Freelance writing, Birder's World/ Birdwatching Daily, pays $400 for features (USA/ Canada)

Birder’s World

GUIDELINES FOR WRITERS

Birder’s World is a bimonthly magazine for people with a broad interest in wild birds and birdwatching. Our readers are intellectually curious and well educated. They own many field guides and other books about birds, and they read widely.

To satisfy them, we strive to publish articles that enhance their enjoyment of the hobby and make them better birders — that is, we look for photos that make our readers say, “Wow!” and information that they can use to find birds, attract birds, identify birds, and understand how and why birds do what they do.

We solicit many articles from biologists, researchers, and nature writers with a special interest in birds, but we accept unsolicited work as well. If you have an article in mind, please bear in mind that we receive many more manuscripts and proposals than we have space to publish. (We print only six issues a year, and each contains four or five features, tops.) Please send us a proposal first, not a manuscript, along with samples of your published writing.

Please note: We do not accept poetry, fiction, puzzles, and product reviews. We publish photographs of rare bird sightings, but we don’t publish articles about them. We don’t think albino birds are newsworthy. And we scorn stories about native wild birds that have been fed, handled, “adopted,” or kept as pets by anyone other than licensed wildlife rehabilitators or other professionals.

HOW TO PROPOSE A STORY

Send us a query. A query is a one-page letter or succinct e-mail that describes three things:

• What you want to write about
• How you plan to write it
• Why our readers will want to read it

Write a sentence or two about the focus of your article. Describe its significance or timeliness. Tell us how you plan to organize the story — how will it open, what approach you will take in writing it, and whom you will interview. State how the story might be illustrated. Tell us if what you have in mind is similar to anything we’ve published recently. Be sure to describe your experience as a writer and/or why you are qualified to address your topic. Don’t be shy about reminding us if you’ve written for us before, and send clips if you have not. (Please provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope of appropriate size if you want the clips back.)

Send queries and clips here:

Birder’s World Editorial Dept.
Kalmbach Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
Fax (262) 798-6468
mail@birdersworld.com

Tip: The worst queries we read come from writers who think only about what they want to say. The best come from writers who have given thought to what our readers want to read.

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR

We publish articles in the following eight general subject areas but are always on the lookout for stories that bridge categories: hotspots with scientific content, for example, or photo essays combined with first-person accounts. Our favorite articles have crossed boundaries, combining elements of different story types.

Tip: We believe that there is much about common birds that expert birders will find
fascinating, and that exotic birds, described well, can hold the interest of beginners.

1. Hotspots: Birding hotspots make some of our most popular regular features. In short, we are looking for articles that describe great places to see birds. We want to tell our readers how to get there, when to go, what can be seen, and most important, why to go. Questions we use to evaluate proposals for hotspot features: Have we written about the location before? Why would our readers want to read about it? What species can a birder hope to add to his/her life list there? Can endemic or threatened species be seen at it? Is scientific research being conducted there? How accessible is it? First-person, anecdotal writing works best.

In general, we prefer articles about hotspots in North America but will consider occasional stories about more distant locations. Such manuscripts should be tailored to readers who may never travel there. Tone is everything: When we consider international destinations, we are looking for writing that makes distant locations relevant and provides enjoyable armchair birding. Beautiful photos of all hotspots, North American or more distant, should be readily available.

You can read “Hotspots” on our website: http://www.birdersworld.com/Where%20to%20go/Hotspot%20features.aspx

We are also always on the lookout for good birding destinations in the U.S. and Canada to profile in “Hotspots Near You.” If you know of one, please let us know.

You can read “Hotspots Near You” here: http://www.birdersworld.com/Where%20to%20go/Hotspots%20Near%20You.aspx

Tip: When choosing hotspot articles, we look for good answers to one question: Why will our readers want to read this? The better your answer, the better your chances of selling your article.

2. Species profiles and bird behavior: We are looking for insightful observations of bird behavior — migration, habitat selection, foraging, display, song, courtship, nesting, molt (you name it) — coupled with explanations for why birds do what they do. In general, we prefer articles on species and phenomena observable in North America but will consider well-written manuscripts about any species, including endangered species. We especially enjoy articles that compare members of bird families. We prefer articles from writers who have personal experience with their subject matter but will welcome all articles in which scientific information is digested skillfully. We want articles that explain how ornithologists have come to know what they know about bird behavior. First-person, anecdotal writing works best.

Tip: The Auk, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, and other ornithological journals are jampacked with fascinating descriptions of bird behavior and the methods by which scientists learn about it, as well as contact info for the researchers. You can search the journals online: Searchable Ornithological Research Archive http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/index.php

3. Attracting, feeding, and identifying: We regularly look for short articles offering novel approaches to attracting, feeding, sheltering, and identifying birds. We are looking for articles that contain tips readers can use; narratives drawn from personal experience; manuscripts that do not repeat what’s already been said; and writing that’s grounded in science. Firstperson, anecdotal writing works best.

Tip: Think about all four seasons. We try to match the tips we publish to the time of year in which an issue appears.

