Submitting article to a Jewish magazine- help a first timer!

amother

↑ Eggshell ↓

Yesterday at 9:32 pm

amother Catmint wrote:

Is there any way to get paid per piece instead of per word?

I've published quite a few pieces, less than a dozen. But my writing tends to be more concise. I think it's unfair that I get paid 30% less than someone who uses more words but it fills the same feature

Who knows? It doesn't hurt to ask.
You realize however that it won't "fill the same feauture". They need to fill up their pages. So if they take your piece which fills up one page instead of two, they need to take another piece to fill up the other page.

amother

↑ Catmint ↓

Yesterday at 10:23 pm

amother Eggshell wrote:

I'm talking about when I see the magazine every week and it's the same personal essay filling up either one page in Ami or two in FF. They just play around with the graphics because I have less words. And the content is just as stimulating, I'm just more concise.

But I wouldn't know who to ask. Because first you work with editorial and then they move you to billing.

amother

↑ Eggshell ↓

Yesterday at 10:33 pm

amother Catmint wrote:

Where have you published ? Which magazine?

amother

↑ Catmint ↓

Yesterday at 10:33 pm

amother Eggshell wrote:

Where have you published ? Which magazine?

All of them - Ami living, FF, Bina

amother

↑ Eggshell ↓

Yesterday at 10:51 pm

amother Catmint wrote:

All of them - Ami living, FF, Bina

So if you have had any email exchanges between the editors, just ask them your question. Either they will answer or not. But it can't hurt to ask.
I found the editors at Mishpacha to be very approachable.
Ami not as much. Maybe they are understaffed. But try your luck..

amother

Garnet ↓

Yesterday at 11:13 pm

Is it automatic that you lose the rights to anything that gets published?

amother

↑ Catmint

Yesterday at 11:13 pm

amother Garnet wrote:

Is it automatic that you lose the rights to anything that gets published?

I only saw that in Mishpacha's contract.

They all have an exclusivity clause that you can't publish it in another Jewish magazine, but that's not hard, you'll get a bad name for just submitting it to two at the same time, let alone trying to publish.

amother

↑ Garnet

Yesterday at 11:14 pm

ectomorph wrote:

I've had my writing published recently in Jewish but not frum outlets. I've been told they don't want independent thinkers.

Can you give some examples of Jewish but not frum outlets that you’ve done?

amother

↑ Obsidian

Today at 8:49 am

amother Catmint wrote:

It depends on what you're working on. In my experience, you're more likely to get a flat fee for a feature over a personal essay or a story, because a feature will require research and interviews and the word count won't necessarily reflect the effort involved. But you can also discuss it with the magazine.

amother

↑ Antiquewhite

Today at 10:32 am

amother Catmint wrote:

Years ago FF told me they pay a flat fee of $50 for the personal essay opposite the back page.

amother

↑ Bluebonnet

Today at 10:52 am

amother Antiquewhite wrote:

Years ago FF told me they pay a flat fee of $50 for the personal essay opposite the back page.

I got paid more a few years ago. Maybe $75, I don't remember.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:12 pm

amother Eggshell wrote:

1. You submit the article. You may get an automatic email saying that they need 4-6 weeks to review. Binah asks for 8 weeks. Ami responds the fastest.

Binah did not give any time frame

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:14 pm

amother Eggshell wrote:

I don't know why you chose Binah, but they take super long to respond.

Because from reading the magazines, it's the first one I'm interested in possibly being printed in.
I'm not in a rush.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:18 pm

amother Eggshell wrote:

Each magazine has an email for submissions. They can be found in the first few pages by the table of contents. I think its:
Submissions@mishpacha.com
Submissions@amimagazine.org
Stories@binahmagazine.com

(Double check please before sending. )

They generally do not accept things mailed in with physical mail.

submissions@binahmagazine.com

and yes, only by email

amother

↑ Eggshell ↓

Today at 1:51 pm

amother OP wrote:

Binah did not give any time frame

Interesting. I just went back to my inbox to see what they sent me when I submitted something. Its different than yours, and they did give a timeframe (this was back in 2018):

Dear ----,
Wonder how a submission is selected for publication? Here’s a behind-the-scenes view of Binah’s submission process.

Stage 1. The submission is sent to a layperson representing Binah’s general readership to comment on content and overall interest. Simultaneously, one or more Binah editors review the submission for writing quality and style, content, and suitability.

If the general consensus is that the submission meets Binah’s needs and standards, it proceeds to stage 2.

Stage 2. An executive member of the Binah editorial department reviews the submission from a halachic and hashkafic perspective, conferring with our content director, Rebbetzin Leah Kohn, when necessary.

We try to complete this process within two weeks, but occasionally, the process is delayed. If you have not heard from us within three weeks, take heart! It does not mean that your work has been relegated to a slush pile (we don’t even have one!); rather, a delay generally means that the submission is seriously being considered for publication. Feel free to send an email inquiring about the status of your submission if you have not received a response within three weeks of this email.

