writing for flying magazines
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writing for flying magazines
Hi
I have written up some of my flying trips and experiences over the years, mainly just for myself so I can reread them in the future once the grey matter starts to fade.
I was wondering whether it would be worth sending them off to the various magazines in case anybody else may find them imformative/entertaining. Has anybody done this? Do they accept articles from non staff writers? Do they pay for them?
I have written up some of my flying trips and experiences over the years, mainly just for myself so I can reread them in the future once the grey matter starts to fade.
I was wondering whether it would be worth sending them off to the various magazines in case anybody else may find them imformative/entertaining. Has anybody done this? Do they accept articles from non staff writers? Do they pay for them?
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I have written up a lot of stuff online too, and a long time ago various people suggested I send it to the UK mags, but they all turned it down, with Flyer saying they have far too much material already and can afford to be picky 
I suspect they want nice simple straight stories without the detail which is typical of web reports (one that are worth reading for learning something from). This is obvious - the print format is very different from the web format. One simply cannot capture any real detail in a printed magazine.
One Polish mag (Pilot Club) has run most of my stuff however, slightly edited, so it can be done if you apparently need something for page stuffing. I let them have it for nothing.
There is however a dislike among some printed media people of people who write stuff up for free. I was once castigated by the editor of a certain well known (non UK) pilot magazine for producing free content and doing "creative people" like him out of work
In general, the people I see doing regular print media contribution are people who do not run websites with competing material.
I suspect they want nice simple straight stories without the detail which is typical of web reports (one that are worth reading for learning something from). This is obvious - the print format is very different from the web format. One simply cannot capture any real detail in a printed magazine.
One Polish mag (Pilot Club) has run most of my stuff however, slightly edited, so it can be done if you apparently need something for page stuffing. I let them have it for nothing.
There is however a dislike among some printed media people of people who write stuff up for free. I was once castigated by the editor of a certain well known (non UK) pilot magazine for producing free content and doing "creative people" like him out of work
In general, the people I see doing regular print media contribution are people who do not run websites with competing material.
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While we certainly live in the 'internet age of free', I have to say
that the man has a point. How about someone designing electronic components and giving them away for free? I have a funny feeling you wouldn't like that one too much 
I was once castigated by the editor of a certain well known (non UK) pilot magazine for producing free content and doing "creative people" like him out of work
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I see your point. We wouldnt want pilots offering to fly for free or god forbid, pay to fly.
For things like flight tests and technical articles I can see that this would be the bread and butter for staff writers. Flying trip reports however as far as I can see, tend to be from a range of people . I wouldnt have thought that the magazines send people off on these kinds of flights just for the article would they. I stand to be corrected though.
For things like flight tests and technical articles I can see that this would be the bread and butter for staff writers. Flying trip reports however as far as I can see, tend to be from a range of people . I wouldnt have thought that the magazines send people off on these kinds of flights just for the article would they. I stand to be corrected though.
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How about someone designing electronic components and giving them away for free? I have a funny feeling you wouldn't like that one too much
The free software thingy has been out of the bag for years. Yeah, I am sure some people don't like it. Practically every consumer IT product (routers, mp3 players, etc) runs some ripoff of linux. But if you want to be in that business you need to run like crazy anyway.
I think printed mags simply have to find a different content to the web. They cannot use hyperlinks to expand on detail, which means that what might be "educational depth" cannot be achieved.
They also have to be less critical, due to the need to not upset advertisers. This culminates in the likes of the 99% shoe-licking U.S. Flying magazine which has become 99.9% shoe-licking since Mac left.
And I am sure trip reports, of various qualities, are two a penny nowadays.
Take a look at the photography industry, they're having to learn to deal with free (joe bloggs with his DSLR), and in many cases they're doing it very well.
But I have to say that the business was in some cases asking for it. I was mightily ripped off by industrial photographers in the 1970s, who retained copyright, retained negatives, prohibited everything except 1:1 or scaled reproduction, and eventually sold me the negative (1 negative) for £1000. Even back then, somebody with a set of lights could have done the same job with my OM1... so when photography became more accessible, that business more or less collapsed. But you still need a creative person to do creative work. It is the mundane stuff, which a lot of industrial (product) photography is, which has become mostly easy to DIY.
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Yes they will publish articles. Most of the trip report articles are not by staff writers, but submitted from the public.
As IO540 says they aren't interested in articles that are very technical if it's a trip report. An technical article in itself probably would be of interest, but the trip report ones should be more inspirational rather than a "hot to do this" type article.
Photographs are very very important to the article. If you have a great text but few good photos then the article is unlikely to be accepted.
Some magazines have a "house style" to the text. For example how they want numbers formatted etc. If they do it's probably written on their website. Make sure that it correct before submitting.
