[Please carefully read this entire
section before submitting work.]

Our writers are all, with a few exceptions, women living in North Carolina.* We welcome writing from corporate execs, university faculty, housewives and mommies.

We are not impressed with celebrity, awards, degrees or pedigrees. Well yes, congratulations, but we also recognize that wisdom and profound insight, humor and wit can reside within any of us, no matter the letters following our name or our position in society.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

1. WNC WOMAN celebrates the wisdom, insight, experience, and know-how of women. We want to read about women doing stuff: building things—whether it is barns, businesses, or better mousetraps; fixing things, whether it is her plumbing, her car, or her life. We want to know what you have done that you never thought you could do. We want to read about you turning around a bad situation. We want to read about things that work: successful alliances formed, dreams manifested, obstacles overcome. We want to read about women who say "Oh yeah? Says who?" to the lies they have been told, the myths about what is and is not possible. We also want some really juicy fiction, poetry that moves us, (we only accept free verse) and essays that get us thinking. We would love to have at least one belly laugh per issue—a dozen if possible.

2. We have a very particular intent with WNC WOMAN. See our Mission/Vision Statement on our Home page. We have many submissions from which we choose the most appropriate pieces. We encourage you to study the magazine to get a better idea what we are looking for.

3. Writers usually must be women living in Western North Carolina. Only very rarely do we make exceptions. (In our annual June Y Chromosome issue, we invite those with a Y Chromosome to join our ranks! And beginning in July 2010, we are interested in one profile each month of particularly inspiring men and an article about relationships from the male perspective.) And we only write ABOUT women living in Western North Carolina.

4. Length of articles: We like depth so we'll accept pieces up to about 2500 words (and photos, too); we are interested in short pieces from time to time (say, 500 words) but generally like from 1000 words up.

5. Looking at some new categories: In the past we were not interested in health related articles; however, since the demise of New Life Journal, we feel this area is not well covered in WNC. While we are not interested in simple information-based pieces, we are interested in stories of your experiences with health crises, how you coped, who supported you, etc. Articles that inspire others is what we like to read.

 

WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR:

1. We are NOT interested in what is out there in abundance. We are not looking, for example, for striclty informational articles on health, yoga, natural foods, etc. as many, many national publications handle that beautifully already. We are not interested in articles on fashion, beauty, home decor...these too are well covered in other publications (unless they are experiential pieces that offer inspiration and humor.) We are not open to profiling anyone who has been profiled recently in local media.

2. We are not interested in "newsworthy" information: we are not a newspaper. We want our content to be as timely a year or six years from now as it is the day it comes out. We do not accept press releases: if you want to get word out about your event, consider a display ad in WNC WOMAN (ads make this publication possible.)

3. We are not interested in self-promotional articles about your product or service: this is the role of paid advertising. Paid advertising is what makes this publication possible.

4. We are not excited about publishing work that has been published elsewhere, but if it is very unusual and has not been published in WNC, we will consider it.

PREPARING YOUR WORK

1. We are looking for excellence in the written word. Please DO NOT simplify your writing for an eighth-grade reader! We encourage a positive tone and active voice. Think about what might go in a sidebar. If there are good websites related to your article, do send us their URL. We expect you to have carefully edited and proofed your work, and to have run a spell check.

2. Include your bio which will be printed at the end of your article. Two or three sentences should be sufficient. Please include in your bio whatever contact information you'd like for our readers and put it at the end of your article. Please include the town where you live.
THIS IS IMPORTANT TO OUR WORKFLOW. IF YOU DO NOT PUT YOUR BIO RIGHT AT THE END OF YOUR ARTICLE YOUR BIO WILL NOT APPEAR IN PRINT.

SUBMITTING YOUR WORK

1. Please send your article via email to submissions@wncwoman.com as an attached Word document or directly in the email.

2. We judge each submission on its own merit and will not be swayed by your resumé, list of credits, awards, etc. so no need to include them. We are as happy to print work from someone who has never been published before than from someone who has a slew of awards!

3. At this time we are not able to pay our writers. We want the rights to print your work and have it online, but otherwise, because we are not paying, we do not assume ownership—it is yours to do with as you will after it is published in WNC WOMAN. If it is later published elsewhere, we simply ask that at the end you say "First published in WNC WOMAN" and the date.

4. Even if we express interest in your work and say we intend to publish it, we never know until the very last minute if it will fit in print in a particular month... it may not fit until several months later;we will let you know once the final version goes to the printer.

PLEASE NEVER EVER MAIL US SOMETHING YOU WANT BACK.

5. In the body of the email, please include the sentence "I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD WRITER'S GUIDELINES" and please put the word SUBMISSION as the first word in the subject line.

6. The deadline is the first of the month TWO MONTHS in advance. For example, we need to receive an article for the January issue November 1st. We pay possibly take work closer to the publication date, so email to ask if you are working on something but won't have it by the two-month deadline... but the FINAL deadline is the first of the month prior to publication.

7. Please submit your own work, unless you do not have a computer and you submit it through a friend. Otherwise, we do not accept third party submissions (as through an agent or publicist.)

* We are now accepting writing from women outside of Western North Carolina.

UPCOMING THEMES
(subject to change!)

Our goal with each issue is to focus primarily on a theme and round out the issue with other topics.

June 2010 :
The Y Chromosome
in which we write about men and invite men to write. Starting in July 2010 we want to have a monthly Y-chromosome Section where we will have one profile of an inspiring man and perhaps one article from the male perspective.

July 2010 :
Free for All
another chance for articles, profiles, stories and poetry on a variety of topics. Announcing new short story and poetry contests; and introducing a somewhat-monthly Y-Chromosome column.

August 2010 :
Living a Sustainable Life
profiles and stories of women making choices about food, home, health, even dying that honor the environment..

September 2010 :
Making Music
our second annual issue highlighting the incredible talent in this region. And stories of the meaning of music in our lives.

October 2010 :
Woman's Best Friend
every year we honor the furred and feathered pets who enrich our daily lives.

November 2010 :
Spirit of Place
we live in a paradise (people even pay to visit here!) and this month we honor these mountains by celebrating the spirit and the spirits that reside in them.

December 2010 :
Reading and Writing
presenting the winners of our newest short story and poetry contests (announced in July.) Profiles of local book clubs; book reviews; the rich meaning the written word brings to us.

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Send us YOUR suggestions for
future issues!

 

WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA WOMAN
is a publication of INFINITE CIRCLES, INC.