Submitting to Publications

By admin on November 2nd, 2008

This is something I deal with all the time with especially interior designers.  They ask about getting their projects submitted to a local magazine that they follow on top of many others on a national level.  Here is the problem, if you want to get into high-end national level publications you need to be patient and think big, but most of all don’t kill your chances from the start.

Here is an example.  There is a New Jersey based magazine that covers architectural and interior design projects throughout the state.  I see so many interior designers going crazy over this publication and I have competing photographers who get work because they advertise about getting published in it.  Here are the problems.  Is this the best publication these designers can get into?  Some yes, but what happens if they have a great project and submit it to this local publication?  Sure they get published but what happens when they try for the high end publications?  Little do they know, once a project is submitted it becomes less valuable to the next publication.  Why?  Because publications value exclusive content.  Much like everyone else, they also want to step things up a notch and therefore gain more advertisers in the process. So I’m sure you can guess what happens when you submit your project to that high end magazine, not much unless it’s very unique.

So, what should you do?  My answer is research!  Go to your local bookstore and look at the publication that fits your style.  Don’t just pick anything, look at the subject matter because most publications have a style or theme.  Carefully sort through the publications and either buy them or write down the submission info from the masthead.   What is a masthead?  It’s where the editorial staff and contributors are listed, usually within the first few pages.  Be sure to check out the websites because they may post their editorial calendar.  The editorial calendar will not only list what future issues are about but they will have contact info and requirements.  This is the patience part because your project may not fit the editorial calendar but it may fit later on.  Many projects are planned a year ahead of time. Once you have your select publications in mind, write up a description and ask your photographer for email or web optimized images to submit.  Another option is to have your photographer post a gallery instead.  This is an option I often offer.  See an example of the format I use on my architectural and interior design website www.psbphotography.com. My galleries all use the same format but can be customized.  From the gallery, a publication may request samples to keep on file.  If they decide on the project they will contact the photographer for high resolution images and to work out usage fees.  We’ll go over usage fees on another subject because it deserves it’s own discussion. The idea is to submit to only those publications your work fits best.  Wait a while and submit to others you may find.

Here is where the local publications come into play.  Yes, it has advantages because it may be more noticeable to your local potential clients.  When starting out it may be good to get some published work but always keep in mind your long term goals.  My only major problems with local publications is first of all the quality and second the audience.  Quality is right away noticeable, but what about the audience who reads the publication?  Back to this New Jersey publication.  It became such a following for interior designers that it became a publication of interior designers for interior designers.  What?  Yes, the subject matter is mostly interior design projects, the people who read the publication are interior designers and the people who advertise are interior designers and services for the same industry.  So are you getting what you’re looking for and good exposure?  Maybe, but later you may wish you aimed for those better publications that you can promote with pride. To sum all this up.  Be sure to research and be patient.  Did I mention that the quality of photography matters?  Well that doesn’t need to be explained. Be sure to check out my architectural and interior design gallery updates.
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