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Recently I emailed the editor of a magazine to ask if he'd be interested in an article. While waiting for his response I decided to work on it anyway and nearly finished it. Unfortunately he came back and said the idea is on his to do list, but would have to wait until he has a holiday in a certain destination so he can write about the subject.
As I've almost finished the article do you think I should submit it anyway just in case he'll read it, or are editors likely to be precious about writing certain pieces themselves?
Comments
Do you have a possible market for it elsewhere that you could query in the meantime?
Try to find somewhere else to send it - and be quick, just in case his holiday is imminent!
At least you know it's a good idea.
COS, I recently sent a piece to Best of British which they acknowledged immediately and are going to use as a letter, too short for anything else but I wanted to say it, so find out whether your article actually arrived. They don't ignore people usually.
no but you have a good chance of winning them over with style and structure and also if they're very busy and it lands on their desk as the deadline is looming, you could get lucky.
No, I simply formatted them as jpegs files on a CD.
*gets snapping*
http://www.bestofbritishmag.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=68
I generally post the text letting them know pics are available and then send the pics on CD when requested. They do use a lot of material but the emphasis has shifted a little in recent months so check out recent issues if you haven't done so already. They actually returned a few pieces recently that they had hung on to for possible publication. Looking at them they would no longer fit the style and I am looking for new markets for them.
Good luck with your story. It sounds just right for them.
On a side note about BoB, I wonder if they will have to change focus as the readership with living memory of the periods they cover dwindles over time.
They have been known to hold on to something for a couple of years, but then I know at one time This England held on to something for over five years, so ...
I agree with the other posts on this. If the editor has said it's on his 'to do list' I'd interpret that as his way of saying 'no thanks'. I would definitely, definitely NOT send my article to him after that reply. At best he'd think it was pretty cheeky of you.
Dorothy, I read your letter about the steam railway on the Isle of Wight in the current (November) issue of Best of British. Last time I travelled that line was in the 1960s. I wonder how often the person who made the comment about being able to put men on the moon but not run trains to time has made that comment since!
that guy has probably said it many times since ...