352 Pages
    by Routledge

    352 Pages
    by Routledge

    What does it take to launch a career writing for magazines?

    In this comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to magazine writing, students will learn everything from the initial story pitch all the way through to the final production, taking with them the essential tools and skills they will need for today’s rapidly changing media landscape.

    Written by a team of experienced writers and editors, Magazine Writing teaches the time-tested rules for good writing alongside the modern tools for digital storytelling.  From service pieces to profiles, entertainment stories and travel articles, it provides expert guidance on topics such as:

    • developing saleable ideas;
    • appealing to specific segments of the market;
    • navigating a successful pitch;
    • writing and editing content for a variety of areas, including service, profiles, entertainment, travel, human interest and enterprise

    Chock full of examples of published works, conversations with successful magazine contributors and bloggers, and interviews with working editors, Magazine Writing gives students all the practical and necessary insights they need to jumpstart a successful magazine writing career.

    1. Beginning the Journey: An Overview 2. The Inside Story: A Look at the Magazine Industry 3. Selective Magazine Markets 4. The Big Idea 5. Sharpening the Angle 6. Pitch Perfect 7. Research: The Foundation of Good Storytelling 8. Structure: The Building Blocks of Good Storytelling 9. Structure II: The Mortar for Storytelling Blocks 10. Self Edit 11. Literary Non-Fiction: Storytelling at its Best 12. The Profile 13. Service 14. Arts & Entertainment 15. Sports 16. Travel 17. Essays 18. B2B: The Ultimate Service Journalism 19. Writing for the Web and Tablets 20. Legal and Ethical Considerations

    Biography

    Christopher D. Benson is Associate Professor of Journalism and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has written for Chicago, Savoy, Jet, and The Crisis magazines, and has contributed to The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and Reader’s Digest. He has worked as Features Editor and Washington Editor for Ebony magazine.

    Charles F. Whitaker is Helen Gurley Brown Magazine Research Chair at the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University. He was a senior editor at Ebony magazine and a reporter at the Miami Herald and the Louisville Times (Ky.), and he has written for the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago magazine, Jet magazine, Essence magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Saturday Evening Post, Chicago Parent magazine, and Folio.

    "If a student wants to read his or her textbook, then a lot of my job as a professor is already done. I am so excited about Magazine Writing by Benson and Whitaker. This is one of the best ‘working’ feature writing books that I’ve seen."
    Nancy Pace-Miller, Evangel University

    "I’ve read dozens of books and guides about magazine writing, but Benson’s and Whitaker’s Magazine Writing is by far the most engaging and comprehensive. Besides providing excellent instruction on the craft of writing for magazines, this book includes great advice for succeeding in the business. Benson and Whitaker take the budding writer beyond just grocery-shelf magazines, as well, and into the often ignored realms of trade publications and online publications."
    Pax S. Rasmussen, The University of Utah