Writers' Guidelines
Marketing News, a biweekly business newspaper, brings its readers everything that's new in marketing. Typical subscribers are well-educated marketing executives, marketing managers, marketing researchers and marketing educators. Most have at least a master's degree.
Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome, although submission is always on speculation. Most accepted articles run as part of our coverage of "special focus" topics, and are selected for specific issues.
When articles are rejected, it's usually because we've already covered the material or because the article essentially pitches the author's product or services, rather than focus on trends and issues of interest to marketers in general.
Here are answers to the most frequently asked questions about writing for Marketing News:
How long should my article be?
A thousand words, tops.
Will you edit my article?
You bet.
Will I get to see it before you publish it?
No, our production schedule doesn't allow for author review--no exceptions.
Will you pay me for the article?
No.
Instead of submitting the article, can I submit an outline?
No, please finish the article, and submit that. We wouldn't want our approval of an outline to be misunderstood as advance approval of an article.
Is it all right to include charts and graphs with the article?
Yes, although they may not be published even if the article is. Make sure they contain information that complements the text of the article. (Important note: If your chart contains Greek symbols or advanced mathematical equations, that's a pretty good sign that your article better suited for an academic or peer-review publication. You may want to consider contacting one of AMA's journals or specialty magazines.) Please note also that we only publish photographs of regular columnists.
Can I get extra copies of the issue my article appears in?
We'll automatically send you two extras.
I had an article published in another magazine/a local newspaper/my company's newsletter. Can I submit it to you?
Marketing News will copyright whatever it publishes; there are absolutely no exceptions. Submitting an article that's run elsewhere raises complicated copyright issues. Besides, the contract all authors have to sign gives the AMA the right of first publication.
And, of course, we want our readers to be the first to read articles that have something new to say about marketing.
Some definitions:
A note on what we mean by "published": An article is considerd previously published if it was posted on a Web site, or circulated by e-mail or snail-mail, even if the recipients were a small, well-defined group such as clients.
Now, if an article has been published before, but has been completely or substantially rewritten before it is submitted to Marketing News, we'll consider it. If not, we won't. (What do we mean by "substantially?" Ask yourself, if the newer version of the article were to appear under somebody else's name, would you consider it plagiarism? If so, then you have some more rewriting to do.)
The definition of "published" is changing as the courts reinterpret the term, the Marketing News' policies are written to stay abreast of the latest legal standards in publishing. There are no exceptions.
Now for some don'ts:
Don't write "journal style" with the conclusion at the end of the article. Put it at the beginning.
Don't use footnotes, endnotes, or lists of references. Articles containing these will not be considered. If your article cites previous works on the same topics, that means your article is not news.
Don't use unusual indentations, tabular settings, "outline" style paragraphs with subsets, subheads or other gimmicks to draw attention. Just put one word after another. Remember, you're writing for a newspaper. Charts and graphs should appear on separate sheets attached to the article.
You don't need to ask us what kind of article we need. When we need an article, we assign it to a staff writer or professional freelancer. If yours is an important point that needs to be made, write it up and send in your story.
Please keep in mind that it takes time to read the hundreds of submissions Marketing News receives every year. We strive to respond to authors within two months of receiving their manuscript.
Other important things
We reserve the right to reject any article at any time.
Upon submission to the AMA, photographs, manuscripts and other physical materials (not the creative content or the right to use that content) belong to the AMA, and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, adequately stamped envelope. We cannot guarantee that those returned will be in pristine condition.
All writers whose articles are accepted must sign AMA copyright forms; by doing so, writers are saying they're the sole owners of the material and its original, and they grant American Marketing Association, which publishes Marketing News, rights regarding their material, including rights to edit, retitle, and reprint it and grant permission to others to reprint it. After evaluating your article, we'll send you a copyright form if we decide to accept it. If we decide not to publish the article, we'll send you a letter.
Submit articles to: Editor, Marketing News, 311 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 5800, Chicago, IL 60606. By fax, at (312) 542-9001 (to the attention of "Marketing News bylined articles"). Or by e-mail at news@ama.org.