How to make millions writing articles about crochet?

[jimbo]

Now I am fully aware that there are many very accomplished authors who are members of the 'Ville, so I thought I'd see if I might tap this great resource for some helpful information.

 

Following minutes of deep thought and even less time researching, I’ve written a concise and totally fact free article on which came first, knitting or crochet and more specifically, knitting needles or crochet hooks. Cinchy.

Reminds me of that Dire Straits song.... "That ain't workin', that's the way you do it Money for nothin' and your chicks for free" So ok, I have the chick part all taken care of... but

 

now comes the hard part. Where and how to submit the article? What publication might be interested in a little hook history humor, and how should I go about submitting? Can writers actually get paid??

 

Inquiring Jimbos want to know.

[magiccrochetfan]

I think all of the crochet magazines have submission info on their websites. If you're not familiar with the magazine titles, I can give you a list.

 

I'm sure the article is a hoot:lol

[judianne]

Jimbo, that sounds like a fun piece! I took a superficial glance through my crochet mags a while back because I had an idea for a fun article, too - but didn't see a place I could send it to. Again, it was a superficial look.

I've had inspirational articles published, so thought this would be a natural - but I'm not sure where it should be sent.

 

Good luck - I'll be interested to see if your article finds a home.

[jimbo]

Yeah, I think part of the problem is that crochet magazines are pretty much focused on crochet patterns, stitches and such. A humor article, I think, would be a refreshing change. But convincing someone of that might be more of a challenge than writing the article. So... anyone know of a crochet publication that has a sense of humor?

[magiccrochetfan]

Crochet! used to have short humorous articles on the last page, but I think they've stopped doing that. However maybe they would like to get a submission of a humorous article..?

 

I don't recall seeing a humor piece in Interweave Crochet or Crochet Today. i don't read Crochet World so I don't know about them.

 

Are you a CGOA member? I think they are usually looking for newsletter articles (but don't pay for them as far as I know).

[Krakovianka]

I once read a funny article in a crochet magazine--just a page or so. It was "If you give a crocheter some yarn...", and it read like the book "If you give a mouse a cookie," with one thing leading to another, and then right back to the beginning. If that sounds familiar to anyone, maybe you can help me remember which magazine it was in? It might have been Interweave Crochet, or just Crochet!. I hardly have any US magazines, but I just can't remember where I read it. All I can say for certain is this: at least one crochet magazine would publish a short humorous article, and I imagine they would pay something for it.

[classic crochet]

Most magazines take article submission. You just need to send a letter of inquiry to each magazine to find out where/when to submit. Look on the websites for contact information for the editor, they are the ones you want to email.

 

I think your humorous articles sounds great! I am the editor for Chain Link which is the CGOA official newsletter. We don't pay, but if you are a member and are interested in submitting something, send me a PM and I'll send you my email address.

[happy stitcher]

I think the article Karen mentioned was in Crochet! but I'm not 100% absolutely sure....

I know that Crochet! often has a short (one page) funny bit at the end. I always enjoy reading that. The last one I remember was about having lots of projects going on at once, and how starting one is the best part. I could definitely relate!

 

Good luck with your article! If you can't find submission info on the magazine sites, you could always email or call them to ask for the specifics. I'll look forward to seeing your submission in print!

[judianne]

I think the article Karen mentioned was in Crochet! but I'm not 100% absolutely sure....

I know that Crochet! often has a short (one page) funny bit at the end. I always enjoy reading that. The last one I remember was about having lots of projects going on at once, and how starting one is the best part. I could definitely relate!

That may be the one with the same article writer for every issue...the magazines are all a blur to me at this point:lol

[Amy]

Yes, Crochet! magazine has a regular humor article on the last page of the magazine, written by Cindy Long. I think that's about the only regular humor feature I recall in the main magazines.

 

That doesn't mean that the other magazines wouldn't be interested in publishing it, though. Magazine space is at a premium, though, and there's a lot of focus on actual patterns.

 

Definitely go to each magazine's website and look for their designer/submission guidelines. Some have links to their editorial calendars, others will email it to you upon request. See if what you've written falls in with anything they're planning for upcoming issues, and target to that schedule if possible. Also be sure to check their article submission guidelines. Most have specific guidelines for article submissions or suggestions.

 

Good luck! And I hate to tell you this, but you're not going to get rich from one article! Write some more!

[AmySolovay]

I'd love to read your article, Jimbo. Sounds fun!

 

I'm late to the party here, but I know of some other options if the magazines don't work out for you. There are plenty of paid opportunities online for article writers. None of them pay well, but they do pay. I'd exhaust all other opportunities first before considering them.

 

You could submit the article to associatedcontent.com; they currently pay for some articles. Usually, if they accept your article, the upfront payment is around $3, maybe more maybe less; they also currently pay a page view bonus based on how many page views your article gets. I'm guessing your blog readers and friends here would all love to read the article, so if you were to publish it there you might end up with a decent page view bonus out of the deal. No guarantees, though.

[hhensler]

Interweave is accepting submissions (patterns & articles) for their upcoming fall 2011 issue...I posted the info in the "accepting submissions" section.

[dobermama]

Yeah, I think part of the problem is that crochet magazines are pretty much focused on crochet patterns, stitches and such. A humor article, I think, would be a refreshing change. But convincing someone of that might be more of a challenge than writing the article. So... anyone know of a crochet publication that has a sense of humor?

 

 

You know, one quilt magazine I belonged to a time ago, carried an article each publication from a husband of a quilter. They were hilarious stories. He started out posting them online and then they went national. The quilt magazines too were just patterns and designs at the time. It was a great change of pace.

 

Here are 3 mags that come immediately to mind:

 

Crochet Magazine

Crochet Today

Interweave Crochet

[tbest]

I think all of the crochet magazines have submission info on their websites. If you're not familiar with the magazine titles, I can give you a list.

 

I'm sure the article is a hoot:lol

 

I'd be appreciative if you still have and want to share that list of magazine titles. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

T:crocheting

[magiccrochetfan]

I'd be appreciative if you still have and want to share that list of magazine titles. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

T:crocheting

 

I think all of the US mags have been mentioned in the thread already. For english language mags, there is also Inside Crochet from the UK. There is also Tangled online mag, the site is tangledness. And Crochet Insider online mag.

[jimbo]

Holey cow, it's been awhile since this topic was started, and there still is no publication. Not that I've done nothing. I submitted it to "Crochet!" and got no response whatsoever... and now that I look back, it might have been the nicest thing to do..to simply allow the thing to die on the vine rather than crush my over sensitive heart with rejection. Ah but now I'm thinkin maybe to try Interweave.... or simply leave it as a chapter in my book, which is now up to a mind numbing 35 pages.

[Katieallen311815]

An easy read! I love it!