Submitting to UK Magazines?

AnneMarble · Oct 15, 2005

When I visited England recently, I found out about (OK, became addiccted to) the woman's weeklies. There are scads of weekly woman's magazines, such as "Woman's Weekly," "Take a Break," and "Chat." Many (most?) of them publish short stories -- I think one or two per issue. On top of that, there are monthly story magazines, such as The People's Friend (I think that's the title) and the Fiction Special magazines put out by the weeklies -- I think the one I bought was a Take a Break Fiction Special.

Are these magazines open to stories from U.S. writers? And if so, are they open to stories about the U.S.? I've heard that some overseas magazines like getting submissions from the U.S. because the settings were exotic to their reader. And I did see a story set in Texas in one of the magazines I read, although I wasn't sure if the author was actually from England or from Texas.

Does anyone know how to go about submitting to these magazines? I'm also looking for a way to subscribe to the one I liked the most (the fiction magazine) without spending a lot of quid.

arrowqueen · Oct 15, 2005

Chat has stopped doing fiction, apart from 60-word shorts (or 'true life' stories - the gorier the better!) All the rest are open for submissions, and I'm sure you'd have the 'exotic factor'.

The optimum word count is round the 1,000 mark.(max 1,200) - though things like 'Fiction Feast' take longer ones. (I think the longest I've ever sold to them was about 8,000.)

If you write in, with an sae, they'll send you a copy of their writers' guidelines but in the meantime, if you like, I'll look up the addresses for you. (Though not right now as I over-indulged last night and am feeling a little fragile!)

AnneMarble · Oct 15, 2005

arrowqueen said:
Chat has stopped doing fiction, apart from 60-word shorts (or 'true life' stories - the gorier the better!) All the rest are open for submissions, and I'm sure you'd have the 'exotic factor'.

Thanks! At first, it's hard to imagine that writing a story that takes place in my hometown would be exotic. But of course, much of what I saw in the UK was exotic to me, while people who lived there accepted it as normal. In one of her books about writing, Phyllis Whitney said that when she first tried to write stories, she wrote about girls who lived in the U.S. because that was so exotic to her -- she was a girl living in Japan at the time. Once she started writing about her own "backyard," her stories became more likely to interest editors. Not only were they more exotic to most readers, but they were more authentic than her stories about the U.S.

arrowqueen said:
If you write in, with an sae, they'll send you a copy of their writers' guidelines but in the meantime, if you like, I'll look up the addresses for you. (Though not right now as I over-indulged last night and am feeling a little fragile!)

Thanks! I tried accessing the Bauer website but couldn't get it to come up. I did try sending them an e-mail, so maybe that will work. Oh, I have seen some market listings around, but I'm not sure if they are up-to-date.

pdr · Oct 15, 2005

Just to note...

Please note:
I've just had a batch of stories reach the second round of acceptance with The People's Friend. (They actually publish a weekly magazine as well as specials.) My editor asked me to rewrite two of the stories that were set in Japan and Canada without any UK connections and give them a UK connection.
This is a first for me as I've had stories accepted before without the UK connection but then New Zealand is regarded as part of the UK!!!

arrowqueen · Oct 16, 2005

Okay. Here's a few to get you started. I haven't got the 'People's Friend' one, but perhaps pdr could supply it - or else I'll try and dig it out from somewhere.

pdr makes a good point though. I'd try and give your stories a UK link. (Heroine working/on holiday in US/something like that) to give yourself an edge. (Well done on getting to second read with the latest batch, pdr. Fingers crossed.)

Pat Richardson,
Fiction Editor,
best,
72, Broadwick St.,
London. W1F 9EP.

Linda O'Byrne,
Fiction Editor,
Bella,
25-27, Camden Rd.,
London, NW1 9LL.

Emma Fabian,
Fiction Editor,
that's life,
3rd Floor,
Academic House,
24-28, Oval Rd.,
London, NW1 7DT.

Norah McGrath,
Fiction Editor,
Take a Break
24-28 Oval Rd.,
London, NW1 7DT.

Gaynor Davies,
Fiction Editor,
Womans' Weekly,
IPC Media Ltd.,
King's Reach Tower,
Stamford St.,
London SE1 9LS.

