The Art of Getting Published: A Comprehensive Guide

Understanding the Publisher's Perspective

Publishers are often swamped with work and have tight deadlines to meet. Making their job easier by presenting your work in a manner that aligns with their requirements can significantly increase your chances of getting a favorable response.

Providing a Clear Overview

The first step is to provide a clear and concise overview of your article. A sentence or two describing the content and its target audience is essential. Without this, the publisher might only read a few paragraphs before making a decision, potentially overlooking a great article simply because the introduction failed to grab their attention.

Including a Word Count

Including a word count is also crucial. Publishers often have varying amounts of space available for articles in each publication. Often, their initial selection is based on length rather than content. If they have to spend time figuring out the length of your article, it might end up in the trash.

While these steps won't guarantee publication, they do increase the likelihood of your article being read. Even if the content isn't a perfect fit for the current publication, if the publisher knows what it's about and how long it is, they might save it for a future edition.

Ensuring Accuracy and Clarity

Spelling errors are often an immediate deal-breaker. Nothing will get your article rejected faster than spelling mistakes, which raise questions about the accuracy of the content.

It's also important to thoroughly read your finished article. Ideally, have someone else proofread it for you before submission. Sometimes, what may be clear to you might not be clear to someone else. If possible, let your article sit for a day or two before rereading it. Focus on content during the first read, and on presentation and form in subsequent readings.

Adapting to Online Publication

When it comes to online publication, never send an article by email that requires the publisher to open an attachment, visit a webpage, or request it through an auto-responder. Publishers, faced with deadlines, won't jump through these hoops to see if your article is suitable.

The presentation of your article is paramount. If it's a jumbled mess with inconsistent line lengths, it won't be read. This reflects negatively on the author. Any submission should be compatible with the line length used in the publication, ideally between 60 and 65 characters. Articles with these line lengths require less editing, are appreciated by publishers, and have a higher chance of being accepted.

Keeping it Concise

A common mistake many authors make is making the article too long. Space is at a premium in any publication. If your article exceeds 900 words, the chances of it being published decrease significantly. The ideal length is between 700 and 900 words. Shorter articles of 250 to 350 words are also a good bet, as publishers are always looking for fillers.

Most publishers will immediately reject an attachment in .doc format due to the risk of viruses. If you do include an attachment, use .txt format as it's safe to open.

A great way to send articles is to format them with a fixed line length in the body of the email, and include an unformatted copy with no fixed line length in text format as an attachment. This allows the publisher to read the article and, if they publish in an HTML format, to directly import it into their publication. If they archive the articles, they can put them on their website with no editing required.

Conclusion

By providing a short synopsis of the article, a word count, and a properly formatted article, you significantly increase your chances of getting published. Remember, publishers are busy people, and anything you can do to reduce their workload will pay dividends.