They pay in the region of £200-£250 for accepted articles. It's a few years since I wrote anything so can't remember exactly, and it might be out of date.
It will also be many months before it will be published (if they decide to).
If you want to write something other than a trip report, call them up before writing and ask them if they'd have any interest in such an article. You might save yourself a lot of work if they are not, or they might point you in a slightly different direction to make it more likely to be accepted.
As IO540 says they aren't interested in articles that are very technical if it's a trip report. An technical article in itself probably would be of interest, but the trip report ones should be more inspirational rather than a "hot to do this" type article.
Photographs are very very important to the article. If you have a great text but few good photos then the article is unlikely to be accepted.
Some magazines have a "house style" to the text. For example how they want numbers formatted etc. If they do it's probably written on their website. Make sure that it correct before submitting.
They pay in the region of £200-£250 for accepted articles. It's a few years since I wrote anything so can't remember exactly, and it might be out of date.
It will also be many months before it will be published (if they decide to).
If you want to write something other than a trip report, call them up before writing and ask them if they'd have any interest in such an article. You might save yourself a lot of work if they are not, or they might point you in a slightly different direction to make it more likely to be accepted.
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I think a big article can pay nearly £1000.
Certainly I reckon some of the regular writers in UK GA are making £30k-£50k/year in total, from their near-constant writing in every piece of paper you pick up.
Certainly I reckon some of the regular writers in UK GA are making £30k-£50k/year in total, from their near-constant writing in every piece of paper you pick up.
I had a trip report published in Pilot a couple of years ago. Since then I sent them an "I learnt about flying from that" but didn't even get a reply to my email.
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They actually pay you for the articles? where is my pen
"There I woz fleeing my hweroplane when my white wing fell orf" that should go down a treat
I wrote for the mags once on some flying thing that I won and found that it was edited and cut down quite a bit from my original.
Also I was asked to write the feature but never got paid (isnt aviation fun)
Pace
They actually pay you for the articles? where is my pen
"There I woz fleeing my hweroplane when my white wing fell orf" that should go down a treat
I wrote for the mags once on some flying thing that I won and found that it was edited and cut down quite a bit from my original.
Also I was asked to write the feature but never got paid (isnt aviation fun)
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It's not what it was. I used to write quite a lot for 'Pilot' in the days when it was owned and edited by the late James Gilbert. James would pay 'on acceptance' and would pay good rates. Twenty years ago £400 was not unusual for an article plus pictures (good photos are vital for a magazine piece). £650 is most I got.
The last one I wrote (well over a year ago) was in 'Pilot', about our group-owned Chipmunk. I wrote the piece (which was published verbatim) and another group member who is in the graphics industry supplied some excellent photographs.
'Pilot' seems to be much more receptive of unsolicited pieces than is 'Flyer', but it has to be good and in the 'house' style.
Go for it! It's quite a thrill to walk into WH Smiths and take a mag off the rack and see your own words in print!
The last one I wrote (well over a year ago) was in 'Pilot', about our group-owned Chipmunk. I wrote the piece (which was published verbatim) and another group member who is in the graphics industry supplied some excellent photographs.
'Pilot' seems to be much more receptive of unsolicited pieces than is 'Flyer', but it has to be good and in the 'house' style.
Go for it! It's quite a thrill to walk into WH Smiths and take a mag off the rack and see your own words in print!
I have some knowledge here - I've written for a variety of flying magazines since 1996 and after a couple of years break, last year I picked this activity up again and currently write a monthly column in a non-UK flying magazine.
Firstly trip reports - all flying magazine editors are inundated with trip reports, some quite well written, most not, the vast majority far too long to use anyway. A trip report needs to be a quite exceptional piece of writing to get published and very very few will ever see print.
Next flight tests - these are fairly specialist, and people who can get a really good judgment, then write well about it, in a small period of flight time, are pretty rare. The "staff writers" (actually usually just known good regulars rather than people on a salary) therefore tend to pick these up because they can be trusted to get them right. It is also important when writing one of these to appreciate that one of the major objectives of a flight test or equipment test article, in the mind of the editor, is to sell advertising! Thus is why, particularly in UK flying magazines, you virtually never read a critical report.
High quality discussion editorial needs incredibly knowledgeable, and usually regular contributors. Pick up any of the flying magazines and you'll see who these are. Personally I really enjoy writing this, but it's bloody difficult to keep saying something new and interesting, for a deadline, every month without fail. Writers block is no excuse- your editor demands copy, on time, of the required length, of the required quality. Not much of this tends to be one-offs.
All magazines have a house style that needs to be used. Most magazines nowadays will have some guidance on their website somewhere, along with length requirements, whether the editor wants to agree a structure in advance, and so-on. And try, over time, to build a relationship of mutual trust with your editor.