Good luck.

pdr · Oct 16, 2005

The People's Friend

THE PEOPLE’S FRIEND
D.C.Thomson’s stable of Scottish magazines THE PEOPLE’S FRIEND publishes up to 7 stories a week and has seasonal fiction editions.
Read several copies of the magazine first. Send an s.a.e. for the excellent guidelines and follow them to the letter. This magazine - founded in 1869 - has been a success for years because the editors know what their readers like in the way of fiction. They are looking for ‘a good read for practical women-and men.’ The readers, aged 30 to over 80 enjoy traditional stories, and articles on home interests, especially cooking and knitting. Stories should have romantic or emotional appeal without sex, violence or drugs. As one editor puts it: ‘...the most important people are our readers. What matters to them is that they can rely on good clean reading of the sort they prefer in "their" magazine every week. If a writer is prepared to study the market and provide same, consistently, accepting guidance from our editor, who certainly knows the market, she or he will sell to us.’
Short stories are from 1,000 to 4,000 words. Serials of 60,000-70,000 words must be queried and contracted first. Unsolicited short stories, poems, articles and children’s material must be submitted by post and please include an s.a.e for response.
Response can be slow. The magazine receives hundreds of submissions. Include your e-mail details so if your story shows promise but needs a rewrite the editors can contact you quickly.
Payment is always on acceptance
Details: D. C. Thompson & Co., Ltd, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL, UK. Contact: Morag Ewing. Email:[email protected]
Website: www.dcthomson.co.uk

If you are not 'precious' about your writing and accept the fact that the editors do know better than you what their readers want, if you are willing to rewrite as asked then you can sell to this magazine. In fact I've always found The People's Friend really good to work with and have learnt a lot about writing for women's magazines from them.

AnneMarble · Oct 16, 2005

arrowqueen said:
Okay. Here's a few to get you started. I haven't got the 'People's Friend' one, but perhaps pdr could supply it - or else I'll try and dig it out from somewhere.

Thanks!

arrowqueen said:
pdr makes a good point though. I'd try and give your stories a UK link. (Heroine working/on holiday in US/something like that) to give yourself an edge.

That makes sense. Otherwise they might ask "Why didn't she just send this to a U.S. magazine?" Once I write something (that's the hard part!), I'll run it past my friend to make sure I don't have characters putting on sweaters instead of jumpers or something.

arrowqueen said:
(Well done on getting to second read with the latest batch, pdr. Fingers crossed.)

Go pdr!

AnneMarble · Oct 16, 2005

pdr said:
If you are not 'precious' about your writing and accept the fact that the editors do know better than you what their readers want, if you are willing to rewrite as asked then you can sell to this magazine. In fact I've always found The People's Friend really good to work with and have learnt a lot about writing for women's magazines from them.

Thanks! I do have a single copy of the magazine, but of course, that isn't enough to get a really good idea about the magazine. Especially as I haven't read it yet.

I'll get to it, though. And I like the covers.

I decided I might be a better "fit" for the Fiction Feast as I read it all the way through and actually had to start "rationing" the stories near the end when I started running out. Still, I won't ignore any other potential markets.

Old Hack · Oct 17, 2005

My sister writes regularly for Take a Break and that's life! magazines: she writes "twist in the tail" stories for both magazines.

The main problem which non-UK writers have is in payment. You're paid by cheque, drawn on a UK bank account, so non-UK writers incur large fees when cashing their payment cheques. However, the good news is that the pay is excellent (about £400 for a 1,000 word story from a new writer) so you might feel that that is not too much of a problem.

If you are going to submit, be warned that they have very specific needs as far as stories go. Far more than other magazines. You'll need to read several copies to get the hang of it--not that that's too much of a problem!

AnneMarble · Oct 17, 2005

Old Hack said:
My sister writes regularly for Take a Break and that's life! magazines: she writes "twist in the tail" stories for both magazines.

That was one of my favorite categories!

Old Hack said:
The main problem which non-UK writers have is in payment. You're paid by cheque, drawn on a UK bank account, so non-UK writers incur large fees when cashing their payment cheques. However, the good news is that the pay is excellent (about £400 for a 1,000 word story from a new writer) so you might feel that that is not too much of a problem.

Yeah, I was worried about the fee for cashing the check, I mean cheque. But as long as I end up with more money than I started out with...

Also, I'll have to find out if anyone at my post office has ever heard of international reply coupons. :ROFL:

That is, if they're still using those for return postage to other countries.

Old Hack said:
If you are going to submit, be warned that they have very specific needs as far as stories go. Far more than other magazines. You'll need to read several copies to get the hang of it--not that that's too much of a problem!

Just this morning, I found out how to subscribe to Fiction Feast and how much it would cost. It's just over $50 but worth it, I think, because it's a magazine I would actually enjoy, instead of one I feel "obliged" to buy but never really enjoy reading.

arrowqueen · Oct 17, 2005

I forgot about Fiction Feast. I usually just send everything to Norah and she sends on the FF ones. I'll look it up for next time.

pdr · Oct 17, 2005

Helpful hints?

