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Revised 2.09

Submission Guidelines for Freelance Writers

Thanks for your interest in Alaska magazine. We do our best to bring our readers the finest writing on Alaska. Whether you’re an established writer or just getting started, read some of the magazines from the past couple of years closely to familiarize yourself with our approach to life on the Last Frontier.
Before writing your story, send us a story query to see if we’re interested in your idea. Give your query plenty of specifics. Picking a topic is only the beginning, so give us a lot of detail and tell us why you’re the person to write it. And please: Don’t pitch those stories you think we want to see; pitch the stories you think Alaskans and fans of Alaska want to read. To paraphrase an overused saying: Think outside what you think is the Alaska magazine box.
E-mail is the best method for queries and pitches. Please refrain from telephoning or e-mailing to check up on your proposal. We’ll get back to you as promptly as possible, usually in four to six weeks. And if that reply is negative, don’t get discouraged—we see upward of 100 pitches each month. Develop other ideas and pitch those.

General Writer Guidelines: First and foremost, Alaska magazine is a publication about Alaska for Alaskans by Alaskans. A story must have two attributes before it will be considered for publication. First, its focus must be on Alaska. Equally important, the story must be an example of superlative writing, preferably with a well-developed narrative at its core.
Whether it’s a history piece on Aleut baskets or an adventure tale about hiking in the Brooks Range, it should always have an “only in Alaska” aspect. A story on a mall in Alaska, for example, won’t work for us; every state has malls. If you’ve got a story about a Juneau mall run by someone who’s also a bush pilot and part-time trapper, maybe we’d be interested. If you’ve got a story about a village store in Chevak where everyone from the surrounding Bush meets to swap gear and tall tales—let’s talk. The point is Alaska stories have to be vivid, focused and unique. Alaska is like nowhere else—we need our stories to be the same way.
In addition to compelling, focused and unique subject matter, the writing itself should be compelling, focused and unique. Use the creative techniques that make for renowned writing in any locale—it just so happens that your tale is set in Alaska. Yes, the “who, what, where, when, why and how” is a required part of any story, but a “just the facts, ma’am” approach to storytelling does not serve Alaska magazine’s readers. We want our writing to engage the reader every bit as much as the setting does.
Please keep the bigger picture in mind when planning your stories. Have ideas about photos, sidebars, reference maps and diagrams—any appropriate supporting information that will make your story a whole offering for our readers. And if you’re shooting photos, shots that stress mood and action are always preferable to the cliché big, broad scenics.

Feature Stories: Our main feature stories average about 2,000 words long, but we’re open-minded about the length of stories that are well-written and compelling to read. We get far too many queries about the obvious (a vacation in Alaska, the Iditarod, homesteading, bears) and far too few about more unusual topics. Our favorite story subjects are natural and human history, travel, adventure and profiles, and pieces covering those issues that are unique to Alaska.

Issues: There are very compelling (and sometimes divisive) issues facing Alaskans every day. We want to be a forum for the presentation of those issues so Alaskans have the information they need to make informed decisions. Tell readers about the players involved; get them caught up in the challenges facing Alaska; provoke them to think about their feelings on the topic. These are the things Alaskans talk about day in and day out—let everyone know what the discussion is all about.

Travel: “Been There, Done That.” Like that T-shirt says, our readers have been around. To pique their interest, you have to give them new sights and places, or new insights into old places.

Natural History: Alaska offers boundless opportunities for the writer engaged by natural wonders. But remember, if it’s a well-known critter (bears, whales, salmon), then the story must take a novel approach. Our readers know Alaska, so the writing must be as fresh and bright as a sea-run silver salmon.

Human History: This has long been an Alaska hallmark. Too often, however, writers suggest stories that have already run: homesteading, the Gold Rush, the Aleutian campaign of World War II. There are plenty of untapped veins out there. Find them.

Adventure: Sourdoughs and visitors alike want their wilderness big and their adventures unforgettable. Similarly, our adventure stories must offer hold-onto-your-hat experiences. Telling readers how they can have similar adventures is a good example of sidebar information that should be considered when planning a story.

Profiles: We are eager to run profiles of people who have played important roles in Alaska, but we also want to hear about the ordinary folk who are quietly doing extraordinary things.

The Alaska Sportsman is an eight-page section that’s 90 percent freelance-written. Each month, the lead article draws from a broad variety of Alaska outdoors subjects including where to hunt and fish, instruction on techniques, mood and adventure pieces, and profiles of prominent Alaska sportsmen. Quality color photography is an essential part of the feature. The writing style should be active and anecdotal. The piece should capture the interest of nonhunters and fishermen as well as sportsmen. Alaska has the biggest bears and salmon, the most caribou and moose and the wildest country left in the nation. Stories should reflect these and other features distinctive to Alaska.

Alaska Voices is home to those authentic essays about a way of life you just can’t find anywhere else. Alaska Voices is an irregular feature that will appear whenever the material (and space limitations) allow. The nonfiction essays range up to around 1,200 words and should chronicle a way of life that can take place only in Alaska.

Nuts and Bolts: We work about four to six months in advance, so submit that seasonal story well ahead. We pay on publication. Plan on revising and rewriting sections of the story before final acceptance. Our pay rate is 38 cents a word for feature copy, based on the word count of the published version, with additional pay for use of any photos by the author.
Queries should be submitted via e-mail (in .doc format or in the body of an email) to senior editor Rebecca Luczycki at rebecca.luczycki@alaskamagazine.com. For queries submitted via regular mail, please enclose three to five samples of your best work along with your idea. For stories submitted via mail, please include a disk as well as a hard copy. All hard copies must be typed and double-spaced. Please send your story on a CD. We can handle PC- or Mac-based disks. Again, thanks for your interest. We look forward to seeing your submission.


Alaska magazine
Attn: Story Queries
301 Arctic Slope Avenue, Suite 300
Anchorage, AK 99518
(907) 272-6070
 
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