Photographs, as has already been said, are essential for trip reports and flight tests, and helpful to other editorial. Whilst they need to be good, quality is less important than you might think - flying magazines mostly sell on the quality of the writing and relevance of the subject matter - but nonetheless articles need illustrating and if an editor is choosing between two of equivalent quality, then the one with the better illustrations will sell.
Money varies massively and is to some extent negotiable if you are good enough and regular, to very little extent negotiable if you are new. Flight tests usually pay better than anything else. Some pay by the word, some by the page, some a standard rate per article.
Your name may be a good well known one (Dennis Kenyon, Bob Davy, Helen Krasner, Dave Unwin...) in which case you want to use that. However, particularly if you are selling to multiple magazines then agreeing a pseudonym may be practical because magazines prefer to maintain the illusion that any writer is apparently exclusive to them.
Finally the apprenticeship. Learning to write good publishable prose is a learned skill that requires development and time. Writing webitorial that is not subject to critical review, word limits, commercial requirements is unlikely to be a harsh enough environment to get you where you want to be. Writing for club or society newsletters is widely recognised as a good start in - it won't pay, but it will help you refine your skills. Expect a few rejection slips along the way!
Also the level of perfectionism is part of that learning processes. Most people in their first 5 years of writing probably need to expect at-least 4 revisions & re-writes per article, and probably 6 in the first year. After about a decade you can probably get down to one write and 1-2 reviews, per article, before submitting.
But it is gratifying, it can go a long way to paying for your recreational flying (it has done for me anyhow), and it does make a lot of your flying tax deductible! Also the magazines need copy, you don't need a commercial licence to make money from your flying this way, and the market will always be there.
G
Firstly trip reports - all flying magazine editors are inundated with trip reports, some quite well written, most not, the vast majority far too long to use anyway. A trip report needs to be a quite exceptional piece of writing to get published and very very few will ever see print.
Next flight tests - these are fairly specialist, and people who can get a really good judgment, then write well about it, in a small period of flight time, are pretty rare. The "staff writers" (actually usually just known good regulars rather than people on a salary) therefore tend to pick these up because they can be trusted to get them right. It is also important when writing one of these to appreciate that one of the major objectives of a flight test or equipment test article, in the mind of the editor, is to sell advertising! Thus is why, particularly in UK flying magazines, you virtually never read a critical report.
High quality discussion editorial needs incredibly knowledgeable, and usually regular contributors. Pick up any of the flying magazines and you'll see who these are. Personally I really enjoy writing this, but it's bloody difficult to keep saying something new and interesting, for a deadline, every month without fail. Writers block is no excuse- your editor demands copy, on time, of the required length, of the required quality. Not much of this tends to be one-offs.
All magazines have a house style that needs to be used. Most magazines nowadays will have some guidance on their website somewhere, along with length requirements, whether the editor wants to agree a structure in advance, and so-on. And try, over time, to build a relationship of mutual trust with your editor.
Photographs, as has already been said, are essential for trip reports and flight tests, and helpful to other editorial. Whilst they need to be good, quality is less important than you might think - flying magazines mostly sell on the quality of the writing and relevance of the subject matter - but nonetheless articles need illustrating and if an editor is choosing between two of equivalent quality, then the one with the better illustrations will sell.
Money varies massively and is to some extent negotiable if you are good enough and regular, to very little extent negotiable if you are new. Flight tests usually pay better than anything else. Some pay by the word, some by the page, some a standard rate per article.
Your name may be a good well known one (Dennis Kenyon, Bob Davy, Helen Krasner, Dave Unwin...) in which case you want to use that. However, particularly if you are selling to multiple magazines then agreeing a pseudonym may be practical because magazines prefer to maintain the illusion that any writer is apparently exclusive to them.
Finally the apprenticeship. Learning to write good publishable prose is a learned skill that requires development and time. Writing webitorial that is not subject to critical review, word limits, commercial requirements is unlikely to be a harsh enough environment to get you where you want to be. Writing for club or society newsletters is widely recognised as a good start in - it won't pay, but it will help you refine your skills. Expect a few rejection slips along the way!
Also the level of perfectionism is part of that learning processes. Most people in their first 5 years of writing probably need to expect at-least 4 revisions & re-writes per article, and probably 6 in the first year. After about a decade you can probably get down to one write and 1-2 reviews, per article, before submitting.
But it is gratifying, it can go a long way to paying for your recreational flying (it has done for me anyhow), and it does make a lot of your flying tax deductible! Also the magazines need copy, you don't need a commercial licence to make money from your flying this way, and the market will always be there.
G
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They actually pay you for the articles? where is my pen
However, a while ago, was when a certain book was being produced and the producer (a lawyer) insisted that I assign copyright to them, I refused because the material had been on my website for yonks, and had been used by god knows who else, elsewhere. Eventually they climbed down.
