That being said, with more than 600 articles and columns already on the site, it's important to check to make sure that a topic hasn't already been covered. You can review our topical indexes (just use the pull-down menu at the top of this page) or go to our Master Article Index.

We have a huge collection of basic, beginner pieces -- how to get started, deal with rejection, write a query, etc. -- so we're more interested in advanced and specific how-to material. We always have a shortage of good how-to pieces relating to fiction and creative nonfiction.

All articles must have a strong "how-to" focus. We want the reader to be able to come away from an article thinking, "I could do that," or "NOW I understand how that works!" We see a lot of what I call "why-to" articles, which may explain "why" it is important to, say, create vivid details in fiction, but don't explain how to do so.

We do not accept personal experience accounts, personal essays, "how I learned an important lesson about writing/life" pieces, "my first sale" stories, etc. Hint: If there are a lot of "I's" in your article, it probably won't sell here.

We look for articles that are between 800 and 2000 words in length, with a preference for 1000-1500 words. We rarely (if ever) accept shorter material, so if you have a 500-word essay, please don't bother. Also, we are not interested in articles that try to explain everything you need to know about promoting your book or writing a novel in 800 words. It can't be done.

We purchase 3-5 articles per month for use in the newsletter and/or on the website. For the newsletter, we prefer articles that will appeal to a more diverse audience of writers; for the website, we're more likely to use more specific articles (such as "how to create a mystery protagonist").

We occasionally use interviews (only on the website), but prefer interviews in which the interviewee discusses the craft of writing. We're not interested in typical interviews that ask questions like "who are your favorite authors" or "how did you get started" or "describe your desk."

We also use short humor pieces in the newsletter that relate to writing. No poems about cats and snow and love and so forth, please! We prefer quick, easy humor -- lightbulb jokes are more likely to sell than a long, rambling "amusing" personal anecdote. (In fact, we hardly ever buy personal anecdotes.)

Terms

Payment: We pay 5¢/word for original articles, to a maximum of $100 (regardless of word count; thus, a 2500-word article is still paid only $100). We pay a flat $25 for reprints, and we definitely welcome work that has appeared in other publications (especially print). Payment is on acceptance. For humor, we pay a flat $15 per item. We will also exchange advertising space for editorial.

Rights: We buy first electronic rights plus three months' exclusive rights for original articles, plus the right to archive all published articles on the website for a minimum of one year. Thereafter, an author may request the removal of an archived article; however, all newsletters are archived in their entirety "forever." For reprints, we purchase nonexclusive electronic rights, with the same archival terms as above. We prefer not to receive simultaneous submissions, however, and will not be happy if we find that we just bought a reprint that is about to show up in every other writing newsletter on the web.

Response and Publication Times: We generally respond to submissions within one to two weeks. However, we tend to buy articles well in advance, so accepted articles may not be published or posted for six months or more.

Submissions: Query or send complete manuscript to Moira Allen, Editor. Articles are accepted within the body of an e-mail or as MS Word attachments. If you've written your article in Word and it's full of smart quotes and other formatting, please send it as an attachment; my eyes are too tired to deal with the e-mail gobbledygook that results from pasting a formatted Word document into e-mail. (See my article on this topic at http://www.writing-world.com/basics/email.shtml.)

Guide to Paying Fiction and Poetry Markets (Print and Electronic)

How to Write for Magazines (Print and Electronic)

Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer (Print)

The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals (Print and Electronic)