Increasing your Acceptance Rate

By Gwyneth Box

Although even established professional writers receive their share of rejection letters, it’s fair to assume that they have a far higher placement rate than the amateur. Is this simply that they have more contacts? that the editor recognises their names?

If this were so, there would be little the amateur or novice could do except persevere until the big break comes. However, I don’t believe this is the case.

One of the things that determines whether a submission is accepted or rejected is the degree to which it matches the editor’s requirements at the time of receipt. This means that a little simple market analysis and forethought can help you improve your acceptance rate.

Finding a Market

First you need to look at the potential market. You might start by referring to a book such as The Writer’s Handbook or Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook which give listings of magazines and other publications, and brief details of the type of work they accept.

Once you’ve decided which are potential markets for your writing, it is well worth reading at least one copy of the publication if at all possible. This can be expensive, but you will waste far less time sending inappropriate submissions and waiting for rejection letters, so the effort will pay off.

Of course you don’t actually need to buy the magazine; you might be lucky enough to find a copy at the library, or even skim through it at the local newsagents for long enough to know whether you should take it home and do a thorough analysis.

ome publishers will supply sample copies or back issues, usually at a reduced price, sometimes free. Be careful if you choose this method, as the samples are unlikely to be the most recent, and there may have been editorial changes since they were published.

Analysing the Publication

After deciding on a publication, you should check that they accept submissions from freelance writers. Comparing the names of writers credited in two or more issues will help you determine whether the whole magazine is written by staff writers or not. Check to see whether there is a mention of guidelines being available, and send for them.

The phrase “We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts” should not necessarily put you off. This doesn’t mean that the editor won’t accept your writing, but that you should send in a query letter first, outlining your idea, not a complete manuscript.

The content of the magazine is the best guide you can have to the type of submissions which will be accepted. Remember that the content is not simply the articles which have been published, but the adverts and fillers as well.

Look carefully at the adverts. What readership are they aimed at? What do they tell you about the expected age, sex, disposable income and interests of the readers? This type of information will help you focus your article at the right audience. If the publisher has a website you may find data about the readership online.

Now look at the articles. How long are they? What sort of language do they use? Are they superficial overviews of the subject, or in-depth studies? Are they directed at an expert readership, or are they more general and suitable for the lay reader? There is no point in sending a first person account of your experience of living with a pet, however well-written and entertaining, to a magazine that is intended for breeders and only publishes technical articles.

Look, too, at the structure of the articles. How many words are there in the sentences? How many sentences in an average paragraph? What sort of punctuation do they use? Do they rely only on ‘and’ and ‘but’, or are more complex conjunctions used? Do they use full forms or contractions?

This advice may sound a little odd, but each magazine has its own style. If you think about it, you would no doubt be able to tell whether a news article had been taken from the tabloid press or from a broadsheet simply by the grammar. There’s no point in asking an editor to publish something which doesn’t correspond to the style his readers expect.

You should also note whether photographs are included. If they are and you can supply your own photographs to illustrate your article, there’s a far better chance of an acceptance, as the submitted piece is ready to use.

Timing

It’s also important to recognise that a magazine takes a certain amount of time to produce and that the editor is always thinking ahead to future issues. If an article has a ‘use-by’ date - for example a Christmas piece, or one relating to a specific anniversary - it has to be received at the right time.

Most monthly magazines are prepared well in advance, and it’s a publishing joke that Christmas numbers are written in the summer holidays. This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but remember that the editor can always hold on to an article which arrives early, but can’t fit it in if it arrives after the content of a specific issue has been finalized.

And, of course, other writers will be sending in their articles for the same issues, so you want yours to be near the front of the queue.

In this article I’ve concentrated on non-fiction writing for magazines, but most of what’s been said is also applicable to fiction and other types of publication. There’s no point, for example, in expecting your literary short story to be published in a weekly women’s magazine, nor are you likely to sell poetry to a broadsheet newspaper.

Publishing houses also specialise in types of writing. The ones that publish poetry are unlikely to be interested in your idea for a text book. Have a look in your local bookshop at who publishes the type of book you are writing.

It doesn’t actually matter how good your writing is if you haven’t done your basic research: only by matching the topic and style to the needs of the editor will you start getting acceptance letters.