publishing and writing Sue Campbell on 24 Oct 2008 12:12 pm
We’re sorry …
If you’re old enough you’ve probably heard stories of how this or that writer got their start writing articles, or poetry, or humor for Reader’s Digest. Well, those days are apparently long ago memories. I recently checked out the Reader’s Digest submissions page, and found that almost every category starts with “We’re sorry,” or “Unfortunately…” It seems that most of their articles are written by staff, they don’t want your poetry, or artwork, or fiction. That’s not to say that ALL avenues of getting published in RD are closed, though it sort of looks that way. They aren’t very encouraging in their submissions guidlelines, which pretty much say, go away.
You can however still submit your jokes. They even provide an online form to do just that, and if yours is one of the millions submitted that actually make it into the magazine, they’ll pay you a hundred dollars. So, this Catholic Priest, a Rabbi and a starving writer walk into a bar…
on 25 Oct 2008 at 4:02 pm # carolynhayesuber
There ARE lots of places to get published, if small by comparison to RD. Write something unique and fresh for your local community newspaper, homeowners association newsletter, church bulletin. Then tackle an op-ed piece. Know a lot about one subject? Plan a column around it, write the first half-dozen columns, and pitch it to the local senior’s magazine, your hometown newspaper or the online version of the tv news channel. These clips and experience can lead to bigger and better publications. And many will pay better than the venerable Reader’s Digest!
CHU