{"id":289,"date":"2008-07-14T05:09:18","date_gmt":"2008-07-14T13:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/publishingblog\/?p=289"},"modified":"2008-07-14T05:11:07","modified_gmt":"2008-07-14T13:11:07","slug":"focus-your-article-whats-the-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/publishingblog\/?p=289","title":{"rendered":"Focus Your Article: What&#8217;s the Point?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s blog is an excerpt from lesson #3 of my online, on-demand Article-Writing Course.<\/p>\n<p>Most editors don&#8217;t want &#8220;all about&#8221; articles. They may publish articles on a wide array of subjects, but the individual article must have a specific purpose. <em>Aspen Magazine<\/em>, for example, publishes essays, articles on new products, historical pieces, articles on environmental issues and most any topic that relates to Aspen, Colorado. But you&#8217;re going to have a better chance of being published in <em>Aspen<\/em> if you submit an article that is narrowly focused. For example, they would probably sooner accept your piece featuring a local artist who has made it big than a piece about the variety of art pursued in <em>Aspen<\/em> or one all about your appreciation for Colorado art. <\/p>\n<p><em>Woman&#8217;s World <\/em>frequently publishes articles on how one woman made a difference. But they wouldn&#8217;t be interested in your piece on why some women are altruistic and some aren&#8217;t and what happens in people&#8217;s lives to make them want to reach out to others. On the other hand, a psychology or religious magazine might be willing to publish this piece.<\/p>\n<p>Below are examples of 4 broad subjects each followed by possible pointed or more narrowly focused article ideas:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Showing horses as a hobby.<\/strong><br \/>\n          Tips for winning in the show ring<br \/>\n          How to choose the right riding master for your child<br \/>\n          Grooming techniques for a show horse<\/p>\n<p><strong>Flying kites for fun<\/strong><br \/>\n\tHow to make a box kite<br \/>\n\tTips for flying stunt kites<br \/>\n\tThe best kite-flying exhibitions in Southern California<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wedding planning<\/strong><br \/>\n\tGo Hawaiian: How to present an authentic luau wedding reception for 200 guests<br \/>\n\tGreat gifts for your wedding party<br \/>\n\tHow to overcome pre-wedding jitters<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gardening<\/strong><br \/>\n\tContainer herb gardening for apartment dwellers<br \/>\n\tHow to integrate art into your garden<br \/>\n\tEasy to install water features for your garden<\/p>\n<p>It may help you to narrow your focus by studying regular columns in the magazines (or newspapers) you want to write for. The general topic might be foods, beauty, home and garden, parenting, seniors or spirituality, for example. Read several columns and observe how the writers narrow down his or her focus. Most magazine websites list the table of contents for several issues. Read the story titles. Study technique and you\u2019ll soon get the idea. <\/p>\n<p>For additional information, guidelines and commentary about magazine article-writing, order my little <em>Writer&#8217;s Guide to Magazine Articles <\/em>for only $6.50. <a href=http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/writingpage.html> http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/writingpage.html<\/a> Or sign up for my online, on-demand Article-Writing Course at <a href=http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/course_magarticles.htm> http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/course_magarticles.htm<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s blog is an excerpt from lesson #3 of my online, on-demand Article-Writing Course. Most editors don&#8217;t want &#8220;all about&#8221; articles. They may publish articles on a wide array of subjects, but the individual article must have a specific purpose. Aspen Magazine, for example, publishes essays, articles on new products, historical pieces, articles on environmental [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t<!-- All in One SEO 4.9.9 - aioseo.com -->\n\t<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Today&#039;s blog is an excerpt from lesson #3 of my online, on-demand Article-Writing Course. Most editors don&#039;t want &quot;all about&quot; articles. They may publish articles on a wide array of subjects, but the individual article must have a specific purpose. Aspen Magazine, for example, publishes essays, articles on new products, historical pieces, articles on environmental\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"max-image-preview:large\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Patricia\"\/>\n\t<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/publishingblog\/?p=289\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"All in One SEO (AIOSEO) 4.9.9\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writing and Publishing News - from\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Focus Your Article: What\u2019s the Point? - Writing and Publishing News\" \/>\n\t\t<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today&#039;s blog is an excerpt from lesson #3 of my online, on-demand Article-Writing Course. Most editors don&#039;t want &quot;all about&quot; articles. 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