets before you query.

How Long are the Articles?

In most cases, magazines have specific lengths for articles and stories to which they like to adhere. If a magazine market only publishes articles with fewer than 700 words, your 1,500-word article is going to be rejected regardless of how well-written or informative it might be. This doesn't mean that you have to count the words of every article and then average them out; just be conscious of general article length before you query.

Has the Article Been Done Before?

This is where reading back issues will come in extremely handy. Magazines don't like to repeat articles they've already published in the last few years (sometimes as much as a decade) so make sure that a similar article hasn't appeared recently. Even if your article on pet food is better than the one they ran six months ago, they aren't going to purchase it, so save yourself time by doing your research on magazine markets before you query.

Does the Article Have a Seasonal Emphasis?

There are very few publications in the magazine market that don't run seasonal material, and they usually have a minimum five-month lead time on those types of articles. That means that if you have written an article on Christmas crafts, it should be submitted to magazines no later than June of that same year. Planning in advance is crucial to a freelance writer's career, so make sure that seasonal articles are submitted at the right time before you query.

What is the General Format for Articles?