We appreciate your interest in Binah Magazine,

Chaya on behalf of the Binah Editorial Department

amother

↑ Copper

Today at 1:57 pm

Has anyone submitted a longer article for a magazines medical issue

amother

↑ OP

Today at 1:58 pm

amother Eggshell wrote:

Wow, so much more informative and inviting than the automatic email I got!

amother

↑ Eggshell

Today at 3:00 pm

OP, I just went back to my emails to check, just for the fun of it. This is how it all went down: (I tell you this not to discourage you but to give you an idea of what to expect. Of course, things may have changed since then...but it explains why I stopped submitting my pieces.)

Dec 20 2017: I submitted a piece to submissions@binah.com. This was the email address found in the magazine.
Dec 21: Received an autmated email saying that in order to expedite the processs, they now have 4 different email addresses, and you need to send it to the correct one based on the type of piece you have.
Jan 27, 2018: I submitted the piece to Stories@binahmagazine.com
Feb 1, 2018: Received automated reply saying they need time to evalauate it. (the email I posted above.)
Feb 22: I sent an email asking for an update since 3 weeks have passed. (no response)
March 5: Hi. It has been more than a month since I have received this email. I would appreciate it if someone would get back to me regarding my submission. Thank you.
March 13: Hi Plonis,
I have been waiting for a response to my submission since February 1. I have also previously sent two emails requesting the status, but neither of them received a response.
I imagine it's a busy time now with Erev Pesach, but if you can just let me know if the story is still being considered, I would appreciate it. It's been more than six weeks since I submitted it.
Thank you
March 14:Hi -----,
I hope to get back to you either later today or tomorrow iy”H.
March 14: Thank you.
March 19: Hi Plonis,
I'm still waiting for a response...
March 19 (about 12 hours later) Dear ----,
We are pleased to inform you that our editorial board has accepted your original and unpublished submission for publication in Binah.

If you sent this article to other publications for consideration, please confirm that you withdrew your submission from them and that they have not printed/ will not print it. Upon such confirmation, we will submit your article for editing and contact you regarding any specific questions we may have regarding your article.

Please note that Binah Magazine's purchase of a manuscript from an author includes the magazine's right to reprint the piece (on our website, for example, or in a future issue) at any time.

We request of the author, who otherwise retains ownership of the article, not to reprint it elsewhere for six months after publication in Binah, and to credit Binah as initial publisher of the piece.

Receipt of this email does not guarantee that your article will be printed in Binah. At times, circumstances beyond our control will cause the publication date of your article to be changed or removed entirely. If it will not be printed, you will be informed and the rights will be returned to you.

Looking forward to working with you,

Plonis on behalf of the Binah Editorial Department

March 21: Hi,
This is Plonis2 from Binah. Your piece is so poignant!! (Our copyeditor who rarely comments on our stories has written that this is one of the most powerful pieces she’s read!!)

It’s slated to be used in our upcoming issue (coming out right after Yom Tov).

Please let me know what byline you’d like to go with and if we should classify this as fiction or nonfiction.
Please be aware that sometimes due to ads coming in at the last minute which may result in space constrains, pieces are not always used in the issue that they were originally scheduled for and may be used at a later date.
Please send an invoice to g-------@hamodia.com.
Thanks and all the best,
Plonis2

March 21: Hi Plonis2,
Thank you for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
This story is 100% true and happened to me. So it should definitely be classified as nonfiction. The only thing I changed was the names of the people involved.
I'm not sure about a byline. Let me think on it a little. When do you need an answer by?
Thanks again!

March 21: I reached out to the payment office as instructed.
March 22: (response from payment dept.) I am attaching a sample invoice for you to fill out. Binah's rate is 10 cents a word and your word count is 2379.

March 26: (from Plonis2)Wow, I was wondering why you didn’t respond and I just realized that all your stuff was sitting in my spam folder all this time!!
I’ll iy”H make some changes and be in touch with you tomorrow. I’ll need a byline by about noon tomorrow. This goes to print tomorrow afternoon.

May 7: Hi [billing dept],
I submitted an invoice for a story [Title of Story] which was published on the week of April 9th.
I am wondering when I could expect to receive a check?

May 7: I will put in a payment request for you to get paid this week.
May 7: Thank you, I appreciate that. How long does it generally take?
May 7: Binah usually pays within 4 weeks of the article being published.
May 7: Ok. Thank you.
May 17: Hi ----, Attached please find an invoice for my Binah story "[second story that got printed]."
Also, I was wondering if a check went out last week for my other story, [first story], which was published before Pesach? I have not received it.
May 17: Yes a check has been mailed out, you should receive it in a day or two.
May 17: Thank you.
-------

In summary: It took about 2 months to receive a positive response, and about 4 months to get paid for my article.
Hope this is helpful.