The Writer is dedicated to helping professional and aspiring writers with a straightforward presentation of information, instruction and motivation. In the pages of our 119-year-old magazine, writers come together to share their experiences, expertise, struggles, successes and suggestions. The magazine's efforts have been recognized in recent years with gold and silver medals for Editorial Excellence in Folio magazine's national competition.

About 90 percent of our articles are written by freelance writers. The best way to get an assignment is to send a good query letter on a topic that is fresh for our magazine and well suited to our mission.

Please familiarize yourself with our magazine before querying--our tone, audience, approach, the types of articles we do and don't do. Try to skim through the last year or two of issues to get an idea of what we've recently written about.

In your query, be sure to describe your writing background, and don't keep us in suspense: If you promise in your proposed article to provide eight tips on how to find an agent, tell us what all or most of your tips are. We can't properly evaluate your query if you don't.

On those occasions when the magazine's staff originates a story idea and assigns it, we use writers who have previously been in the magazine.

We do not accept fiction or poetry.

Unless otherwise noted below, send queries to queries@writermag.com. Hard copies are also acceptable.

Feature articles generally run 600 to 3,500 words. These include our "Step by Step" how-to articles and our regular in-depth author interviews. A separate memo is available by e-mail on our "Step by Step" articles, which are built around a series of interactive steps. These articles are done only by experienced writers. Most of our "Step by Steps" address a specific aspect of fiction writing, but we also consider general nonfiction and creative-nonfiction topics.

We encourage a roundup approach for articles on market or publishing trends, such as the changing youth market, the growing interest in inspirational writing, the best of the small presses, how to get your manuscript past the first reading, what small-press editors want, and how to find an agent.

We will consider personal essays about writing as both general features and Off the Cuff columns, but these essays should not be of the "navel-gazing" variety that is excessively focused on self and one's life story. An essay should provide some take-away advice and benefits to a writing audience just as our other features do.

Columns and departments usually run around 600 to 1,600 words. Note: The Bottom Line, Networking and Ethics columns have been discontinued, though we still deal with many of the same topics those columns did. Our current column lineup is:

Breakthrough: Formatted first-person articles of 700 words about a writer's experience in "breaking through" to publication (with an article, book, etc.). Query associate editor Sarah Lange at slange@writermag.com.

Freelance Success: Tips on the business of freelancing. Length is 1,600 words. Query managing editor Jeff Reich at jreich@writermag.com.

Get Started: Short articles specifically angled toward instructing the beginning writer. Most of these are assigned by an editor, but queries are accepted. About 700 words. Query slange@writermag.com.

How I Write: One-page, formatted interviews with authors including a bio blurb. Query first. About 600 words, plus 100 for bio blurb and credits.

Literary Spotlight: A one-page look at a literary journal. Most of these are assigned by an editor.

Market Focus: Reports on specific market areas such as trade journals, alumni magazines, parenting, sports and travel. Usually 1,600 words. Query jreich@writermag.com.

Off the Cuff: Personal essays on the writing life. Usually 1,600 to 2,600 words.

Poet to Poet: Specific aspects of writing poetry, such as imagery, revision or poetic forms. Note: A regular columnist currently does all the Poet to Poet columns and queries are not accepted.

Syntax: Language and grammar usage. Should be light but informative. Note: A regular columnist currently does all the Syntax columns and queries are not accepted.

Take Note: Brief, topical items of literary interest. Should be 150 to 400 words. Query jreich@writermag.com.

Writer at Work: A writer describes a specific writing problem and how it was successfully overcome on the way to publication. Most of the columns deal with fiction. Query first. Experienced writers only. A separate memo is available by e-mail on the Writer at Work column.

WriteStuff: Reviews of books and other products of interest to writers. Experienced book reviewers write for this column. Send letter and book-review clips to jreich@writermag.com. Reviews are 450 to 700 words.

Basics
All queries should be submitted in writing. Do not call. We prefer electronic queries, to queries@writermag.com.

Hard-copy queries can be mailed to The Writer at 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187. Include a SASE for a response and return of materials.

We do our best to respond to queries within 4-6 weeks, and most are dealt with much sooner. Queries that make it into our "Maybe" basket can sometimes take longer.

We acknowledge assignments with an e-mailed confirmation message. We give an article an "acceptance read" around the due date; if the article is in acceptable shape, we mail a contract within the next few weeks. We send payment after we receive a signed copy of the contract.

Generally, we buy first rights. Payment varies. In general, our rates for articles range from $40 to $80 for book reviews to $100 to $300 for columns and $300 to $500 for features, depending on length, complexity and the research required. Items for the Take Note section pay $25 to $75. We are also looking for writing-related cartoons ($50); these should be sent to jreich@writermag.com.

Payment is initiated upon acceptance. We pay only those expenses agreed upon in advance.

Completed assigned articles should be submitted as a Word attachment to the assigning editor. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address and a list of sources used for the article, along with their contact information. To help us fact-check, we ask that you include copies of any printed background materials you used for the piece. Photo suggestions are appreciated. Please do not send original manuscripts, artwork or slides, as we cannot be responsible for their return.