Guides: Where to Publish Your Non-Scholarly Non-Fiction Articles: Home

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Where to Publish Your Non-Scholarly Non-Fiction Articles

Nonfiction writing includes personal essays, call to action, reviews, humor, memoir, history, commentary, journalism, travel writing, food writing, biography, politics, and other general topics found in non-scholarly outlets.

Finding the right place to publish requires you to answer these GAPS questions:

Genre - What type of nonfiction do you want to write? What are the features of that genre?

Audience - Who are you writing for? Who gets your insights: your hometown or industry leaders?

Purpose - What are you trying to achieve in the text? Persuade, argue, advise, or inform?

Style - Is the text formal or informal? Relaxed or serious in tone? Simple or complex?

Why do you want to publish?

Outlet	Control	Visibility	Effort	Career	Money
Newspapers	2	4	3	3	3
Trade	4	2	4	5	4
Popular	3	5	2	3	5

1-negative 5- positive

	Scholarly Journals	Trade Publications (Industry Magazines) or Blogs	Popular Magazines or Newspapers or Social Media
Appearance (Cover)	Plain	Exciting industry-specific scenes	Flashy
Appearance (Inside)	Black and white with few pictures	Colorful with pictures	Colorful with many pictures
Purpose	To report research findings and build on the academic literature	To help professionals keep up with changes in their field (new products and trends)	To inform, entertain and grab your interest
Audience	Researchers and professionals	Professionals	Regular people
Author	Researchers, usually associated with a university	Professionals in a field (dentists, law enforcement officers and HVAC professionals)	Journalists
Title	Sounds “academic” and usually includes the word “journal” - New England Journal of Medicine - Journal of Clinical Child Psychology	Sounds “professional”. May include the word “journal” in the title but does not look like a journal. - Massage Today - Community College Journal - Foodservice Equipment & Supplies	Short title that usually sounds general or “fun”. - New York Times (newspaper) - Washington Post (newspaper) - People (magazine) - Time (magazine)
Advertisements	None	Industry-specific ads (kitchen equipment, massage tables and dental hygiene instruments)	Flashy ads for products that would interest most people (cars, food and clothes)
Editing Process	Peer Review	Basic editing	Basic editing
Pros	Reliable, high-quality academic research	Easier to read and more current than scholarly journals	Newspapers are printed daily and magazines usually monthly
Cons	Peer review process takes time, so articles may take months to publish	Written by professionals in the field but does not go through an extensive editing process	Not very reliable and could include opinions. Some newspapers and magazines are better than others (Wall Street Journal and National Enquirer)

Differences among publication types (link from NOVA)

Georgetown University Writing Center
"The Georgetown University Writing Center is a free writing resource open to all Georgetown students. Graduate and undergraduate students trained in teaching writing are available to assist you at any stage of your writing process. The Writing Center offers assistance in topic development, general organization, guidance on paper revisions, and specific or recurring structural problems with writing."
Learn about Copyright
To be a writer know your rights.
Books on Nonfiction Authorship
eBook (non-fiction)
Books on Writing and Authorship
ebook (writing)
More about writing nonfiction (online source)
Advice for writers of children's nonfiction
Path to Publication
Legal Issues as a Writer
Finding the (w)rite style guide (humor)
Web Resources that Help You Identify Scams (targeting writers)
Creative Writing Research Guide : Researching Creative Nonfiction
Professional Writer and Artist Industry from IBISWorld
Understanding Transactional Writing
Writer as Journalist

How a Freelance Writer Should Submit an Article to a Magazine
"Freelance writers can decide between submitting a finished article or a query letter to an editor. These days most editors prefer a one-page query letter, usually emailed. But before you pitch any article, you must know what magazines publish your topic."

Writer's Market by Robert Lee Brewer (Editor)
Call Number: Ref Desk PN 161 .W83
ISBN: 9780593188194
"It guides you through the process with thousands of publishing opportunities for writers, including listings for book publishers, consumer and trade magazines, contests and awards, and literary agents--as well as new playwriting and screenwriting sections. These listings feature contact and submission information to help writers get their work published. Beyond the listings, you'll find all-new material devoted to the business and promotion of writing."
Writers' and Artists' Yearbook 2021
Call Number: Ref Desk PN 12 .W8
ISBN: 1472968166
Publication Date: 2020-09-29
United Kingdom's equivalent to Writer's Market. This book has advice, inspiration, and practical guidance on how to get published.

MLA Directory of Periodicals
The MLA Directory of Periodicals, produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), provides detailed information on thousands of journals and book series in the fields of literature, language, linguistics, film, rhetoric and composition, and folklore. Entries cover publication details, contact information, submission requirements and editorial policies, subscription terms, electronic availability and advertising, and useful statistics such as circulation, average number of articles submitted and published, time from submission to decision, and time from decision to publication. All periodicals and book series indexed in the MLA International Bibliography are listed in the directory.

Popular magazine finder in Amazon
Once you have identified the title, go to its website.
Fifty (plus) Literary Magazines that publish Creative Nonfiction
Poet's and Writer's Literary Magazines
Where to publish "flash nonfiction"

Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media by Gale (Editor)
ISBN: 9781414487960
Publication Date: 2015-02-13
Researchers seeking descriptions, contact information and advertising rates on print/online and broadcast media worldwide will find all the data they need in this invaluable resource. Each edition contains approximately 55,000 listings for radio and television stations, cable companies and print/online media companies as well as more than 14,300 international entries. Includes phone and fax numbers; e-mail addresses and Web site URLs; listing of key personnel; and much more.
Editor & Publisher Newspaper Databook
Call Number: Ref Desk Z 6941 E3 parts 1 and 2
Publication Date: 2015
Lists of daily and weekly newspapers by geography.

Freelance Writer's Guidelines
Over 700 links to author guidelines

Read the Author Instructions or Submissions

Get familiar with the source for tone and style. Find back issues in libraries.
Reach out to editors with your idea by writing a "one-page" query letter. (Editor's name, idea/synopsis, sample, contact info)
As a new author, you might submit your article with a query letter one publication at a time. Add at least a 2-week deadline for them to respond before you send it out again.
READ the contract (everything is negotiable, copyrights, fees, etc.).
Keep a record of all permissions and research.
When it comes out, promote to friends and family.

Freelance Writer's Guidelines
Over 700 links to author guidelines
Georgetown's "Negotiating Your Contract"
Ohio State's "How to Negotiate a Publication Agreement"
Writer's Cooperative Advice
"Publications to Pitch (And They Pay!):
My personal collection of bookmarked pitching and submission instructions for some popular publications."
Harvard's Model open access journal publication agreement/
Duke University's What happens when there is no publication agreement?
How To Create a Killer Writing Portfolio for Freelancers

Literary Marketplace (book publishing)
Call Number: Ref. Desk PN 161 .L5
Publication Date: 2015
"... directory of the American & Canadian book publishing industry covers publishers, literary agents,manufacturers, and shipping services. Volume 1 contains core publishing industry information: publishers, agents, associations, events, courses & awards, and trade books & magazines. Volume 2 contains information on service providers and suppliers to the publishing industry: advertising, marketing, manufacturing, sales & distribution."