The Writer Magazine

Publication analysis


About the publication

Title: The Writer Magazine

ISSN: 0043-9517 (Print) and 21663-0046 (Online)1

Website: http://www.writermag.com/

Purpose, objective, or mission: According to the online submission guidelines, “The Writer is dedicated to expanding and supporting the work of professional and aspiring writers with a straightforward presentation of industry information, writing instruction and professional and personal motivation. In the pages of our magazine, writers share experiences, expertise, struggles, advice, successes and suggestions.”2

Target audience: Professional and aspiring writers.3

Publisher: Madavor Media.4

Peer reviewed? No.

Type: Civilian publication for writers.

Medium: Print and online.

Content: Features instructive articles on how to improve writing and get work published. Also includes up-to-date market lists for aspiring and experienced writers and book reviews for newly published material in the field.

Frequency of publication: Monthly.5

About the publication’s submission guidelines

Location of submission guidelines: http://www.writermag.com/the-magazine/submission-guidelines/

Types of contributions accepted: “We are interested in how-to stories, reported pieces, narrative essays, and profiles of writers and others in the field.” 6

Submission and review process: Query first. All queries via email to tweditorial [at] madavor.com along with your name, a short bio, an outline of your story idea, estimated word count, and a brief description of your background. “We receive hundreds of pitches every week and cannot respond to all of them. If you haven’t heard from us in two weeks, please feel free to move your submission to another publication.”7

Editorial tone: Step-by-step how-to instructional advice, written in an easy-to-digest tone. Narrative essays should provide some take-away advice and benefits to a writing audience, but should not be self-promoting. Tone should support aspiring and experienced writers alike, although beginning writers are more likely to read the magazine.8

Style guide used: No style guide or preferences are stated in the submission guidelines.

Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors

No matter the field, all writers share the same pitfalls, challenges, and successes. LIS authors can convey their experiences and even review books they found helpful to the craft of writing. One column, entitled “Breakthrough,” publishes first-person narratives as new writers “break through” to publication and all authors are eligible to submit upon publishing their first article (presumably in an LIS publication).9 LIS authors are also great at discovering and organizing resources for writers, which would be great for the how-to instructional features, such as helping authors do research for articles.

 

Audience analysis


About the publication’s readers

Publication circulation: 32,000 print and digital readers; more than 40,000 opt-in e-newsletter subscribers; 51,000 unique monthly website visitors.10

Audience location and language or cultural considerations: Published in the United States; available by subscription internationally as well.11 Readers are well cultured and interested in literature and writing as an art. Literary and writing jargon can be used.

Reader characteristics: The readers of The Writer are 27% male and 72% female. The average household income is $82,000 and 64% of readers are college graduates12 Readers of The Writer are literary in nature. Readers want informative, how-to advice and stories about how to succeed at the craft and business of writing. There is no place for negativity regarding the profession in this publication. Readers have one important thing in common, they are passionate about the craft of writing. Because writing is mostly a freelance profession, information related to managing a freelance career is also well received and well featured in the magazine. Another important thing to remember is that this publication caters to all types of writers, which does give a broad array of possible types of readers to target.

Readers of The Writer are only interested in reading articles written in a supportive and encouraging tone with the honest intention of helping other writers further their craft. Readers expect The Writer to teach them how to write all types of articles and stories. Readers are generally open to new ideas on the publication’s subject matter and believe they too can become professional writers.

Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers of this publication have limited knowledge of LIS subject matter, except as it relates to book reviews and literature. Readers can easily digest writing that dissects published works, and also can appreciate labeling materials for certain audiences. Readers will not understand technical LIS jargon, but they will appreciate information that will help them use library and research resources more efficiently.

Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors

The most obvious characteristic that readers of The Writer have in common is that they are all writers. While it can be assumed readers are literary to a certain degree, their level of technical knowledge when discussing LIS-related issues or services must be presented in a language that is easy for someone unfamiliar to LIS jargon to understand. Readers of this publication could benefit from research instruction, such as how to research a great book or article idea, but it must be presented in layperson terms. Potential authors should consider the level of research skills to be moderate to none among readership, and therefore mimic the publication’s simplified tone when providing advice on these or related topics. Furthermore, potential authors should keep in mind that readers expect articles to be very descriptive, with step-by-step instructions on how to achieve whatever goal the article promises. This style is what keeps readers interested and coming back issue after issue.

Last updated: September 6, 2020


References

Show 12 footnotes

  1. The Writer, Ulrichsweb Global Serials Directory, accessed September 6, 2020, http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/title/1599422891430/55543
  2. “Submission Guidelines,” WriterMag.com, accessed December 9, 2016, http://www.writermag.com/the-magazine/submission-guidelines/
  3. Submission Guidelines.”
  4. Submission Guidelines.”
  5. “Subscriptions,” WriterMag.com, accessed December 9, 2016, http://www.writermag.com/the-magazine/subscriptions/
  6. Submission Guidelines.”
  7. Submission Guidelines.”
  8. Submission Guidelines.”
  9. Submission Guidelines.”
  10. Madover Media. (2020). Media Kit. The Writer. Retrieved from https://cdn.writermag.com/2019/12/TWM-1908-MediaKit-LR-1.pdf
  11. 2020 Media Kit.”
  12. 2020 Media Kit.”
Comments are closed.