One has to be very clear about whether one is writing for free, or for money. Can't do both.
And I suspect (without knowing) that any magazine you write for is not going to be happy to see similar stuff to what they have just run and paid for appearing on some website
However, particularly if you are selling to multiple magazines then agreeing a pseudonym may be practical because magazines prefer to maintain the illusion that any writer is apparently exclusive to them.
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I am contributing editor of General Aviation Magazine and writing for Loop/P1 and the LAA magazine. I also wrote a section of the European Instrument Pilot book and contribute to other sector magazines. The pay is not huge and often not at all! 
I am always looking for interesting content for GA Magazine, please drop me a PM if you would like to discuss. We generally look for light interesting reading rather than dull technical stuff.
I am always looking for interesting content for GA Magazine, please drop me a PM if you would like to discuss. We generally look for light interesting reading rather than dull technical stuff.
I am contributing editor of General Aviation Magazine and writing for Loop/P1 and the LAA magazine. I also wrote a section of the European Instrument Pilot book and contribute to other sector magazines. The pay is not huge and often not at all!
I am always looking for interesting content for GA Magazine, please drop me a PM if you would like to discuss. We generally look for light interesting reading rather than dull technical stuff.
I am always looking for interesting content for GA Magazine, please drop me a PM if you would like to discuss. We generally look for light interesting reading rather than dull technical stuff.
G
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I have had a lot of stuff published in the PPL/IR magazine, and did a couple of sections in the PPL/IR book, and normally they tell you how many words they want.
This is important because - assuming the author can actually write grammatically correct English, which is not always the case (**) - the person best placed to condense a perhaps longer article into a smaller version is the author.
Over the years I have done massive amounts of technical writing (the stuff one used to do on Ventura or later Framemaker ) and it is also obviously true that the author is best placed to flow the article on the finished page, by changing the words around, etc, but you aren't going to be doing that on a printed magazine because that is 2-3 people down the production road
I would hope that offering to deliver an article condensed to X words should help acceptance, but I don't really know because like I said none of the UK news-stand pilot mags have ever run anything from me.
(**) it may suprise some that some best-selling authors (Jeffrey Archer being one example, apparently) product copy which is almost unusable and needs heavy editing...
This is important because - assuming the author can actually write grammatically correct English, which is not always the case (**) - the person best placed to condense a perhaps longer article into a smaller version is the author.
Over the years I have done massive amounts of technical writing (the stuff one used to do on Ventura or later Framemaker
) and it is also obviously true that the author is best placed to flow the article on the finished page, by changing the words around, etc, but you aren't going to be doing that on a printed magazine because that is 2-3 people down the production road I would hope that offering to deliver an article condensed to X words should help acceptance, but I don't really know because like I said none of the UK news-stand pilot mags have ever run anything from me.
(**) it may suprise some that some best-selling authors (Jeffrey Archer being one example, apparently) product copy which is almost unusable and needs heavy editing...
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I think a big article can pay nearly £1000.
Certainly I reckon some of the regular writers in UK GA are making £30k-£50k/year in total, from their near-constant writing in every piece of paper you pick up.
Certainly I reckon some of the regular writers in UK GA are making £30k-£50k/year in total, from their near-constant writing in every piece of paper you pick up.
The staff writers probably do make such sums. I seem to remember that rates are published on some of the magazine website. They pay so much per word (but your number of words are obviously limited) and so much per photo used etc.
However the trip reports are different, and pay a flat fee. I can't remember how much exactly but I think it was in the region of £200-250. I've had articles published in two leading UK magazines and as far as I can remember the rates were identical, or at least very little difference.
I suspect that the trip reports being different from other articles is because they are overflowing with choice on such articles.
While I agree it's nice to see your article published, and it's certainly nice when friends tell you that they saw your article published and enjoyed it, I don't think many will be doing trip reports for the money.
Every article that I wrote was published (not that many...we're talking four maybe five articles) but I can tell you that amound of time that I put into getting it exactly right for submission couldn't be justified on the basis of the fee for publishing.
Certainly if I spent the amount of time in my day job as I did in writing a single trip report, and only got paid £250 for it, it wouldn't be long before I'd be broke!
But as said earlier, the non-trip reports obviously pay much better.
dp
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I agree; a reasonably detailed trip report takes some 10-20 hours, assuming one is following some sort of previously set style/template, and nobody is going to do that for say £250.
I also would not do it if there is insufficient detail for anybody to learn something from it, or find it useful. There is (for me) no point in publishing anything like that. Got enough to do at work
I also would not do it if there is insufficient detail for anybody to learn something from it, or find it useful. There is (for me) no point in publishing anything like that. Got enough to do at work