For Article Writers
City
and Regional Magazines.
City and regional magazines are probably one of the fastest growing of all magazine categories today.
Titles in this category include San Diego, Los Angeles, Texas Monthly, Washington, and others. Some
focus on city life, others specialize in business, home, garden, and sports. Founded in 1946,
Orlando magazine reflects the lifestyle and interests of an upscale, educated readership.
Local content
includes the arts, dining, travel, entertainment, shopping, healthcare and real estate—if it’s part of Orlando’s lifestyle, you’ll find it covered here.
Indianapolis Monthly on the other hand provides its audience with compelling narrative stories and lively, urbane coverage of the cultural and political landscape. The magazine has become
the region’s premier general-interest magazine—an indispensable authority on what’s new, what’s news,
and what people are talking about. Whether covering crime, politics, dining, business, style, sports, or arts and entertainment,
Indianapolis Monthly consistently demonstrates a commitment to compelling storytelling in a variety of forms.
"The city magazine is in effect, a magazine
for newcomers. It is the new, young, mobile blood that is coming into the community for whom the city magazines
serve a definite service role. The great success of city magazines is in communities with a heavy immigration
of upscale persons."
As
a result, many of these magazines offer an editorial mix of local nightlife, lifestyle and service features, plus a wide ranges
of articles slanted for an upscale reader.
Regional Slant
Here are some samples of articles from selected issues of Los Angeles and Northern
Ohio Alive: “The 64 Greatest Things in LA”…”The 75 Best Restaurants in LA”…”The
Zankou Chicken Murder”(the owner of this fast food chain, killed his mother and sister)… “Do You Wanna
Do the Derby?”
(The year’s most famous horse race in LA). Northern Ohio Alive: “End
of the Race” (two Northeast Ohio experts lead the world), “Fashioning a Future” (what it takes to graduate to the world
of fashion), “Baker's Double” (two bakers on the rise)…” New Home Builders.”
A few of These Magazines also run a number
of investigative articles. As a result. Philadelphia magazine, for instance, has reported on topics
as varied as organized crime and fugitive financier Robert Vesco.
What to Submit.
For the most part, city and regional magazines run fairly sophisticated local articles.
If this is true, how can a writer hope to sell a story to more than one of these publications at a time?
The answer lies in the fact that these publications cater to an upscale audience, intensely interested in a full, rich
life.
As a result, many regional
magazines run in addition to their regular features, articles on gardening, food, taxes, jobs, updating your wardrobe shopping,
managing your time, divorce, marriage, and personal relationships. Some also feature quizzes such as Creating
a Richer Sex Drive, and What Is Your Creativity Quotient?
It is true that these general articles represent only a small percentage of each magazine’s
total editorial content, but collectively, they offer a significant market for multiple sales of the same article.
Keep Your Eyes Open
I suggest
that you make a complete list of all the general articles you find. For instance, how many articles do
you find on divorce, personal relationships, personal time management, and so forth. This will give you a good idea of the
kind of general articles, the magazine takes. Most general articles are fairly short.
You may want to query for the first article you write
in a category. But once you have written it send it out to as many magazines as you think might take it.
That way, you have a chance of making a number of sales from the same article. Just be sure not to send to magazines with
an overlapping circulation.
Regional and city magazines:
http://www.palmspringslife.com/media/City-and-Regional-Magazine-Association/index.php