4. Photo essays: We are always on the lookout for beautiful photographs that show places and birds our readers may have never seen before, display familiar birds a new way, and educate our readers. We want our photo essays to have journalistic or educational value and so look for strong or novel organizational themes. We do not publish nuts-and-bolts articles about photographic equipment and how to use it, but we will consider articles about the creative process and the circumstances under which photographers make and have made good bird photos.

Tip: Coming up with a good idea for a photo essay is an excellent way to get your work published in Birder’s World.

5. Birds in the news: Because our magazine appears bimonthly, we can not cover breaking news the way a weekly magazine or newspaper does. We might consider a well-written firstperson account (see below) about breaking news, but we are not looking for articles about what happened. Instead, we are looking to put breaking news into context by providing the big picture or historical background or by suggesting explanations.

6. History: We will consider occasional articles that explain how ornithology and birdwatching have changed through the years. Topics of interest: early ornithologists, explorers, collectors and collecting, extinct species, bird art and artists, etc.

7. First-person accounts: We will consider occasional stories and essays by birdwatchers, scientists, and photographers about birding, studying birds, and photographing birds. Please note: We are looking for essays that deal with topics of broad intellectual or emotional interest, not what was seen on this morning’s bird walk. Past first-person accounts have enabled our readers to look over the shoulder of a discoverer at the moment of discovery; to follow a scientist’s thoughts as he/she conducts research; to understand the thinking of a photographer as he/she frames a shot; or to learn how other birdwatchers became birdwatchers.

Tip: We like to publish birdwatchers’ first-person accounts in our regular “Your View” section.

8. Science: We are interested in articles that explain what ornithologists have learned recently and how they came to learn it. Fruitful sources for such stories are The Auk, The Condor, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, and other ornithological journals.

HOW MUCH TO WRITE

Feature articles are 1750-2,250 words long.

“Attracting Birds”-type features are 700-900 words.

Tip: When writing, avoid formality and sentimentality equally. We publish articles about science, but we are not a scientific journal. We do not publish citations, foot- or endnotes, or lists of works cited. What’s more, our writers are usually as interesting as the birds they write about, so we prefer articles written in the first person — that is, articles written using the words “I” and “we.” On the other hand, we avoid referring to birds as if they were people. With few exceptions, we use the pronoun “it,” not “he” or “she,” to refer to a bird.

HOW TO WRITE BIRD NAMES

Capitalize common names of birds when they are complete (Eastern Bluebird, Northern Cardinal); use lower-case when they are incomplete (bluebird, cardinal). Include the Latin names of birds only if the common name alone might confuse the reader. We rely on The A.O.U. Check-list of North American Birds, Seventh Edition, and its supplements to answer questions about spelling and capitalization. The check-list is available on the website of the American Ornithologists’ Union: Check-list of North American Birds: http://www.aou.org/checklist/north/index.php

WHAT TO INCLUDE WITH YOUR MANUSCRIPT

If you want your manuscript to stand out from the stacks of paper that clutter the editor’s desk and often prevent him from finding his car keys, include the following five items:

1. Contact information: Include your name, postal address, daytime phone, fax, and e-mail address above the title of your article.

2. Headline: Please give your article a title.

3. Deck: A deck is a one-sentence, informative, or curiosity-evoking blurb that appears along with the title of the article. Its purpose is to give readers a compelling reason to start reading. (Think of it this way: If you were to write on the back of a business card what your story is about and why a reader should read it, what would you say?) Please submit two or three versions.

4. Internal decks or pull-quotes. These are short, informative, or curiosity-evoking blurbs that appear on second or third spreads of a story. Quotations work well for these. After you have finished your draft, please read it through and select decks and quotations that can be used for this purpose. Please include two or three with your manuscript.

5. Sidebar: Please submit at least one list along with your manuscript. (Examples: Ways to tell Species A from Species B, sources of more information, citizen-science opportunities, food to offer/flowers to plant to attract birds, etc.)

HOW TO PREPARE ELECTRONIC FILES

We prefer to receive submissions electronically, sent by e-mail. Copy your article into the body of your e-mail message, or send it as an attachment to your e-mail. Please do not encode attached files. Include your name, postal address, daytime phone, fax, and e-mail address above the title of your article.

Send electronic files here: mail@birdersworld.com

We will also accept files saved on CDs submitted with a high-quality printout. We use Microsoft Word for the Mac but can accept files saved in many formats. Include your name, postal address, daytime phone, fax, and e-mail address above the title of your article. Send your disks to the address below.

HOW TO PREPARE PAPER FILES

If you cannot prepare an electronic version, send a typed, double-spaced, letter-quality manuscript that we can read by optical scanner. Include your name, postal address, daytime phone, fax, and e-mail address above the title of your article.

Send paper files and CDs here:

Birder’s World Editorial Dept.
Kalmbach Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 1612
Waukesha WI 53187-1612
Fax: (262) 798-6468

HOW MUCH WE PAY

Queried articles are accepted on speculation only. Payment is made upon publication, and we can’t always guarantee when or if the piece will be published. We pay $400 for most features and less for shorter pieces. There is no payment for submissions to “Your Letters,” “Since You Asked,” or “Your View.” All contributors to the magazine also earn the editor’s undying affection and two copies of the issue in which their work appears.

More information here.