If you're serious about submitting to the UK magazines, Anne, don't use IRCs. They are very expensive.The UK GPO have a website where you can buy the British stamps. You have to buy a large quantity but it's worth it. (Makes you submit more to use them too!)

Make your script a disposable one and don't ask for returns.

Always include your e-mail address and tell them you are happy for an e-mail reply.

Analyse the magazines carefully. Check out the adverts. to get an idea of the readers. Study the language they use. Each magazine has a very different tone and a specific market. If you understand that for each magazine then you have a better chance of writing what the editors want.

Keep on submitting. It takes a while to 'crack' the editors. I sometimes think they want to see that you can write lots of stories! Once you are 'in' with an editor then you can e-mail your submissions and will be asked to rewrite rather than receive rejections.

It helps we 'furriners' to get hold of a copy of the UK Pen/Macmillan Writer's Handbook 2006. Out in late October. It covers magazines in detail and there are a lot of general magazines in the UK that accept fiction.

Good Luck!

P.S. Arrowqueen do you have 'The Lady' details? They are fussy and old fashioned but kind to new writers.

AnneMarble · Oct 18, 2005

pdr said:
If you're serious about submitting to the UK magazines, Anne, don't use IRCs. They are very expensive.The UK GPO have a website where you can buy the British stamps. You have to buy a large quantity but it's worth it. (Makes you submit more to use them too!)

More great advice snipped

Thanks! I almost missed this one because it didn't show up on my thingie.

I like the idea about buying lots of stamps so you have to keep submitting.

arrowqueen · Oct 18, 2005

pdr:

Arline Usben,
The Lady,
39 - 40, Bedford Street,
London,
WC2E 9ER.

(Not sure if the editor is still the same. My Writers' Handbook is last years. Might be better just to send to the mag. Alternatively if you wait a couple of days, I'll get a copy when the latest issue comes into the shops)

Anne:

'Fiction Feast' is the same address as 'Take a Break', but the editor is Margaret Nicholls.

Anything else I can help with, just give me a wee shout.

pdr · Oct 18, 2005

Forgot to Say

Re payments:
My Weekly and The People's Friend always send me a banker's draft in my currency so I'd get a nice fat cheque in NZ dollars on acceptance.

Another good thing about the DC Thomson magazines is that they are often turned into Talking Books for the blind. This is a charity so you aren't paid, but it's a nice thing to know your story is being enjoyed by people who wouldn't normally be able to read it!

UK GPO website for stamps: http://www.royalmail.com.

Thank you for your encouraging cheers. I think, from my editor's comments, that two of the four are through. Will rewrite the failures for 'The Lady' or 'My Weekly'. Thank you for posting the address.

There's a UK seniors magazine called 'Modern and Mature' that runs a short story comp and publishes some fiction. I can't track it down. Do you know it, Arrowqueen?

arrowqueen · Oct 19, 2005

Sorry, pdr. That must be a fairly new magazine. I've never heard anyone mention it before; it's not in my book and I haven't seen any copies in the shops.

I'll keep a look-out for it though.

Mike Coombes · Oct 19, 2005

http://www.modernandmature.co.uk/

Google is your friend.

pdr · Oct 19, 2005

Aw gee!

Great, thank you, Mike. Nice website. I'll give them a try.

__VeNoM__ · Oct 19, 2005

Hey P, what's up?

Morningmist · Oct 20, 2005

Does anyone know of a UK magazine, other than People's Friend, that publishes a children's story? Or a US one, for that matter?

Thanks

arrowqueen · Oct 20, 2005

Cheers, Mike. I did Google - but all I got was Modern Drunkard Magazine. (Maybe I should take out a subscription? Hic!)

arrowqueen · Oct 20, 2005

And sorry, Morning. I can't think of one off-hand.

awaitingthemuse · Oct 21, 2005

I have a couple of questions I would like to add to this post. Excuse the hijack. I notice that some of these publications have the same address, do editors ever pass work on that is not suitable for their magazine but maybe suitable for another publication.

Also, has anyone had any experience with an Irish magazine called Woman's Way. I found the listing in Writers and Artists yearbook and thought I would send off for submission guidelines for short fiction. That was at the start of the summer but haven't heard anything.

This is a great topic.

arrowqueen · Oct 21, 2005

My editor at 'Take a Break' will pass on things to my other editor at 'Fiction Feast' - but I've been writing for them for years now. I presume she'd do the same for new writers though, since both magazines are published by H. Bauer.

On the other hand, I have to resubmit my rejections to my editor at 'that's life' - and it's a Bauer one too.

arrowqueen · Oct 21, 2005

And I don't know 'Woman's Way', Sorry.

Submitting to UK Magazines?

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