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?
Outlet |
Control |
Visibility |
Effort |
Career |
Money |
Newspapers |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
Trade |
4 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
Popular |
3 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
Blogs |
5 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
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) |
Then search the web: How do I publish in ____________?
Read the Author or Submissions Instructions when pitching an article/story
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